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September 5, 2022 ​

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Long time Heartbreaker and writing partner of Tom Petty, Mike Campbell has come out with a new band called The Dirty Knobs.

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The band has released two album thus far and they are currently out supporting External Combustion which was released earlier this year.  Mike and the boys made a stop at The Roxian Theater in Pittsburgh on Sunday night and proceeded to tear the place down with some good ol rock and roll.

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Campbell never sang when he was with The Heartbreakers, but now he is the frontman and his voice is eerily similar to Tom Petty. 

 

Maybe it's because they are both from Gainesville, FL and they spent the better part of forty years working closely together.

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The Dirty Knobs came out rocking with "Wicked Mind" and never really slowed down.

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After a few more songs, including "External Combustion" which Campbell said the band rarely plays live, Campbell's wife Marcie came out to center stage and said "It's just the normal noises in here!"  Recreating the classic line that she said on Petty's Damn The Torpedo's album.  

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With that, the band tore into "Even The Losers" just like the album.

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The band, besides Campbell, consists of bassist Lance Morrison, drummer Matt Laug and new guitarist Chris Holt.  They are very tight and Campbell and Holt play off of each other very well.

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In the middle of the set, Campbell broke out his Rickenbacker guitar to play a great cover version of The Byrds "Feel A Whole Lot Better."   He kept the 12-string guitar on for his own song "Wreckless Abandon" which easily could have been on a Heartbreakers record.-

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More Knobs tunes followed like "Dirty Job," the happy sing-a-long "Fuck That Guy" and an extended version of "In This Lifetime."

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Campbell told the audience that he's all about The Dirty Knobs but he also likes to play some of the older songs too.  He decided to do "Refugee" with a much slower arrangement so the crowd could focus on the lyrics.  However, in the middle of the song, the band picked up the pace and jammed just like Campbell did a thousand times with Tom Petty, then they slowed it back down again at the end.

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It was one of the main highlights of the show.

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Two more Tom Petty classics were played, a raucous version of "Running Down A Dream" and a deep cut from Long After Dark "Between Two Worlds."

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The show came to a close with a medley of tunes that influenced Campbell, "Roadrunner," "Who Do You Love?" and Cream's "I'm So Glad."  

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Alvin  Youngblood Hart opend the show with a short set of original blues tunes as well as a nice cover of Lead Belly's "Gallows Pole."

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Photos and review by Greg Drugan

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