Petty and the Heartshakers rock the Casa

By JIM MARTY

The Progress

Let me just start by saying that I love a good tribute band. The great music of the last 60 years needs to continue to be played. After all, we still listen to Mozart and Beethoven!

So, when I heard Petty and The Heartshakers were coming to the Casablanca Hotel and Resort in Mesquite I was on it!

The Heartshakers are made up of top-of-the-line Nashville musicians: Dan Grennes, a Tom Petty look alike, on vocals and guitar; Chris Chicchino, on guitar, doing Mike Campell’s part; Andy Gerold on bass; Les Warner on drums; with backup vocals by Sara D’Arce.

The sold-out show in the Casablanca Ballroom included great Tom Petty hits like set opener “American Girl,” followed by “Won’t Back Down,” “Stop Dragging My Heart Around,” “Into the Great Wide Open” and “Here Comes My Girl.” The 90-minute set ended with “Running Down a Dream” played to a standing ovation.

Tom Petty songs are timeless in their edgy simplicity coupled with great story telling and characters we can relate to. Maryjane waiting for that last dance, Eddie whose leather jacket had chains that could jingle or singing along with Del Shannon are from lyrics burned into our collective baby boomer memories. It was a great show!

The Casa ballroom holds 700, has excellent acoustic and is a non-smoking environment.

I got to talk to Dan Grennes after the show and asked him how playing in a Tom Petty tribute band became his destiny. He said he had been a professional musician for a while, including playing in Melisa Etheridge’s band. People noted how much he looked like Tom Petty. This, coupled with his love of Tom’s music, led him to form Petty & The Heartshakers.

Their next gig in this area will be at Arizona Charlie’s in Las Vegas on May 4.

Meanwhile, the Casablanca has some great shows coming up. The Docksiders will play on March 9, Albumpalooza will be back on Mar. 16 with a tribute to U2 and The Police. Corduroy, a Pearl Jam Tribute, will close out the month on Mar. 30.