Everybody wins with John Fogerty’s victory-lap performance

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This article was published 19/11/2014 (4069 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Before John Fogerty appeared onstage at the MTS Centre Wednesday night, he appeared onscreen, narrating a 15-minute, pre-show documentary about 1969, the year he was about to revisit.

Indeed, it was a landmark, almost unbelievable year in music history. The Who’s Tommy, the Beatles’ Abbey Road, the Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed, Led Zeppelin’s Led Zeppelin (and Led Zeppelin II), the Stooges’ self-titled debut, the Velvet Underground’s eponymous third album and David Bowie’s Space Oddity were just a small sampling of the now-iconic, genre-defining albums that came out in 1969. It was also, of course, a banner year for a California rock band by the name of Creedence Clearwater Revival and a young singer/songwriter named John Fogerty, who penned not one, but three hit records in 1969: Bayou Country, Green River and Willy and the Poor Boys.

Now 69, Fogerty is on a well-earned victory lap, revisiting CCR’s trifecta and “reliving some great rock ’n’ roll,” in his words. The phrase “nostalgia act” is usually thrown around as a pejorative — I’m guilty as charged — but really, if the music is still great, and the artist’s still got it, who cares? For those fans who actually remember 1969 (however hazily), it was doubtless a fond walk down memory lane. For those fans who discovered CCR via their parents’ dusty vinyl record collection decades later, it was a chance to see some CCR deep cuts live. Everybody wins.

The show, which ran slightly more than two hours, opened with a slick little sight trick. A vintage video clip of CCR (well, Fogerty mostly) performing Born on the Bayou was projected onto a curtain that dropped to reveal the live band. From there, Fogerty dove right into a trio of cuts from 1970’s Cosmo’s Factory — Travelin’ Band, Up Around the Bend and Who’ll Stop the Rain — establishing early on that he wouldn’t be too hemmed-in by the loose 1969 theme. The man clearly takes care of himself and his voice; he sounds damn-near close to his recorded counterparts. He’s also a hell of a guitarist, really digging into the scorching solos on songs such as Sweet Hitch-Hiker, from 1972’s Mardi Gras. A rollicking Lookin’ Out My Back Door followed.

Thanks to the three-quarter bowl configuration, the show felt appropriately intimate. The stage setup was spare, but made good use of screens. Fogerty, dressed in a blue-checked shirt and indigo jeans, cracked many adorable dad jokes, including one about how his guitar collection pales in comparison to his wife’s shoe collection. He introduced us to some of his most cherished guitars — his cherry-red Fender Telecaster, his Rickenbacker — before grabbing his brand-new signature blue-plaid Les Paul, which he strapped on for a soulful cover of Lead Belly’s Midnight Special. That wasn’t the night’s only cover; the band also did a fun, hip-swivelling rendition of Gary U.S. Bond’s New Orleans. (He snuck in some solo material as well, including an early set performance of the sweet, breezy love song Joy of My Life, which was written for his wife, Julie.)

But the meat and potatoes of the set came from CCR’s catalogue. Fogerty’s son Shane — also a gifted guitarist — joined him on the B-stage for Lodi; later, an energetic Ramble Tamble and a gorgeous Long As I Can See the Light (Fogerty sat at the piano for that one) emerged as main-set highlights, the latter eliciting the biggest crowd reaction of the night.

Fogerty’s band is force — particularly drummer Kenny Aronoff, who has sat behind the kit for everyone from John Mellencamp to Elton John, and who was a thrill to watch. Keyboardist Bob Malone was also a star; his sprawling solos on I Heard It Through The Grapevine were a lesson in dexterity and stamina. (He also looks like he’s having so much fun.)

He saved the big ones for near-last. Bad Moon Rising and Down on the Corner — which had the floor clapping along — appeared late in the main set, as did Centerfield, his delightfully cornball baseball-themed comeback single from 1985. The main set closed with some light pyro and a hard-charging (but kind of anti-climactic) Fortunate Son, arguably Fogerty’s most enduring (and most covered) song.

But he wasn’t done with us yet, returning to the stage for Have You Ever Seen the Rain? — which featured much enthusiastic crowd participation — and, naturally, the inimitable Proud Mary.

And the smile never left Fogerty’s face.

 

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca