Fogerty Flashes Fire on the Long Road Home

John Fogerty's concert at the Greek Theatre was a testament to the relevance of an incredible library of songs that have stood the test of time. From the rocking "Travelin' Band" to the timeless tune about that riverboat queen "Proud Mary," the show had the majority of the audience up and dancing at various points during the show. I could complain about various audience members who are typical of an L.A. crowd but I won't because, for the most part they were lively and energetic.

The 25+ song set consisted of the proverbial classics such as "Bad Moon Rising" and "Have You Ever Seen The Rain." which he described as a happy song at this stage of his life instead of a sad song as it was apparently written about the turmoil going on in CCR at the verge of the group's breakup. A pleasant surprise was the the resurfacing of the fairly obscure "Ramble Tamble" from the 1971 album "Cosmo's Factory." I tell you the changing tempos from upbeat to slow rocking are what make this song such a great live nugget.

And of course he played well-known solo works such as "Old Man Down The Road," "Rock 'n Roll Girls" and "De Ja Vu All Over Again," where he compares the Viet Nam war to the war going on in Iraq.

Aside from the plethora of incredible songs let's not forget the band. They were incredibly tight and the sound was clear. There's nothing worse than not being able to decipher what's being sung or said. My husband and I sat on the side terrace of the theater in the back and we could hear every word and note as clear as day. Aside from John, one star really shined and that was well-known drummer Kenny Aronoff, known for playing with countless famous musicians, most notably John Mellencamp. I was incredibly stoked to find out that he was going to drum for John once again. His fast-paced drumming style is incredible to watch. He never misses a beat and he proved that on this night. A testament to the incredible workout he gets during his non-stop two-hour performance was the presence of a big white towel to wipe off all the sweat from two hours of non-stop high-energy drumming. At the end of the show he held it up as if to say "I surrender" and thank you for letting me set the rhythmn tonight.

In a nutshell: It ROCKED!!

photo by Tom Mendoza/Daily News

John performs is next show tonight at the Santa Barbara County Bowl
Tickets available at www.ticketmaster.com.