John Fogerty: 9/25/2021

I had seen John Fogerty about 35 years ago, and I confess it was not my finest hour. What I do remember I would rather forget. Which is why I decided to catch him on this tour, especially since I had heard he was playing mostly Creedence Clearwater Revival material (completely absent in the 1980s).

My wife and I arrived at the Mountain Winery with enough time to check out the merchandise before the show. I will only buy something if it is really cool and not exorbitant. I did find a cool tie-dye, which I picked up.

Our seats were kind of crappy. The section we were in was straight back, which was fine, but they were reserved bleacher seats, so it was a little too packed for my comfort. But I donned my mask and sat on the bench like I was in high school or something.

Fogerty came out and kicked right into “Up Around the Bend,” a good choice for an opener. After that, it was lots of CCR, with only four solo tunes. The band was really high-energy and featured two of Fogerty’s sons, who were solid musicians and not just riding dad’s coattails.

While Fogerty’s vocals were great, what really impressed me was his guitar work. His solos were really really hot. For a guy in his 70s, he could still tear up a guitar solo.

The only down-side about this concert was the crowd. No one was standing and rockin’. I kept wanting to get up and dance, but literally everyone was in their seats. It wasn’t until the last two songs that I finally got to stand up and jam. But other than that, it was a kick-ass show.

Anyway, here is the setlist and a couple pictures. Keep on Chooglin’!

Setlist:

• Up Around the Bend
• Green River
• Susie Q
• Born on the Bayou
• Who’ll Stop the Rain
• Lookin’ Out My Back Door
• Lodi
• Run Through the Jungle
• Hot Rod Heart
• Weeping in the Promised Land
• I Heard It Through the Grapevine
• Good Golly Miss Molly
• Keep On Chooglin’
• Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
• Down on the Corner
• Centerfield
• The Old Man Down the Road
• Fortunate Son
• Bad Moon Rising
• Proud Mary

Def Leppard and Ratt: 5/20/1983

I had seen Def Leppard open for Ozzy on the Blizzard of Ozz tour, which was cool. But “Pyromania” was the band’s mega-album, so this was a tour worth seeing.

My girlfriend at the time really wanted to go to the show, and I was totally down for it, especially for $10. I thought “Pyromania” was a great album, even though I could tell the band was going down the commercial pathway. And I was right, and to date, this would be my last time seeing them live.

I had no recollection of the opening act, but according to what I found online, Ratt was the opener. Hah! I went most of my life thinking I had avoided seeing Ratt in concert. I suppose it’s another band I can now check off the list.

Def Leppard definitely rocked. This show was a long time ago, so many of the details are gone, but I remember parts of it vividly, including the kick-ass version of Creedence’s “Travelin’ Band.” Glad I got to see them at their peak. Rock on!!

Setlist:

• Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)
• Rock Brigade
• High & Dry (Saturday Night)
• Another Hit and Run
• Billy’s Got a Gun
• Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)
• Foolin’
• Photograph
• Rock of Ages
• Bringin’ on the Heartbreak
• Switch 625
• Guitar Solo
• Let It Go
• Guitar Solo
• Wasted
• Stagefright
• Travelin’ Band

John Fogerty: 10/22/1986

This was one of those embarrassing memories. I was pretty psyched to see John Fogerty, but unfortunately, none of my friends shared my enthusiasm, so I ended up going by myself. Since I was alone and bored before the show, I spent a little more money at the beverage booth than I probably should have. The first act came on, and I became very aware of that certain unease in my stomach, so I made a rapid dash to the bathroom and actually made it into a stall (which thankfully was clean). After getting quite sick, I made it back to my seat and sat there alone, not feeling all that well.

Fogerty came out, and he sounded good. I remember hearing about five songs, and then the next thing I knew, I was being awoken by a man with a broom, the harsh lights jarring my brain: “Time to go home. Concert’s over.” I looked around and I was the last person there, except for the staff cleaning up. I dragged myself out of the venue and went to the bus stop. I tried to console myself with the fact that I did get to see a few songs, but honestly, I was feeling pretty depressed about the whole affair.

Oh well, these things happened at concerts back in the day.