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

Gary Clark Jr.: 9/14/2021

Gary Clark Jr. has been on my short list of acts I have been wanting to see live. So when I was he was coming to the Mountain Winery, getting tickets was a no-brainer for me. As a guitarist, I am compelled to see as many of the greats as possible, and Gary Clark Jr. is one of the hottest blues guitarists out there right now, in my humble opinion.

We arrived at the venue and there was a good crowd. I checked out the merchandise, thinking I might grab a shirt, but they were pretty drab. Gary may be a great guitarist, but he needs to get a better graphic designer working for him. Just sayin’.

We got our seats, which were kind of on the side of he stage, but they afforded a great view. After a bit, the opening act came out, a rap/hip hop act called Blackillac. While not really my musical genre, they were pretty good. Their forte was their ability to perform freestyle rap, where they basically make it up on the spot. I have to say, I found that impressive. I could not pull of something like that. And the crowd was very supportive of them, which I liked. I know it must be tough being a rap group opening for a blues artist at an upscale venue. I applaud them for pulling it off.

After a brief intermission, Gary took the stage with his band. They sounded great, although personally, I feel that Gary’s guitar could have been a bit louder, especially during his solos. But that is the fault of the person working the soundboard. Still, the show was excellent and Gary’s guitar work did not disappoint in the slightest. He lived up to my expectations, which I confess were fairly high.

Blackillac came out and joined Gary Clark Jr. for one of the encore songs, which was ok. I guess since Gary produced Blackillac, he wanted to help promote them. The evening ending with a killer version of “When My Train Pulls In,” probably my favorite Gary Clark Jr. song. Some great versions of it out on YouTube, if you are unfamiliar.

Anyway, glad I was able to check him off the bucket list. Here is the setlist and a couple pictures.

Setlist:

• Bright Lights
• Feed the Babies
• Next Door Neighbor Blues
• I Walk Alone
• Hold On
• Our Love
• When I’m Gone
• You Saved Me
• Feelin’ Like a Million
• Low Down Rolling Stone
• Gotta Get Into Something
• Pearl Cadillac

Encore:

• The Guitar Man (with Blackillac)
• I Got My Eyes on You (Locked & Loaded)
• When My Train Pulls In

Rufus Wainwright and Aimee Mann: 9/12/2021

So I have to confess that this concert was not high on my list of shows I wanted to attend, basically because I did not know much of Rufus Wainwright’s music, and because I had seen Aimee Mann twice, once solo and once with Til Tuesday. But my wife wanted to go, so I got tickets.

Aimee Mann opened the show, and she was as cool as always. I really like her music a lot. Her set was fairly short and included some songs from her upcoming album, which is music she wrote for a musical version of “Girl, Interrupted.”

After a brief intermission, Rufus took the stage in some pretty colorful attire, which included some bright red sequined shoes which would have served Dorothy well while in Oz. His songs were well-written and he sounded great, but it was definitely a laid-back show. There was no dancing or anything like that. But I liked it. High point for me personally was when he performed a cover version of Neil Young’s “Harvest.” Being a huge Neil Young fan, that one spoke to me.

Anyway, here are the setlists for those who are interested.

Aimee Mann Setlist:

• You Fall
• I See You
• Patient Zero
• Rollercoasters
• The Moth
• Little Bombs
• Suicide is Murder
• Save Me
• I Can’t Help You Anymore
• Video
• Lost in Space
• King of the Jailhouse

Rufus Wainwright Setlist:

• Trouble in Paradise
• Damsel in Distress
• Unfollow the Rules
• You Ain’t Big
• Secret Sister
• Romantical Man
• Peaceful Afternoon
• Only the People That Love
• This One’s for the Ladies (THAT LUNGE!)
• Poses
• Argentina
• Harvest
• So Long, Marianne
• My Little You
• Early Morning Madness
• Hatred
• Alone Time
• Going to a Town

Ziggy Marley: 9/10/2021

This was my first concert at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga. Ever since moving out here to California, people have been telling me that this is an amazing place to see a concert. An intimate 2500 seat outdoor amphitheater situated atop a mountain with spectacular views of the surrounding area, it really is a magical place for a concert.

When they announced the lineup for this year’s shows, there were many great options, so my wife and I decided we would each choose two concerts, and this was one my wife picked. I had seen Ziggy Marley many years ago as an opening act at a larger concert, and he was good (from what I can remember). But this show was fantastic.

First off, it was made clear that this was a tribute to his father, Bob Marley, and that they would be performing only songs from Bob Marley’s vast repertoire. That was a big plus for me. While I like reggae music, I am not a huge fan, but I do really like Bob Marley’s music.

We arrived at the venue and got our seats, which were fairly close, but immediately I realized that there is not a bad seat in the house. If I were in the last row, it would still be a good seat. After a somewhat long wait (it did not start on time), Ziggy and the band took the stage. He quickly announced to the audience that his brother Stephen Marley would be performing with them. Then they kicked right into the music.

The crowd was really responsive, and most everyone was up and dancing for the entire show, which felt great. It was almost like dancing away the negativity from the past 18 months and replacing it with “Positive Vibration.” It was so much fun and just what my soul needed.

Here is the full setlist, and I am including a few pictures from the show. Thanks for stopping by, and keep on jammin’.

Setlist:

• Nice Time
• Positive Vibration
• Jamming
• Burnin’ and Lootin’
• Three Little Birds
• Stir It Up
• No Woman, No Cry
• Get Up, Stand Up
• War / No More Trouble
• One Love / People Get Ready
• Coming in From the Cold
• Iron Lion Zion
• Running Away / Crazy Baldhead
• Is This Love
• Exodus
• Could You Be Loved

Encore:

• I Shot the Sheriff
• Lively Up Yourself
• Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)