It was one of the best shows I've seen in years and probably ranks among my top 10 ever. I've wanted to see John Fogerty since about 1972. He's kept himself and his voice in great form and he plays his own lead guitar licks, surrounded by a hot band of pros.
If you knew anything about this guy's history - not just his Creedence and solo career, but about the heartbreak of his estrangement from his former bandmates and all the legal troubles that made him avoid singing, playing or hearing CCR music, then you could not help but look at this guy onstage and think "He looks so happy, like he's having so much fun". It was a fairly short set of perhaps 100 minutes or so, and Alicia and I (and the
guys - Raymond and Dick - and our friend Denise) listened to the last couple songs in one of the Rodeo clubs, watching on screen. Alicia and I danced to the closing number, Proud Mary.
If John comes to your town, it's a good bet you won't be sorry you went to the show.
From the
Chronicle:
All John Fogerty needed to kick off his
RodeoHouston set was a simple count-off.
No slick videos, booming voices or flashing lights marked his (slightly) early entry Wednesday night inside Reliant Stadium. Just a couple of drumstick hits, and he was onstage.
It was the perfect beginning to his no-frills, all-thrills set, which was anchored by jangly guitar work and his enthusiatic, engaging stage banter.
He introduced several songs with nuggets of trivia. Green River, he said, was an ode to his childhood. And he claimed to have written the simple, effective Who'll Stop The Rain after attending Woodstock.
Fogerty looked great in button-down black, shaking his sandy-blonde hair to the furious strains of kickoff tune Good Golly Miss Molly. He sounded terrific, too, and strapped on a series of colorful guitars throughout his set. Red was switched to yellow, green and black, among other colors.
With such a wealth of material to choose from, Fogerty managed a savvy balance of solo hits and Creedence Clearwater Revival classics. The clap-clap arrangement of Centerfield kept the energy up, as did the powerful strains of Up Around The Bend and Keep On Chooglin', which turned into a searing showcase for the entire band.
CCR's Lookin' Out My Backdoor sent bristles of excitement through the crowd. And the mood turned bluesy, sly and downright sexy during Born On The Bayou and Midnight Special.
Forgerty donned a cowboy hat during the nostalgic strains of Broken Down Cowboy, a tribute to "those bad ol' days" that he said ranks among his favorite songs.
Heads bopped and hips swayed to the yearning chorus of Have You Ever Seen The Rain. Not tonight, the crowd seemed to say. Just a few welcome bolts of real rock electricty.
