Photo Credit: Mike Morgan
Rock N’ Roll legend John Fogerty played the Pacific Amphitheater at the O.C. Fair as part of his “The Celebration Tour” which began back in April 2023. This is Fogerty’s first tour since regaining the rights to his music after decades long battle. Fogerty has played all over the U.S. and a few stops in Europe. CCR’s origins go back to 1959 with John and his brother Tom. The band was renamed CCR in 1967. In their first two years as CCR, they had 14 Top 10 singles in a row and five top 10 albums. The group disbanded in 1972 and only had one reunion since. Three years after Tom Fogerty’s passing the group was inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Although it’s been 52 years since the group disbanded, their music remains very popular today and of the greatest bands in Rock N’ Roll History. Opening the show was Hearty Har which is also Fogerty’s backing band consisting of sons Tyler and Shane both on guitar, Jesse Wilson (bass), Richard Millsap (drums), Nick Stratton (guitar) and Douglas Lamothe (keys).
Fogerty with his band played a 21-song set of CCR and solo hits. Fogerty opened the show with CCR’s “Bad Moon Rising” and continued with hits “Up Around the Bend,” “Green River,” “Born on the Bayou,” “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” and “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” followed by solo hit “Rock N Roll Girls. Fogerty played a number of guitars including his Rickenbacker played at Woodstock which his wife Julie discovered after it went missing 46 years ago. Many songs were written on that guitar including “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” which Fogerty shared the story of writing it after he went home following Woodstock. Fogerty also played his baseball bat guitar for “Centerfield.” Fogerty also took the audience back to pre CCR days with the Golliwogs song “Fight Fire” which Tyler sang. John and Shane traded off guitar solos on “The Old Man Down the Road.” After “Fortunate Son,” Fogerty and his band returned for an encore of “Travelin’ Band” and “Proud Mary.” Fogerty just a year from turning 80 still puts on a very high energy rock show.
There are two shows left including in Salt Lake City, UT and Oct. 19th in Porterville, CA.
