John Fogerty and the Blue Ridge Rangers will ride into the Beacon on November 24 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Beacon Theatre
2124 Broadway between 74th & 75th Sts.
Tickets: $39.50 – $99.50
212-465-6500
www.johnfogerty.com
www.beacontheatre.com
Okay, back in August we alerted you to a rare free gig by John Fogerty, who played Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport on September 2. This time around, it will cost you a little more to see the classic rock-and-roller at the Beacon, where he brings his Blue Ridge Rangers on November 24. At the pier, Fogerty and his crack band filled the beautiful night with beautiful music, concluding the summer-long free Seaport Music Festival in a majestic way. Fogerty, touring behind his latest disc, the grammatically challenged THE BLUE RIDGE RANGERS RIDES AGAIN, played a heart-tugging mix of CCR oldies, bluegrass and country classics, and solo gems over the course of ninety exuberant minutes as a gorgeous moon rose over the rolling river behind the stage. Wearing a black cowboy hat, Fogerty kicked things off with the Everly Brothers’ “When Will I Be Loved,” followed by a swampy “Born on the Bayou,” the first of many songs on which he showed off his guitar virtuosity. (Later he shredded through a ten-minute “Keep on Chooglin’.”) Other covers from the new disc included John Denver’s “Back Home Again,” Buck Owens’s “I Don’t Care (Just as Long as You Love Me),” Delaney and Bonnie’s “Never Ending Love,” and John Prine’s “Paradise,” played with a fine eleven-piece backup band that featured Billy Burnette, Hunter Perrin, and Buddy Miller on guitars, Jason Mowery on fiddle, and Kenny Aronoff on drums
Fogerty pulled out a baseball-bat-shaped guitar for a sharp rendition of “Centerfield,” which he performed solo at the Yankees’ home opener back in April. Among the Creedence hits that got the mostly older crowd hopping were “Green River,” “Looking Out My Back Door,” and the killer three-song finale: “Bad Moon Rising” (including the oft-misheard line “There’s a bathroom on the right”), “Fortunate Son” sounding like the angry punk anthem that it is, and the sing-along “Proud Mary.” Fogerty was in good spirits throughout the night, often commenting on how much he loves his wife — and even adding, “Heck, I love your wife!” One curious decision was not to have spotlights on Fogerty when he solo’d at the front of the stage, instead casting him as a dark, shadowy figure. Artists usually request that when they don’t want the audience to see what they really look like as they age, but from our up-close angle, the sixty-three-year-old Fogerty looked and sounded great.