You Got Lucky, Halifax
By Alex Boutilier
Metro Halifax - June 1, 2012

The rock legends made their first ever stop in Nova Scotia on Thursday, bringing three decades worth of tunes to the Maritimes.

"How are you doing tonight?" asked Petty.

One assumes the question was rhetorical, since the crowd had hardly stopped cheering since he took the stage.

"We finally made it to Halifax."

After opening with 1978's "Listen to Her Heart," Petty jumped forward a couple of decades with "You Wreck Me," from 1994's Wildflowers.

But the veteran rocker promised to "dig deep into the albums," moving back to selections from 1979's "Damn the Torpedoes" with "Here Comes My Girl."

The crowd was noticeably more comfortable with the singles, singing along to whatever part of the song they happened to know. Young and old alike crowded the aisles near the stage to dance, clap and sing along.

The crowd really erupted, however, when Petty launched into "Handle Me With Care" - a song he performed with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne as the Traveling Wilburys.

Petty seemed to notice the enthusiasm.

"Excited bunch tonight," he said with a smile.

Everyone was on their feet for Petty's encore, which he opened with "Mary Jane's Last Dance," released in 1993 while Petty was working on "Wildflowers."

Halifax was the first stop after a 26 day touring hiatus for Petty. From here, he heads to St. John's, Newfoundland for two nights before touring Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Great Britain, Amsterdam, and Paris.