John Fogerty (Anil Mungal, Special to QMI Agency)

Classic American rock ‘n’ roll was served up in two wildly different speeds on Saturday night at the Rexall Centre as two music legends - The Band’s drummer-singer Levon Helm and Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty - shared the stage one after the other.

Helm, the much more fragile and older looking of the two musicians, as a throat cancer survivor now at age 71, delivered a gentler, if still memorable 90-minute opening set starting with The Band’s The Shape I’m In and Long Black Veil.

Backed by 10 musicians including a lively five-man horn section, he often let his bandmates handle lead vocals with band leader-guitarist Larry Campbell and singer Teresa Williams getting special shoutouts for their work on The Band’s Chest Fever and Blind Willie McTell, and the feverish gospel number, Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning, respectively, although Helm occasionally took over, starting with Ophelia much to the delight of the audience.

Helm, who has been a frequent visitor to Toronto in the last two years with three visits (the last two at Massey Hall), also played mandolin for a couple of songs and even attempted a few wild dance moves from his stool.

And he was briefly upstage by his dog Muddy, who wandered on stage between songs, before the standout show-ending The Weight.

“He’s a good boy!” said Helm, always a smiling and spiritual presence despite his slight frame hanging in his usual dress shirt and black track pants ensemble.

It was also cool to see most if not all of Fogerty’s band hanging at the back of the stage during Helm’s set observing and paying their respects to the great drummer-singer.

Then came the Energizer Bunny that is Fogerty who doesn’t act, sound, or play like the senior citizen his is.

Try more like someone a third of his age.

Energetic, wired, and vital, it took the audience a good hour to catch up to the 66-year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist’s speed as he fired off one Creedence hit after the other, along with solo standouts Hot Rod Heart, Rock and Roll Girls, Centrefield and Old Man Down The Road, and a cover of Roy Orbison’s Pretty Woman in his 90-minute set, barely pausing long enough to talk to the audience.

Backed by a five-piece band, including muscular drummer Kenny Aronoff, and cool looking rockabilly guitarists Hunter Perrin and James Intveld - they often raised their instruments in the air at the same time - Fogerty was simply a physical wonder to behold.

He opened strong with the CCR quintuple-shot of Hey Tonight, Green River, Lookin’ Out My Back Door, Born On The Bayou, and Ramble Tamble with some fierce guitar playing on his part and a powerful, booming voice that defied his time on the planet.

Also good were other Creedence gems like Long As I Can See The Light and Have You Ever Seen The Rain but it was when he trotted out Down On The Corner, that the audience finally stood up, danced and rushed the stage and remained there for the last 30 minutes of the show. Further CCR classics as Bad Moon Rising, Fortunate Son, Up Around The Bend and Proud Mary kept their hips wiggling, hands clapping, and mouths open in unison in song.

The fans, meanwhile, were surprisingly small in numbers given the hot summer night temperatures offset by a gentle cool breeze and the presence of two respected musicians - would you believe only 4,000? - but they were also passionate and loud as they repeatedly approached the stage during both Helm and Fogerty’s individual sets to either declare their love or take pictures or video before being chased off.

It was a nightlong ritual by mainly older male fans that never really let up much to the amusement/slash/horror of other audience members and the frustration of security guards.

JOHN FOGERTY SET LIST:

Hey Tonight

Green River

Lookin’ Out My Back Door

Born On The Bayou

Ramble Tamble

Somebody Help Me

Midnight Special

Gunslinger

Don’t You Wish It Was True

Long As I Can See The Light

Hot Rod Heart

Have You Ever Seen The Rain

Pretty Woman

Keep On Chooglin’

Rock and Roll Girls

Down On The Corner

Centrefield

Old Man Down The Road

Bad Moon Rising

Fortunate Son

Up Around the Bend

Proud Mary