There’s a major difference between Clarence Darrow and Chuck Darrow.
Clarence is dead. Chuck remains very alive!
Last night alongside his bandmates in Pure Petty – a Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers cover act – they were attempting (and succeeding) to awaken the dead, rocking local Philadelphia fans, longer than three hours at Sweeney’s Philly Special.
Darrow, usually known for his pontifications about entertainment, which he has done for nearly 50 years, was instead, manning his assignment as the band’s bass guitar player. And, he did that work exactly in the fashion of top acts he has covered in newspapers, radio, and TV.
Pure Petty is not a bunch of friends jamming to do something fun as a side hustle. They are living their best lives, doing the “real thing” and quite obviously have spent a lot of time in practice sessions to get the shit down right. It’s easy to hear the difference. Frankly, it was unexpectedly good.
Darrow and I met in 1987, and I knew straight away we had a lot in common. I learned we both enjoyed playing poker in Atlantic City and had a devoted love of music. We began going to many outstanding concerts together including, Pink Floyd, Ringo, The Who, Springsteen, The Pretenders, Fleetwood Mac, and, too many others to mention.
As workaholics, we both covered different forms of entertainment. Working day and night, six and seven days a week, was never a chore; when you love what you’re doing, it never seems like work.
It’s difficult to learn the real side of Chuck, as he hides that with quips and stand-up type humor. As those layers get peeled away over time you might begin to learn that behind the scenes he is a devout family man who has spent a lifetime with the support and love of his wife, Robin, and their two girls.
If it hadn’t been for love and marriage as a young man, it might, ironically, be others writing about Chuck’s music. That’s his secret. Instead of chasing that dream, he dabbled in music, while choosing family and settling down, while taking a responsible job with a weekly paycheck.
Fact is the first time we went to check out some music together, it was Chuck performing a solo gig at a basement coffee house on South Street. Currently, he plays with Nytrous, his other band on other nights.
Back to Pure Petty. The band is a study of aging musicians in a battle against the clock. The bandmates are winning that war. Strike that, they are fucking rocking audiences wherever they play as in arena-quality good.
Now hear this guys: The stage was crushed by dozens of cute chicks moving forward to dance and sing the tunes that everybody knows and loves.
Close your eyes, and you are at a Tom Petty concert.
Sure, they were playing at a local club to a couple hundred. But at other gigs, they have already played to thousands, branching out hundreds of miles over many states – with an upcoming gig in Pittsburgh.
Sadly, you won’t be seeing Tom Petty or Clarence Darrow anymore. But this Darrow and these Petty-pounding people, truly are “pure.”
Catch the show when you can.
(By the way, in this video, that’s me on the left also videotaping this song on my phone. I’m wearing the windbreaker with the white stripe.)
Running Down A Dream, Sweeney’s 4/20/24 – YouTube MusicReplyReply allForward
Memoirs and Poems 