Tom Petty and the night of short mini-skirts
When it comes to Tom Petty, I've actually been to the holy ground upon which he began his music career. Petty is a Gainesville, Fla., native. His first band, Mudcrutch, made a living playing gigs around the university town, including their home-away-from-home -- Dub's, a bar on the city outskirts.
Back in 1985, I was a freshman at the University of Florida and first heard of Dub's. By then, Petty's fame had led him to L.A., and Dub's current fame was equally alluring: It was the only bar in town that hosted a short mini-skirt contest on Thursday nights. The attraction was that the skirt was the only thing contestants had to wear (and even that was shed in the first 10 seconds of any song). The bar was notoriously lax on checking ID's, so even though I was only 18, I was able to get in and be served.
I'm not going to say that the aura of Petty's legacy still hung thick in the building. To be honest, I was more focused on the current night's entertainment. But still, one generous bartender there was intent on educating us punk kids on Petty's place in Gainesville history. And in time, we took timeout to soak in the atmosphere as he spun a few good yarns about the guy.
Alas, Dub's is gone now. The building remains, but the old owners are long gone. Petty, who turns 57 years old Saturday, is still going strong -- much to my delight ... and anyone else who caught Short Mini-Skirt Night at Dub's.
TOP 5 SONGS FROM TOM PETTY DURING THE 80s:
5. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (with Stevie Nicks): "I know you really want to tell me goodbye."
4. Don't Come Around Here No More: "You tangle my emotions."
3. Free Fallin': "All the good girls are home with broken hearts."
2. You Got Lucky: "Girl, if you can do better than me, go..."
1. The Waiting: "Baby, you're the only one that's ever known how to make me wanna live like I wanna live now."
MORE TOM PETTY: Remember when music videos were truly an artform? You can thank Tom Petty for some of that. His videos were epic, including my personal favorite from the early 80s -- You Got Lucky. But this clip of Weird Al Yankovic interviewing Petty is also a must-see.
[Publicity photo; Times files]
Relive the music, movies and culture of the greatest decade ever with Times online editor Steve Spears. A teen during the decade, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to Reaganomics.
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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.....one of my fondest memories of the 80's and MTV with the video You Got Lucky (along with Shadows of the Night). No wet t-shirts contests in El Paso but a butt load of jungle juice!
All the best,
M in A
Posted by: Mike in Austin | October 19, 2007 at 09:29 AM
I've always loved the song Even The Losers, from Damn The Torpedoes. I know the album came out in late 1979, but I think it should be grandfathered in.
"And I showed you stars that you never could see. Babe, it couldn't have been that easy to forget about me..."
Posted by: Bassnote | October 19, 2007 at 09:57 AM
My wife likes to tell the classic story of the No Nukes concert. Tom & the Heartbreakers were doing their set, and a lot of the crowd was chanting "Bruuuuuuuce!" because Springsteen was set to play soon. When Petty got off stage he was a little pissed. The promoter says to him, "they weren't booing you, they were chanting Bruce for Springsteen." Petty looked at the guy and said, "what's the difference?"
Posted by: Bassnote | October 19, 2007 at 10:06 AM
You're slightly off. Dub's was famous for the mini-skirt contest on Thursday nights.
Posted by: jp | October 19, 2007 at 11:24 AM
You are indeed correct. And it's been fixed.
Posted by: Spears | October 19, 2007 at 11:44 AM
What about "Love is a Long Road" from Full Moon Fever?
Posted by: Al | October 19, 2007 at 04:43 PM
I second that. "Love is a Long Road" is my favorite Petty tune. Also worth noting: Honey Bee, You Don't Know How It Feels, The Last DJ, and You and Me.
Posted by: Mike | October 19, 2007 at 07:26 PM
I nominate Running Down A Dream from Full Moon Fever, and Make It Better (Forget About Me) from Southern Accents.
Posted by: Bassnote | October 19, 2007 at 08:38 PM
And Petty's band was "Mudcrutch." If he were from Okeechobee, maybe "Mudcrotch" would have worked.
Posted by: Mike | October 19, 2007 at 10:17 PM
Love Tom Petty. My first concert was a Tom Petty concert supporting the Southern Accents album in '85. He has never disappointed over the years seeing him. "Change of Heart" is my favorite song by him. I wish he would make one more album that really rocked. A lot of his stuff in the last 10-15 years has been a bit too mellow and slowly paced.
Posted by: Eric S | October 20, 2007 at 03:49 AM
I've yet to see Tom Petty live in concert. He never played there while I was going to school in Gainesville. And it seems he doesn't get down to Florida that often when he tours now. Definitely one of the must-sees left on my list.
Posted by: Spears | October 20, 2007 at 08:33 AM
A Petty show is great. Saw him at the St. Pete Times Forum in 2002 for my first rock show - Jackson Browne opened - and then in 2005 at the Ford w/ the Black Crowes. Never ceases to entertain.
Posted by: Mike | October 20, 2007 at 03:33 PM
I'd have killed to see Petty and Jackson Browne together. I wonder what alternate universe I was in that night that caused me to miss that show.
Posted by: Spears | October 21, 2007 at 09:44 AM
Dubs was awesome! You forgot to mention that was where Wade Boggs was stabbed in the parking lot as well!!
Posted by: Glen Mastro | October 21, 2007 at 03:11 PM