Review | John Fogerty — and the Audience — Feel Like the Fortunate Ones

There are certain old rockers where there’s no need to grade on a curve, and John Fogerty certainly falls into that timeless category.

At age 79, he’s still visibly — and audibly — psyched to be on stage, especially after finally winning a 50-year legal battle in 2023 for the global rights to the music he wrote as the founding member of Creedence Clearwater Revival (see news reports here and here). It was a feel good evening all around as Fogerty was here performing with his sons, Shane and Tyler Fogerty, both guitarists and vocalists who opened the September 1 Santa Barbara Bowl show with their psychedelic rock band Hearty Har.

George Thorogood & The Destroyers also played a solid set of their hits before proud papa Fogerty Senior came on stage and waxed rhapsodically about how stoked he was to be performing the family owned songs alongside his family. Then he proceeded to shred through the catalog of Creedence Clearwater hits with the energy of a man half his age. In fine form, the band started with “Bad Moon Rising,” “Up Around the Bend,” and “Green River.” 

Then Fogerty shared his excitement again, saying, “I just got my songs back and I’m gonna play every one of them for you,” before launching into the familiar twang of “Born on the Bayou.”

Deservedly hailed as one of the most influential musicians in rock history, Fogerty was in a sweetly sentimental mood on stage as, in a preamble to one of his most famous songs, he told us that the guitar in his hands — recently returned to him thanks to the considerable efforts of his wife/manager Julie — was the one he played with at Woodstock. The story was told against the background of some video footage of what is perhaps still the most iconic rock concert ever. It was the middle of the night, Fogerty shared, his girlfriend had left him, and a dog bit him (or so he said) and he went on “to write this song on this very guitar.” 

The song, of course, was “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” and hearing Fogerty play it live truly felt like he was giving us a gift of a piece of rock ‘n’ roll history. The great guitar intro to “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” was up next, followed by a nice saxophone section on “Rock and Roll Girls,” and the psychedelic sounds of “Effigy.” The sentimental “Joy of My Life” which Fogerty wrote in honor of he and Julie’s 33rd anniversary was an interesting, if a bit odd, juxtaposition with the Golliwogs song “Fight Fire,” which he explained was written in response to the British Invasion, an era in which Creedence was “told to play mod.” These guys really were around for a long, long time. 

Videos that looked like aliens accompanied “It Came out of the Sky.” “Long as I Can See the Light” was up next, followed by a cover of Gladys Knight & the Pips’ “Heard It through the Grapevine.” Another impressive electric guitar solo on “Keep on Chooglin’” led into the iconic “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” — which got the entire Bowl audience out of our seats and singing along. Rain is obviously a good muse for Fogerty and his very tight band, which, in addition to his sons, also included Ritchie Millsap on drums, Jesse Wilson on the big bass, and Bob Malone on keyboards.  

Next up was the baseball ditty “Centerfield,” then “Down on the Corner,” “The Old Man Down the Road,” and “Fortunate Son.” Fogerty reflected, “I wrote those songs years ago, except for Grapevine,” and thanks to my “relentless wife” it’s so great to play them again. 

They called this the “Worldwide Celebration Tour,” and it certainly felt like it that night. Fogerty’s enthusiasm and happiness was so infectious, even the most cynical among us would have a hard time not responding to it. And it truly was great to hear those songs again, including the encore, where they played “Travelin’ Band” and “Proud Mary,” the Tina Turner hit that was originally written by Fogerty for Creedence Clearwater Revival. 

John Fogerty is one classic rocker who is still driven to entertain an audience with gusto, and being there to experience it made for a truly memorable night.