John Fogerty
Nokia Theater, Los Angeles
November 23rd

John Fogerty brought his great American rock songbook to the new Nokia Theater at the AEG L.A. Live complex (still being developed) in downtown Los Angeles on Friday (November 23rd), while also showcasing new material from his fine new album, “Revival.”

The venue, which certainly has great acoustics, is a tad large, at least if you’re sitting in the back (or also, probably, the balcony). It’s more like a small version of an area from that distance, and you may find yourself watching the video screens more than the stage. However, I bet it’s all good in the first part of that orchestra section.

Backed by a crack band that includes the amazing Kenny Aronoff on drums and Billy Burnette as one of the guitarists, in addition to Fogerty’s own distinctive playing, the songs all sounded full-bodied and rich, though Fogerty suffered some frog-in-throat vocal troubles about halfway through the show.

Fogerty’s musical life circles with “Revival”–his first studio set in nearly 35 years for the Fantasy label–original home to Creedence Clearwater Revival in the ’60s and early ’70s. The new material worked well alongside the classics and such, but the pacing and general set order could’ve been more powerful and came off a bit haphazard at times.

This isn’t to say his full charge out the gate with “Good Golly Miss Molly” followed by “Bad Moon Rising” was a one-two punch opener; it was.
And the extended workouts of “Ramble Tamble” and later, “Keep on Chooglin’” were exhilarating, as he went deep into his legacy for those album tracks.

But placing some of the new songs in context with the old or other recent recordings would’ve been more effective, such as if he’d followed the anti-war “Deja Vu (All Over Again)” with “Gunslinger” (a song he introduced as being about the need for real leadership in this nation) and then “Who’ll Stop the Rain.”

The ranting “I Can’t Take It No More” could’ve been paired with the ever-searing “Fortunate Son.”

Yet still there were moments of smiles and bliss, from the Buddy Holly-like, wishful, new “Don’t You Wish It Was True” to the bittersweet “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” as well as a joyous “Up Around the Bend,” with Fogerty’s two teen boys joining in on guitars.

While his voice went ragged on him, Fogerty apologized several times and pressed on–a true trooper and legend, as his big wheel of songwriting keeps turning and his performances keep on boingin’, while we all still go rollin’ on a rock ‘n’ roll river.

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