Considering Bluesfest ended and we needed some more rock, it was a good thing that we picked up tickets to see John Fogerty when he came into town!
From Wikipedia:
John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock or roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival.
That’s right, we went to see the main man from CCR! I was stoked. Out of all the old greats out there – Zeppelin, Floyd, the Stones, I would have to say that CCR is my fave.
Mike’s parents came down for the event and we headed out to the Scotiabank Place after a good BBQ. When we got into the Place, we showed his parents to their section 106 (as they had picked up tickets at a different time than we did) and Mike and I headed down to the floor.
We had Row 5 seats and in my mind I thought “Hey, that’s pretty close.” but it wasn’t until Mike kept walking, and walking and WALKING up to the stage that my mind imploded with the sheer distance to the stage. When we got down there the Jim Cuddy Band was in full force getting into a little Five Days in May with a wicked violin solo. Back to Row 5 talk here, Row 5 was so close. I could take 3 giant steps and be at the stage. I was in awe. Mike was in awe. We have never been this close. Jim Cuddy’s sweat was hitting me.
We only got to see 20 minutes of Jim Cuddy before he left the stage. I recommend his solo work as well as the Blue Rodeo stuff.
We then headed to get another beer and found out that in Section 106, there were two other groups from Kapuskasing that both took a pilot’s course with Mike’s dad! Talk about a small world! This reminds me of the time we went to see Pearl Jam and there were three separate groups from Kapuskasing in the same section. We are talking about an arena of 15,000 people!
I was concerned with the fact that ONCE AGAIN, Mike and I would be the only people standing up in the crowd, but those fears were laid to rest when we sat next to some guys who declared they would stand up for the entire show. PLUS, they rushed the stage when Fogerty got up there. Security was so relaxed at this concert. There were so many people who rushed the stage. THIS is what a rock concert is about!
John Fogerty and band came to the stage in what must be his official tour outfit – a plaid shirt and a red handkerchief (they were also selling this outfit for $60 at the merchandise booth). He ripped right into Travelin’ Band and I knew it was going to be the most amazing night ever. The setlist was enormous but that’s what you get from a guy who can write the catchiest tune in under 2 minutes.
The hits didn’t stop coming. Here’s the setlist:
Setlist:
Travelin’ Band
Green River
Who’ll Stop The Rain
It Came Out Of The Sky
Born On The Bayou
Lookin’ Out My Backdoor
Lodi
I Will Walk With You
Ramble Tamble
Midnight Special
Bootleg
I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Have You Ever Seen The Rain
Don’t You Wish It Was True
Keep On Chooglin’
Down On The Corner (with Shane & Tyler Fogerty)
Rock And Roll Girls
Centerfield
Good Golly Miss Molly
Old Man Down The Road
Up Around The Bend
Fortunate Son
Bad Moon Rising
Proud Mary
Blue Suede Shoes
Long Tall Sally
The night became a blur filled with rocking tunes and beer. Mike and I were in awe of the performance the entire night. For a sixty-one year old, this guy has more energy than you and I combined. I would definitely have to say that this was THE concert to see in the past year in Ottawa.
Highlights:
– Midnight Special. Man, I dig that tune.
– I think he came out for a second encore that usually doesn’t happen (as seen from other setlists) and he played some Blue Suede Shoes and Long Tall Sally. Sweet!
– Considering the distance from the stage, I got some pretty good performance videos. I was always pre-emptively hitting the start button in fear that I would miss the beginning of Fortunate Son (only the best CCR tune ever, natch). I ended up getting that plus a few others.
– Either his kids or his grandkids were on the stage with him during Down on the Corner. It was funny watching them play guitar as they did not seem phased at all playing in front of a huge crowd. In fact, they looked bored. I suppose that’s what happens if you’ve seen your Dad/Grandpa play all the time.
– I like how I was going up to the stage to get a picture but some guy thought I wanted a picture with him instead. He was a cool guy so I graced him with my presence (although he was probably thinking the same thing)
Sigh…that will probably go down in history as one of the better concerts I’ve seen. I wish everyone could have been there. If you have a chance to see John Fogerty live, do it now.
****
That night when we got home, we had a couple pieces of pie and I swear that made me hallucinate during the night. I couldn’t fall asleep for the longest time and when I awoke at one point I had this hallucination that I wasn’t in my own bedroom! I thought I was in some craft of sorts with some portholes and I felt my wall and it felt like steel. I closed my eyes for a few moments and when I opened t
hem I still saw the portholes but then I realized that they were just my windows and I was sleeping on a different angle on my bed. So instead of my body laying top to bottom, I was laying side to side which must have messed up my brain. Whew! No one kidnapped me after the concert!