Tom Petty

Tom Petty

Four songs from Hypnotic Eye would probably be four too many on most occasions, but considering Petty’s latest is our country’s reigning #1 album, somebody out there must have been eagerly awaiting the Heartbreakers’ spin through “American Dream Plan B.” Fortunately, Petty didn’t skimp on the hits either. For every unnecessary Mojo blues dirge, there were two of three FM essentials so obviously perfect that they retroactively rendered at least half the bands at this festival laughingstocks. Although 19 songs isn’t nearly enough for the ideal Heartbreakers setlist — and after two Petty festival sets in two years, I’m at least a little salty about the omission of “You Don’t Know How It Feels” — the ones he did opt to grace us with were more than enough. “Free Fallin’,” “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” “Refugee,” “Learning To Fly,” “American Girl” — these are perfect songs. And unlike Petty’s pal Bob Dylan, his crotchety old-man croon is only sounding sweeter with age. -Chris