For Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer John Fogerty, the world of music -- whether it be writing, playing his guitar or singing to an audience -- can act as a fountain of youth; one that's bubbling in a joy that he recently rediscovered.
Thursday night at the Riverside Theater, the former CCR frontman defied his 64 years and provided the crowd with a jaw-dropping rock and roll show. Over his two-and-a-half-hour set, he led his Blue Ridge Rangers band through a non-stop adventure through his storied catalog, never losing a drop of his overflowing energy.
Fogerty proved he could still belt out his classics and often he'd do a little rock and roll jump and going as high as high legs would let him. He also knows how to play guitar just as well as he knows how to sing and he showed off his skills on many occasions during the night.
While rock and roll was the main special of the night with CCR and Fogerty hits like "Up Around the Bend," "Born on the Bayou" and "Centerfield" making up a good portion of the set, the band interspersed a handful of songs from Fogerty's latest album, "The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again." This provided for a diverse set, as those songs were a little more country-bluegrass than the rest of his catalog.
But while I do like the new material (including "When Will I Be Loved") the band really excelled at capturing the magic of Fogerty's time-tested hits. With Fogerty leading a stellar cast of musicians, the crowd found itself treated to powerful and moving renditions like "Fortunate Son" and "(I Wish I Could) Hideaway." Fogerty's joy in music became the crowd's joy as big applause followed every song.
During many of the songs Fogerty left the microphone to walk around the stage and sometimes would interact with the crowd. Watching his recent "Live by Request" show, at which he and the band played fan requests, it's apparent how generous he is and one lucky fan's request for CCR's "Cotton Fields" was granted last night.
Fogerty seemed to effortlessly rattle off one hit after another, making sure he made every song the best it could be and his ability to maintain a high energy level left us in awe.
At one point during "Hideaway" Fogerty and five of his bandmates walked slowly, playing their guitars, conjuring an image of gunslingers. In a way, Fogerty is like one in that he can still fire out the hits with precision and doesn't let age slow him down.
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