FOGERTY ROCKS
TORONTO

May 30th, 1997

By Jack Bradley
[screen capture by Bruno Berthold]

After this brief rendezvous, everyone headed over to THE GUVERNMENT where John Fogerty was set to play around 8 PM. We were some 4 hours early hoping to get first in line anticipating a chance to get in to the sound check. We saw the limo pull up at around 4:30 PM with John, Julie and Bob Fogerty. Greg approached Bob and mentioned our RR connection. In the meantime, I was interviewed by local TV and all of us got some brief air time. Greg reported that we might be able to get in - all eight of us! About 15 minutes passed and the line was now approaching about 75-100 people. Bob came back out and said something to Greg and lo and behold, all 8 of us got to go inside while security held back the rest of the crowd.

Bob asked us to be still and we stood at the back of the club and listened intently as John belted out some 12 songs during the sound check. Bob talked to us throughout and was more than a gentleman in making us all feel welcome. It was like we all died and went to heaven. Barry was continually pinching himself :) Matt played air guitar to every tune and took notes on the songs played. I snuck over and introduced myself to Julie. She is everything John has said publicly about her. Very pretty. I mentioned our RR connection and she said she had heard about us and even mentioned that "Javier" guy :) I mentioned communicating with Lisa on the mail group and she said that her and Lisa often read the postings. (It was only later that I found out that Lisa talked to Julie and was instrumental in getting us all in - thanks again Lisa). Julie thanks for speaking with me!

Well, they could have said that was the end of the show at the end of the sound check and we all would have gone home happy. A private showing just for the River Rising members. Wow! We all went over after the check and bought souvenirs. None of us were asked to leave so we proceeded to position ourselves front and center during the warm up show. The warm up act was the pits. The only one who seemed to like it was Matt (that should attest to how bizarre he is :-) ) After a grueling hour or so, the crowd got thicker and swelled to around 750 people. Jam packed for this venue. We were joined up front by Brother John and his girlfriend. We managed to meet Alaine and her husband (fellow RR's) who drove some 7 hours to be there. Before leaving Bob Fogerty gave us instructions on meeting John after the show. We keep that news to ourselves!

The show was solid, not a break in the action. The set list was identical to that posted for the shows to date. Here are some of the statistics on the show...

Fogerty in concert: the stats (courtesy of John Sakamoto, The Toronto Sun)

Start time: 8:15 p.m. ET
End time: 10:25 p.m. ET
Total songs: 28
CCR-associated songs:
-16 Songs from the new album,
- Blue Moon Swamp: 8
- Other solo songs: 4
-Songs from Eye Of The Zombie album: 0
- Songs from the Blue Ridge Rangers album: 1
- Songs from the last two CCR studio albums (Pendulum and Mardi Gras): 0

The band: Kenny Aronoff (drums), Bob Glaub (bass), Greg Leisz (guitar), Johnny Lee Schell (guitar)

Complete setlist for John Fogerty, May 30, 1997 at The Guvernment, Toronto

1. Born On The Bayou
2. Green River
3. Lodi (Fogerty: "This is a song inspired by a town in Northern California town where I once ran out of gas.")
4. Lookin' Out My Back Door
5. Suzie Q
6. I Put A Spell On You
7. Bring It Down To Jelly Roll
8. Southern Streamline
9. Who'll Stop The Rain
10. Midnight Special
11. A Hundred And Ten In The Shade
12. Workin' On A Building
13. Joy Of My Life
14. Big Train (From Memphis)
15. Centerfield
16. Down On The Corner (Fogerty: "This is a song about urban renewal.")
17. Swamp River Days
18. Hot Rod Heart
19. Before You Accuse Me
20. Long As I Can See The Light
21. The Old Man Down The Road (Note: Fogerty said earlier in the day that the line "He got a suitcase covered with rattlesnake hide" refers to Saul Zaentz).
22. Blueboy
23. Walking In A Hurricane
24. I Heard It Through The Grapevine
25. Bad Moon Rising 2
26. Fortunate Son
    (Encore)
27. Proud Mary
28. Travelin' Band

John acknowledged our hand made RR signs. He even signed an autograph on the stage for a few people. We all sang Happy Birthday to John and he stood back and smiled as the crowd joined in. His birthday was only 2 days prior. He often laughed and joked with the crowd.

Over two hours of rock! We all sang along. The crowd was primarily around a 30-45 year old gathering but there were some younger fans amongst the group. My hearing took an entire day to come back as I was positioned next to one of the larger speakers. We met up after the show and slowly made our way to the backstage door. During the wait Bob Fogerty came back out and chatted with us. I can't say enough about Bob and his help in meeting John and speaking with us. About an hour after the show was over some 25 people gathered with us to greet the Fogerty's on their way to the limo. John signed at least one autograph for everyone present. He was real approachable and chatty. Matt is still waiting for his John but he did manage to get several pictures. We split up but after the show I managed to meet up with Barry and Teresa and had dinner with them and saw them off to the airport.

The concert was memorable. John, Julie and Bob are great people. John Fogerty continues to be the best there is in my opinion. He sang every song with enthusiasm and a genuine love for the audience. Hope he gets back to Toronto soon.

A special thanks to the River Rising Mail List for enabling a bunch of strangers to come together and create some long-lasting, world-wide friendships. This, apart from the concert will always be the thing that I treasure the most. The trust that we made in purchasing tickets for others. The immediate bond that formed with all of us and the promise of future meetings and continued friendships.