Page 8-Tuesday, July 15, In . m., i 1980-The Michigan Daily 9 m ww-~ TOM PETTY A By PAT' It's been a slow s so far in New York are choosing to eit tan altogether or smaller-capacity just breaking even recording industry the big shows have this season, the qu ces has likewise turn: Billy Joel,v city's mammoth l den for five sold-ou panned by all of U writers, prompti hometown-boy-mal stack of New York night after a part drubbing in that ne Although Joel's s well-received by t refugee comes TI DIETZ lucky enough to get their hands on figua tickets, there was surprisingly enough, the ummer for concerts a large amount of disappointment rock City. Many top acts, voiced. All of which goes to show that play her bypass Manhat- this summer the majority of Manhat- Disc play in the city's tanites are too busy shaking their stuff P venues in hopes of at rock dancehalls like the Mudd Club and in the waning of the and Irving Plaza to care very much befit 's financial crises. If about the quality of the performances mos e been sadly lacking. that cost upwards of $10.50 to see. Eag uality of performan- I THUS APPROACHED Tom Petty over taken a downward and The Heartbreakers' show-one of only who moved into the three during the July 4th weekend-at New ladison Square Gar- the mid-sized Palladium on New York's rock t shows, was roundly lower East Side, a decadent, seedy wha he are's major rock theatre-turned-concert-shdwplace be- Yor ng this smart-ass fitting a Patti Smith (yes, it's her oc- esp kes-good to tear up a casional hang out, too). Not highly ds t k Times onstage one regarding this particular New York alm icularly apt critical crowd's ability to distinguish between a to r wspaper. whorthwile performance and a sub- stad hows were generally standard one any more than their PE he throng who were fellow rock addicts anywhere else, I beex to New red Petty's triumphant return to < East Coast as a newfangled f hero would go over big even if he b yed selections from Mickey Mouse c o. etty is Southern California's newest t most promising rock star, and, tting that state, is also one of its , st smug (second only to The ] les). Publicists love to jump all a r Californian rock commodities if < yfor the glory of bringing an act to York, shaking it in the faces of the circles here, and gloating "lookit i t we found." It's no wonder New 1 kers-and its rock press 1 ecially-are definitely wary of tren- l hat blow eastward. Why, it took us ost a year after Heart Like A Wheel I eally pay attention to Linda Ron- 1 [t. etty is no newcomer, however; he's i n knocking around Los Angeles 4 PRIME RIB RARE PRICE. York clubs since the mid-'70's, straddling the fence between New Wave and hard rock backed by a cult following. Striking it big on only his third album is actually ad- mirable. But the aura of Southern Californian hype surrounding him is undeniable (though he originally hails from Florida), from the attendance of Miss El Lay herself, Joni Mitchell, right down to Petty's Jox sneakers. I'm almost disappointed I didn't hear "mellow" one time all evening. I CAN'T SEE what all the excitement is about regarding T.P. and The Hear- tbreakers, and, it seemed, neither could the Palladium crowd who listened to Petty attentively and patiently. They showed signs of life only during the two encores, too late in the set for Petty to take advantage of this energy that, I assume, he is used to receiving steadily from audiences. Rock and roll delirium-what Petty and company must expect following the huge success of Damn The Torpedoes- itcertainly was not. It was an older crowd, too (mid- to late-twenties), and Petty seemed content to make us all adolescent again (typical S. Californian youth ploy) by-sweeping the audience with his spotlights, and enducing us, in vain, to clap manically along with the music. Apart from this silliness, and Petty's tiresome, forced effervesence, the man is backed' by a truly excellent band. Petty deserves points for keeping his original Heartbreakers intact since the first release in 1976, Tom Petty, using them both on tour and in the studio. What Petty lacks is showmanship. The Heartbreakers-make up for in tight en- semble playing. Petty proved he is dispensible as a vocalist on Torpedoes' "What Are You.Doin' In My Life?" and the first LP's "Fooled Again (I Don't Like I)" while, musically, The Hear- tbreakers moved through their material in a way that made Tom seem to be playing second string. The producer of both Parker's current release, The Up Escalator, and Damn The Torpedoes, Jimmy Iovine was hailed onstage by Petty, and had lovine been given the chance, his voice of experience would have no doubt told Petty that the pacing of his show was, at best, top heavy. Petty's hits "Refugee," "Here Comes My Girl," and "Don't Do Me Like That" all came relatively early in his hour and 45- minute set, and he left nothing exciting for his encore except "Century City," which paled by comparison to the studio version. Only "Breadkdown" and the Roger McGuinn-cloned "American Girl"-the latter so reminiscent of McGuinn that Roger, himself, recorded it-seemed worthy of applause. Muchof Petty's material sounds vaguely alike; "I Need To Know" and "Even The Losers" are so similarly structured they could be the same tune. Performed live, consequently, they seem to blur together, and it is only the precision with which The Hear- tbreakers salvage themselves from such monotony that is laudable. Whether Petty will become a convin- cing showlman and learn how to sing remains to be seen. Damn The Tor- pedoes, as a recording, rightly earned him a wider spectrum of listeners, but from here, Petty and The Hear- tbreakers have no direction to go but forward. 6 I 6 6 Generous cut of tender juicy Prime Rib roasted to perfection. Crisp, garden fresh salad. Your choice of steaming hot baked potato, French fries or rice. Fresh bread and butter $7095 At a time when most things are going up, we're doing some- thing rare -bringing the price of Pnme Rib way down. This standard cut is served every day, except Friday and Saturday, during our regular dinner hours. And The American Express Card is always welcome. I 6 6 300 South Maple Ann Arbor, 66s-1133 Valid through September 11, 1980. The American Exi Don't leave home