In light of their past problems with the FCC, I was suprised to see the show start with a giant penis arrow making its way across the field to the heart shaped stage. The penis punctured the heart, Tom Petty came to life, and enthusiastic fans rushed the stage. Who were these young white people and where did they come from?
It’s not Tom Petty’s fault that I discovered him the same year I started listening to Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, and Warren Zevon. He’s fine, and he did a fine job at the Super Bowl. But the camera kept cutting from the old men on stage to the fresh faced kids singing into camera. They seemed to be professional enthusiasts, dimly aware of the music they were mouthing along to. Would their frat boy good spirits in any way be dimmed if this were the American Idol finale, spring break, or the Indy 500?
Jack Silbert, curator