Live: John Fogerty Gets Cowboyed-Up At Houston Rodeo

Almost every year from its inception, the Houston Rodeo usually includes at least one show that is more rock-oriented.  That must-have ticket for this year was John Fogerty on March 12th.

 

As expected, Fogerty wasted no time dealing out cranked-up versions of songs from the huge catalog of past hits that he has amassed for forty years. Bowing just slightly to the countrified atmosphere resonating throughout the 40,000+ audience in attendance at the Reliant Stadium, he leaned his set list in favor of providing some of the best songs complimenting this genre from his Creedence Clearwater Revival days and his ongoing solo ventures.

 

“Green River,” which he dedicated to his youth, was first out of the gate, and set the tone for revving-up the crowd for the rest of the night.  “Good Golly Miss Molly,” “Up Around The Bend,” “Born On The Bayou,” “Lookin’ Out My Back Door”…the nostalgic installments just kept right on coming, blow-after blow.  Fogerty even strapped on his stylish baseball-bat-shaped guitar to flaunt one of his biggest solo hits, “Centerfield.”

 

 During breaks between several songs, Fogerty shared some insight on the original inspiration surrounding each piece.  “Who’ll Stop The Rain,” for instance, was penned in response to attending the rain-soaked, impressively-persevering Woodstock concert of late sixties fame.  In a lighter, country-flavored moment in mid-set, he donned a cowboy hat to sing “Broken Down Cowboy,” reflecting on “those bad old days” that he said made this song one of his personal favorites.  As anticipated, the whole place wildly cheered when Fogerty rolled out “Midnight Special” and smiled widely as he belted out the verse making reference to Houston.

 

Jettisoning back once again to the days when CCR was at its height, Fogerty climatically strummed-out “Have You Ever Seen The Rain,” invoking wafting sways, joyously up-stretched arms, and perhaps a few misty eyes too, from those grateful to be there to participate in it all.