John Fogerty
House of Blues, Sunset Strip
Wednesday, February 7th

Anyone who went to John Fogerty’s show last Wednesday (February 7th) at the L.A. House of Blues expecting a duplicate of his DVD and CD, “The Long Road Home–The Concert”, surely came away surprised–bigtime. The Creedence Clearwater Revival legend didn’t just tear it up at the Sunset Strip club–he played SEVEN different songs from those releases–adding up to a markedly different setlist and another concert that was worthy of recording. (Anybody got a soundboard? I’ll pay some bucks here!)

Sure, Fogerty played his CCR and solo hits–part of the great American rock ‘n roll consciousness: The lead off “Travelin’ Band”, “Who’ll Stop the Rain”, “Bad Moon Rising”, “Proud Mary”, “Centerfield”, and so on. And while they were all great, it was the set changes that made a true fan’s special performance, and that’s the way he’s been mixing it up since his various U.S. and European tour dates last year.

He pulled out the long-before-the-X-files wry tale of “It Came Out of the Sky”, a blast of “Commotion”, the rave-up (and down) “Ramble Tamble”, the CCR swampy take on Marvin Gaye’s “Grapevine”, and the band’s version of Ledbelly’s “Midnight Special”. From his mid-’80s solo work, the joyous “Rock ‘n Roll Girls” (originally the charting B-side of “The Old Man Down the Road”, he ripped through a boisterous “Good Golly Miss Molly”.

The most solemn moments came with the anti-war “Deja Vu (All Over Again)”, played solo on acoustic guitar with a video of Vietnam-era clips and footage of Fogerty and his toddler blonde daughter; and a reflective “Have You Ever Seen the Rain”–the audience loudly singing along (as with so many other songs).

His stunner of a band included Billy Burnette and Rick Vito on guitars, and that engine of beat, Kenny Aronoff, back in the drum chair. Fogerty was a legend of song and guitar throughout the night and also sang “Happy Birthday” to his wife. Plus, his teen son, Shane, came out to play some rhythm guitar during “Down on the Corner”, wearing a plaid shirt, just like his father did this night and back in the old days too–a family tradition carried on all on the way.

The concert was part of the House of Blues Visa Signature Series, which also included performances by Tony Bennett, The Fray, and ZZ Top for pre-Grammy week. Cardholders get first shot at tickets, access to roped-off areas inside the club, plus pre-show amenities as well. But even for all regular folk–many of ‘em packin’ the floor–the special magic came from John Fogerty and his band onstage.

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