“I ain’t here to talk, I’m here to rock n’ roll. Hand me my guitar!” John Fogerty was true to his word, punching out a 2 hour plus concert to the crowd at the MTS Centre.
Few artists have such an instantly recognizable voice. Fewer yet have crafted such a huge back catalogue of classics songs with equally recognizable guitar licks. John paraded them out one by one last night, much to the delight of the Winnipeg crowd.
There was no warm up act, no jumbotrons nor a lot of stage trappings. Fogerty likes his stage setting simple and the focus kept on the music, allowing his infectious brand of bayou, blues, and country infused rock n’ roll to speak for him.
John opened with Rockin’ All Over the World and immediately followed with Bad Moon Rising, which earned him an immediate and sustained standing ovation from those on the floor. They never sat down again for the rest of the show.
Though Fogerty recently celebrated his 64th birthday (slyly shuffling through a few bars of the Lennon/McCartney Sgt Pepper classic When I’m 64 and quipping that “the good part of being a senior was that he could get into movies real cheap”), he played, sang and put out more energy than a good many musicians half his age. His voice has lost none of its range or power.
In fact, he still looks only half his age. Perhaps that can be attributed to a happy family life that seems to nicely balance his life on the road. John is clearly a family man. He dedicated a song to his wife, and even trotted out a picture his son drew for him of Scooby Doo, proudly braying “Ain’t that the best darn picture of Scooby Doo you ever saw?” before launching into a song he declared his personal favorite of all the songs he’d written - Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
Though the crowd came to see Fogerty, John made a point of introducing his entire backing group during the course of the evening. The six piece unit was tight both musically and vocally. Particular kudos go to his rhythm section and fiddle – mandolin player.
Although Fogerty included some well received newer material, including tracks from his acclaimed 2007 CD Revival, it was the vintage Creedence Clearwater Revival material and tracks from his 1985 platinum selling solo album Centerfield that the crowd primarily came to hear and John did not disappoint them, punching out classics like Green River, Looking Out My Back Door, Midnight Special, Born on the Bayou, Centerfield, Keep on Chooglin’, Down on the Corner, Rock N’ Roll Girls, and The Old Man Down the Road.
Fogerty changes his song list up regularly, so the crowd never quite knows exactly what they might hear. It is a testament to the power of his back catalogue that he can elect to eschew such crowd pleasers as Lodi, Run Through the Jungle, Travelling Band, Long As I Can See the Light, Heard It Through the Grapevine, Who’ll Stop the Rain, or Suzie Q (to name just a few) and still deliver a powerful hit filled set.
Of course, some songs are a must. John wrapped up the evening with a blistering version of the CCR classic, Fortunate Son and encored with, Up Around the Bend and Proud Mary, a song as vintage and timeless as Fogerty himself. Keep on rolling John!
