Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with Steve Winwood at Fenway Park, August 30,2014
August 30, 2014, was one of those magical, timeless summer evenings in New England, the kind you wish would last forever. We were in Boston. Boston is like a gigantic living American Flag, the North Church spire shining in the long twilight, the harbor reflecting every city light, the Pru Tower lights glowing. Street vendors selling sausage sandwiches or hats and tee shirts outside Fenway Park. Fenway Park! The outline of the original grandstand is tangible, even with the additions of recent decades. In Fenway, you can see and feel baseball history, but tonight we weren’t there for baseball. We were actually on the field. We could touch the Green Monster and stand next to the beat up old scoreboard. Tonight it read: TOM PETTY AND HEARTBREAKERS.
Beyond the Green Monster, the Citgo sign flashed neon into the sky, reminding Meg and me of one of our first dates, in 1983. Thirty years later, we were again in Fenway Park, and finally at a Tom Petty concert.
I feared something horrible might happen any minute. Twice before we had tickets for Tom Petty and couldn’t go.
The first time, almost 30 years ago, we drove from Portland to Mansfield, got sandwiched in a multicar pileup at the off-ramp, and went straight to a car parts store to buy new headlights, then back to Maine, because we had to work the next day.
The second time, late in 1991, Meg, six months pregnant, experienced early labor pains. We
spent that night at MMC.
We’d finally made it! Between the beauty of the night, the awe-inspiring setting, and the terrific seats, we were primed for a great show. Intermission allowed me to fear my hopes were too high. Then the band came on, and the chiming sound of “So You Want to be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” washed over me. I knew it was all real, as good as I hoped.
Maybe for the band, it was just another show, but it seemed they felt the high of the night too. So many great songs! Again and again, we turned to each other with that open-mouthed wondering look that said, “Can you believe they are playing ‘A Woman in Love’?” Or “Wow! They’re playing, ‘Refugee’!”
By the time they played “American Girl” to finish their encore, there was not one song I would have said the show lacked.
The band gathered at the front of the stage to bow and wave to the crowd, acknowledging to us and themselves it truly had been special. I felt like Petty himself wanted to stay and feel the connection with us for a little longer, to stay in that moment, knowing only accomplishment and appreciation.
I took a photo as they left the stage. When I look at it, I almost believe he’s waving right at us, like we’d beamed our love at him strongly enough, and he wanted us to know, “I also am glad we finally got together.”
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