TOM PETTY

TOM Petty and the Heartbreakers didn’t have to find their groove when they played Madison Square Garden Friday. From the first notes, the man and the band clicked as they connected the dots between their first hits to music from the just-released “The Last DJ.”

Besides the steel strength of all those songs, this band has held onto its concert expertise because it doesn’t take the music for granted, including well-worn tracks such as “Free Fallin’ ” or the night’s encore finale, “American Girl.”

Despite cranking some of these tunes for 25 years, at the Garden, they still had fire-in-the-belly passion. It was contagious.

At one point Petty said, “I think you’re ready to sing.” Then he launched “Learning to Fly.” It stood out because it wasn’t the usual campfire croak-with-the-star affair. Petty started the song, then quelled the Heartbreakers and used the silence to create an a capella, call and response chorus. It sounded great.

Less enthralling was when TP wasted time and concert energy bellyaching about how screwed up the music business is. During the mid-concert diatribe against everything corporate, he just sounded petty.

He vowed that no song of his will be used for a commercial and he bragged how his show had no corporate sponsor. Everyone cheered, but sponsorship lessens ticket costs.

Petty is a guy who has fought to maintain his integrity and has earned a lot of respect for it. He doesn’t have to bore us with a lecture – just stand his ground and sing “I Won’t Back Down.”