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Looking Back At Tom Petty's Final Shows At The Hollywood Bowl

Legendary musician Tom Petty died on Monday night, just seven days after he and the Heartbreakers wrapped up their 40th Anniversary Tour at the Hollywood Bowl.
A little video I took last Monday when I saw Tom #Petty at the #HollywoodBowl.
— L (@LauraLeeBiology) October 2, 2017
Love you, too, Tom. You will be missed. pic.twitter.com/sr2Z4AGwMa
Petty's final concert was on Monday, September 25 at the Hollywood Bowl, with Lucinda Williams opening the show. The band's three-night stint at the Bowl garnered rave reviews from Billboard and the LA Times. Variety called Petty and his performance "the perfect combination of an everyman who is One of Us and a rock superstar definitely not One of Us."
The Times, in their review, said the band was slick in execution, but in a manner that was fun and inspired:
Petty looked back on Thursday, for sure. But he and the Heartbreakers also made the case that they should be considered the most invigorated almost-original-lineup classic rock act touring today. Thursday’s set was a flawless collection of hits from one of the great writers of rock, backed by a band with a near-telepathic relationship to its singer.
Here are some memories of the band's last three concerts at the Bowl.
Tom Petty to fans at his final Hollywood Bowl concert: "I want to thank you for 40 years of a really great time." https://t.co/2icjzbe4In pic.twitter.com/ZIBeTKVwF6
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 2, 2017
Tom Petty’s performances at Hollywood Bowl were epic. Took this photo at his penultimate concert. pic.twitter.com/jmEP0loaUd
— George Knapp (@g_knapp) October 2, 2017
Petty opened the show on the 25th (the last show) with the classic 1976 hit "Rockin' Around (With You)":
Here's "Free Fallin'":
Petty and the Heartbreakers' encore that night included "You Wreck Me" and, of course, "American Girl":
And here's the setlist for what would be Petty's final show:
1. Rockin' Around
2. Mary Jane's Last Dance
3. You Don't Know How It Feels
4. Forgotten Man
5. I Won't Back Down
6. Free Fallin'
7. Breakdown
8. Don't Come Around Here No More
9. It's Good to Be King
10. Crawling Back to You
11. Wildflowers
12. Learning to Fly
13. Yer So Bad
14. I Should Have Known It
15. Refugee
16. Runnin' Down a Dream
Encore:
17. You Wreck Me
18. American Girl