The response delivered a deep psychological blow to Westerberg. “We paid our dues, went to a moderately big level, then went to a huge level on that Petty opening slot,” he observed. “But it was like playing a tiny club where no one cared—except there was 20,000 of them every night. I mean, the rejection of a small club is one thing. But the rejection of a small city was tough.” Things got worse once the tour
