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 (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) |
TORONTO - Nearly 35 years after their last gig together, Creedence Clearwater Revival is a classic rock radio staple. But last night at Toronto’s Molson Amphitheatre which was roughly half-full for the seated area, John Fogerty brought those horde of hits back to life for a rousing set of roughly two dozen gems.
The singer, who will be putting out a new studio album Revival in September, relied on songs that he wrote during the late ’60s and early ’70s to carry much of the evening, including the rollicking opener Travelin’ Band.
Supported by a tight five-piece band that included drummer Kenny Aronoff and guitarist Billy Burnette, Fogerty plowed through the song in much the same manner he would throughout the night. Of course it’s easy to do considering most of the songs were recorded at a time when radio looked down at songs over three minutes, so fans were left with sweet two-minute nuggets such as Who’ll Stop The Rain and Lookin’ Out My Backdoor, the latter of which produced a decent sing-along.
“Thank you! God bless you!” Fogerty said early on. “I’m not here to talk, I’m here to rock and roll.” And that he did, quickly immersing himself into Green River which had the younger fans on their feet. Another early highlight was It Came Out of the Sky, a Sun Studios-ish tune that sounded as if it came from the catalogue of either Jerry Lee Lewis or Carl Perkins.
Fogerty rarely faltered throughout the night and shined during Lodi, a tune he dedicated to a 6-year-old “geetah player” named Ryan he met earlier in the evening. The mid-tempo ditty, however, was head and shoulders above the train-chugging I Will Walk With You which Fogerty said was his favourite song he ever wrote. Apparently many begged to differ and took it as an opportunity to hit the beer stands or washrooms.
Hopefully they returned in time for a rousing rocker entitled Ramble Tamble. Here Fogerty and Aronoff fed off each other throughout the winding, psychedelic-tinged track. It was the first of many times the singer let his supporting cast take the spotlight.
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Following Bootleg which featured the guitarists walking in unison towards the lip of the stage, Fogerty briefly turned serious by discussing the current U.S. war in Iraq. “It looks like we’re doing the same damn thing all over again,” he said before performing Deja Vu as images of flag-draped coffins were shown on video screens.
But after that, it was basically one hit tune after another after another starting with Have You Ever Seen the Rain which evoked a large and loud sing-along that nearly drowned out Fogerty. The lone exception for the lengthy homestretch might have been Don’t You Wish it Was True, a track from his upcoming record.
Nonetheless, Fogerty was born to boogie and did just that for Keep on Chooglin’ that had him on guitar and harmonica. The rather groovy roots rock tune Down on the Corner also took things up a notch as did Centerfield that had Fogerty playing a guitar that looked like a Louisville Slugger baseball bat.
To round out the evening, Fogerty doled out the signature songs such as Bad Moon Rising, Proud Mary and Fortunate Son. And by then most left feeling quite pleased.
Another blast from the past also opened up the show in ’80s rock band The Payola$. Singer Paul Hyde and guitarist Bob Rock were a good match for Fogerty with songs like Eyes of a Stranger, Dirty Water and a new song Bomb.