Blue Moon Swamp '97 TOUR REVIEWS Opening Night of the Blue Moon Swamp World Tour: John Fogerty at the Fillmore San Francisco, California, USA May 18, 1997 courtesy Dana Doak via private email John Fogerty had decided to go full-circle, back to where it all began for him and his band Creedence Clearwater Revival not quite 30 years ago. For the first formal show of his first formal tour in nearly 11 years, John chose to return to San Francisco's legendary Fillmore auditorium. When CCR got their first gig at the Fillmore all those years ago, they knew they had finally arrived. The rest is rock and roll history. Once I learned that John was opening his tour in the city by the bay on May 18th, it didn't take me long to decide to make the 600+ mile trek from Portland, Oregon to attend. Originally, I had planned to drive down there with my fiancee, Sue, on Saturday the 17th, see both the Sunday and Monday shows, and drive back on Tuesday. But Saturday night was my daughter Laura's senior high school prom, and I didn't want to miss seeing her off on that special night for her. So Sue and I wound up flying down early Sunday morning, renting a car and doing a bit of SF sightseeing before attending the evening show. Unfortunately, Sue could not swing a vacation day, so she had to fly back early Monday to go to work. I stayed on for Monday's show and flew home Tuesday afternoon. Although I thought I knew the approximate location of the Fillmore, at Geary and Fillmore streets in a rather seedy part of town, I was unable to easily find it when I tried to stake it out early Sunday afternoon. I found out why this was so difficult after we finally asked directions at a nearby market - the Fillmore is virtually unmarked. The only distinguishing exterior characteristic is a dark red canvas awning over the entrance and a small window to the right which opens to the ticket office. When we returned at about 5:15 pm to get in line for the show, the assembling crowd made it more obvious that this was indeed the place. Just after 7:00 pm we were allowed to pass through the front door and up the stairs to the lobby. "Welcome to the Fillmore!" was the jovial greeting of an attendant. Entering the dimly lit hall itself immediately took me back to the shows I attended in the late 60s and early 70s at the Salem (Oregon) Armory auditorium. There, as here, I was able to walk almost right up to the stage, stake a claim to a spot on the floor and sit there crosslegged until the show began. I thank Sue for finding our spot Sunday night, it later proved to be directly in front of and one person deep from John's position on stage. When compared to my last 20 or so years of attending concerts in pre-assigned seats often quite some distance from the stage, it was as refreshing as it was amazing that I was only five feet away from this legendary artist during his entire performance! And what an awesome performance it was! After 8:00 pm the lights went down and the opening act took the stage. The Fairfield Four, a gospel vocal group formed in the 1920s, were originally recruited by John to record backing vocals for his "A Hundred and Ten in the Shade" on Blue Moon Swamp. One member referred to themselves as "the world's oldest teenage group". While they have kept their original name, they have added a younger member to their ranks (a nephew perhaps?) so they should be more appropriately named The Fairfield Four Plus One. The FF's instruments are their voices and nothing else. Yet what a wonderful sound they make. Their set of half a dozen or so gospel tunes had the whole audience swaying arms and tapping feet. A fitting warm-up for the former Blue Ridge Ranger. Say Amen, brother! The lights went down again after a twenty minute break and the recorded sound of swamp water, frogs and crickets filled the hall. Shadowy figures took their places on the stage and located their instruments. The opening notes of "Born on the Bayou" rang out, the lights hit John and the band, and the crowd went crazy! He looked and sounded terrific. It didn't take long to tell that this was by far the best post-Creedence band that John has yet worked with, and that John had put effort into successfully recreating the Creedence sound. Don't grade me on my spelling of the band members' names: They are Mike Knipe on rhythm guitar, Johnny Lee Shell also on guitar (John called him "Rockabilly Man"), Bob Glaub on bass guitar, and former J. C. Mellencamp drummer extraordinaire Kenny Aronoff. I was happy to see John appear so comfortable on stage. He seemed at ease giving little background details on several songs and exchanging quips with members of the audience. His set continued with "Green River", "Lodi", "Lookin' Out My Back Door", "Susie Q" and a stinging version of "I Put a Spell on You". In my opinion, "Spell" had been the high point of the set performed by John's former bandmates, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford, in their latest band (Cosmo's Factory, nee Creedence Clearwater Revisited). Sue had quite enjoyed their show and at that time had made some comment to the effect that it might be hard for John to find a band which sounded as good. Toward the end of John's show, then, I asked her which performance she preferred. "This one", she said. Of course, I concur. John's voice is simply irreplacable. On his recent records he chooses to sing mostly at a higher key than during the CCR days, but this concert proved that his voice still has that powerful, unmistakable sound and that he can still turn on the old Fogerty growl. Next he introduced the first of his new songs, "Southern Streamline". John performs this great tune in concert with more of a rock sound than the down home country sound on the record. I had been fortunate enough to have acquired a copy of Blue Moon Swamp about four weeks before the show, and had listened to it constantly since then. I knew all the words and sang along on these tunes as well as on the oldies. It was fun for me to look around the room and observe the reaction of the audience, nearly all of whom were hearing John's BMS songs for the first time. While they couldn't sing along like me, I could tell they were digging it big time. Following "Who'll Stop the Rain", John invited The Fairfield Four back onstage, and together they did a fine version of "The Midnight Special" and then "A Hundred and Ten in the Shade". As the FF exited, a stage hand brought out a small chair and John took a seat. A smaller set of drums was also placed at the front of the stage next to John. This led to the most charming part of the show, and definitely a highlight for me, as Kenny took his place at these drums and John placed his old dobro on his lap. What a delight it was to hear John perform a tune from one of my favorite albums, The Blue Ridge Rangers, as he did a rousing version of "Workin' on a Building". Next he explained that he had fallen in love since he last toured and had married a wonderful woman, Julie. He performed his sweet love song from BMS, "Joy of My Life", smiling and glancing several times up to the side balcony where Julie sat. "Big Train (From Memphis)" followed and, WOW, John embellished the tune with the best finger pickin' that I had ever heard him play. A wonderful example of the fruits of John's continuing practice since his last tour in 1986. The baseball bat-shaped guitar first seen during that tour was next to emerge and, guess what, "Centerfield" was next up. After "Down on the Corner" came a couple more great tunes from BMS, "Swamp River Days" and "Hot Rod Heart". I always find it a treat when John gives us a song in concert that he rarely if ever had performed live before. So what a treat it was when he tore into the rockin' blues of "Before You Accuse Me"! But this treat didn't end there, as he slid into a soulful guitar-based version of "Long As I Can See the Light". At this point it had become evident to me that John's September 1994 benefit performance at L.A.'s House of Blues was a precursor to this tour, as he had performed both of these songs in that show. This realization did much to alleviate my lingering pain for having missed that show and never having heard a tape of it. Lest anyone forget just how classic some of John's post-CCR work has been, he ripped into "The Old Man Down the Road" and got the whole joint boppin'. The crowd continued responding to the strong beat as John followed with two more new songs, "Blueboy" and "Walking in a Hurricane". "Have you heard the one you wanted yet?", John asked the audience. "Well then, we better keep playing!" John had saved some of his most popular tunes for last, as "I heard It Through the Grapevine", "Bad Moon Rising" and his fired-up version of "Fortunate Son" ("I ain't no for-tun-at-ah, I ain't no for-tun-at-ah,... I ain't no for-tun-ate sonnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!") concluded the pre-encore show with a fury. Returning to the stage, John said "I want to thank you all for being here. I will remember this night for the rest of my life!" The hall was then rewarded with his most world- renowned song, "Proud Mary". The rockin' "Travelin' Band" was a most fitting close to the first gig of what promises to be a worldwide tour. Anyone who doesn't make the effort to see John this time around, with these songs and with this band, will be missing the best rock and roll show on the planet! As we were right up at the stage, when the lights came up my wonderful gal, Sue, convinced a stage hand to give her the song set list that had been taped to the floor for John to refer to during this performance. I owe her big time for this - and she knows it! Interestingly, the list omitted "Blueboy". Even more interestingly, black tape had been placed over two titles. I carefully pulled the tape off to find that, had this original song set been performed, John would have followed "Joy of My Life" with "Blue Moon Nights" (one of my very favorites on BMS) and then "Cottonfields" before proceeding to "Big Train". Could this be a hint at what future shows could bring? His set remained exactly the same as the one performed Sunday for both his Monday night show and then his internet-aired show Wednesday night at L.A.'s House of Blues. But I understand he added "Bring It Down to Jellyroll" to his Friday HoB show. That's great and I hope he continues to vary his set a bit between venues on this tour. John's catalog is so full of a remarkable number of terrific tunes that he could assemble a ton of different song sets and still have a fantastic show every night! Somewhere past midnight, I walked with Sue out of the Fillmore into the dark of the streets of San Francisco, my head still ringing with the marvelous sights and sounds I had been a witness to that evening in that hallowed hall. I echo John's very words as my own: I will remember this night for the rest of my life! Dana L. Doak May 1997 -The Fillmore, San Fransico May 19, 1997- John Fogerty Celebrates His Revival Creedence hits reclaimed in his first tour in 9 years JOEL SELVIN, San Francisco Chronicle Pop Music Critic The last time John Fogerty played the Fillmore Auditorium, Lyndon Johnson was president. ``And here we are playing the Fillmore,'' he told the capacity crowd Sunday, ``like nothing happened. I can almost smell the marijuana.'' A long, circuitous road finally led Fogerty back to the hall, the launching place for his first tour in nine years and only his second since the dissolution of Creedence Clearwater Revival 25 years ago. Fogerty will play small halls in Los Angeles tomorrow, Friday and Saturday; Chicago May 27-28; Toronto May 30; and New York June 2-3. He will also appear in an unprecedented two-night run on ``The Late Show With David Letterman'' June 5-6, as well as on ``Good Morning America'' June 9. Mixing the classic songs he wrote and sang as leader of Creedence with material from his five solo albums, including the latest, ``Blue Moon Swamp,'' released today, Fogerty exploded at the Fillmore in a 27-song concert more than two hours long. Performing an opening six-song segment of Creedence songs, he left no doubt about his status as one of rock's great original voices. From the ``Born on the Bayou'' opener to the version of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' ``I Put a Spell on You'' from Creedence's first album, Fogerty made it clear that he was taking control of his rich legacy -- songs he refused to sing on his previous tour because of his anger over a dispute with his former record company. But he now has reasserted his claim to songs that have endured as some of the finest examples of American rock 'n' roll. And, like the bluesmen he so admires, Fogerty has grown into his songs. His voice is, if anything, stronger and more deeply shadowed than it was in his youth. At age 51 he brings emotions to songs like ``Green River,'' ``Long as I Can See the Light'' and ``Who'll Stop the Rain'' that weren't there before. Despite the capable support of a four-piece band, it was a one-man show. Fogerty's guitar playing cast the mood of every song. He sang with power and grace. He set the place on fire. After such a lengthy layoff, Fogerty was bursting -- ``I just like to play,'' he said -- and further shows would benefit from some editing. He played seven songs from the new album, including the playful and swampy ``Blueboy'' and the crunching ``Walking in a Hurricane.'' He brought out gospel singers the Fairfield Four (five men, actually) for a couple of songs. He even brandished a baseball bat-shaped guitar for ``Centerfield'' and played a lap dobro on ``Working on a Building,'' a gospel number from his 1974 Blue Ridge Rangers album, and on ``Joy of My Life,'' a treacly love song dedicated to his wife, who sat in the balcony. Fogerty is one of the few rock artists still in touch with the spirit of rock 'n' roll, and in his hands it becomes by turns ominous and mischievous. While a new song like ``Southern Streamline'' may be somewhat self-conscious in its imagery, it works as pure rock 'n' roll. Like Neil Young and Van Morrison, Fogerty creates a unique vision far removed from the changing trends and shifting styles of the pop marketplace. And when he and the band were chooglin' through ``The Old Man Down the Road,'' working a groove deep enough to fall into, the whole audience fell into his trance. By the time he capped the concert with a rousing ``Fortunate Son,'' each subsequent ``it ain't me'' raising the level of defiance in his straining voice, there was nobody in the hall who doubted for a second that this had been a special evening. -The Fillmore, San Fransico May 19, 1997- courtesy Ned Garrett via River Rising mailing list HOLY MOSES! ...and I ain't even that religious. Folks, fortunately for you, I'm too wiped out to run on. Let's just say that JCF delivered in a mighty way. All of you who have tickets are going to get more than your money's worth if tonight's show was anything to go by. It's all that and more! The Fillmore was packed to the gunnells and everyone was into it deep as far as I could tell. Fogerty has been practicing hard and clearly remembered all the right things to say, if not always the right words to his own songs. I will never forget this. It was way more than I expected. Just unreal. The Fairfield Four started the show. After they've left the stage and the clapping and handwaving is over, all you can do is just smile...a lot! They sang for about 20 minutes, maybe 30. All we could do was shake our heads and say , "Oh MAN!" Fogerty appeared a short time later and right from the beginning of "Born on the Bayou" delivered the goods for two hours. Since my brain is foaming and I'm utterly out of gas, its hopeless to try to review anything, but I can say just a few things. First of all, if you thought the new album sounded good on the recording, wait 'til you've heard it live. Everything will have you nodding and smiling and saying, "Oh yeah...that's him." I think "Walkin' in a Hurricane" is great, but "Swamp River Days" really is the deepest thing coming from the stage. That's the one the radio people should be playing. He polished up things from "Centerfield" and made them sound far better than back in '86. "Big Train From Memphis" was basically and extended rockabilly jam the likes of which you rarely hear anymore. His spiritual quest for the dobro payed off. He sat down centerstage and played three or four tunes with it, including "Working on a Building" from "Blue Ridge Rangers." He ripped it up with the dobro. Dexterity and thought are slipping away fast. Another thought and then I think I'll collapse. There's a couple of essential parts missing on the CCR tunes and I think you know what I mean. He has a great band behind him, but it ain't the same, great though it may be. These guys didn't turn it out originally and you can't listen to those old hits and ignore that. Right. That's it. The ragged attempt. If anyone doesn't completely dig the show, then maybe you oughta reconsider. It's f*****g wonderful! Whatever else he may be, Fogerty can Jam! and he can write some of the best music still. I'll never forget it. At moments it was pure feeling and we can't ask for more from rock and roll. If you haven't got a ticket, do whatever you can to get one. Sell your inner shild if you have to, but go see, hear, feel this show. Thunk! There went the brain. Later, Ned Garrett, Berkeley CA. -The Fillmore, San Fransico May 19, 1997- courtesy Bob Langlie via River Rising mailing list "Welcome back to the Fillmore. It's been awhile since you've been here......but don't worry I've been waiting for you". With those words John Fogerty stepped up to the microphone and buried his demons with a masterful resurrection of his past and a bold charge into his musical future. Two hours of solid rock and roll, head bobbing rockabilly, blues, and even a little bit of gospel. Say what you like about JF personally, and I have taken my shots at him, but when he is between the white lines of the stage, under the glare of the lights, he is a master. That is when he's motivated and wants to be there. "I'm just havin' too much fun, how 'bout you?" Well last night it was clear he wanted to be there. Looking relaxed and in control, Fogerty worked the crowd, ripping off one guitar solo after another, and growling out that signature vocal style. He waved to folks he knew in the crowd, carried on a running conversation with the folks in the front of the stage, flirted with his wife and friends hanging out in the balcony, was completely charming, and just generally had a blast. The feeling was contagious. Being from the Bay Area I've seen JF on a couple of occasions at benefits and the like and while vocally he has always impressed me, his guitar playing always seemed weak and tentative. Well I'm here to tell you, Uncle Johnny has been to the woodshed and has been working on more than the dobro....all aspects of his playing were strong, forceful and very together. The two other guitar players (I might have opted for a B3, or a guy who could double up on some instruments - hey, ya gotta pick nits somewhere) were strictly handling the rhythm parts, JF took all the lead parts and solos. While most will focus on the solos, what impressed me was his lead rhythm playing. These are the parts that hold songs like "Green River" and "Born on the Bayou" together. The Band: Choosing Glaub on bass and Aronoff on drums was a stroke of genius. Power, power, and then some more power....sorta sounds, kinda like, um, well you know who. You can see that the arrangements and playing are tailored for larger venues...man, these guys are LOUD. Aronoff is a very muscular drummer and a catalyst as well. His enthusiasm was evident and he pushed the rest of band higher and higher. I was about 20 feet from the center stage, and it is clear that the band is still feeling its way through the material, as the tour progresses these guys will get even better... and that's a scary thought. The Music: The new material fits quite well with the blasts from the pasts. "Walkin' in a Hurricane" had people singing the chorus by the end of the song. Pretty impressive considering the CD hasn't been released here yet. My personal highlights; "Born on the Bayou"/"Green River", "Suzie Q"/"I Put A Spell On You","Big Train to Memphis", "Long as I Can See the Light", "110 in the Shade"(with the Fairfield Four - killer), and just a tour de force version of "Old Man Down the Road". Overall an outstanding performance - the boy is back. Little Swamp, Inc. Coming to a town near you......don't miss it. Fashion Info: Black pants, black tshirt, black cowboy shirt with multicolored embroidery. Fit and in shape and damn good lookin' for a 51 year old. Gear Head Info: Marshall half-stack, Gold Top Les Paul, Red '66 Telecaster, 6 string Ricky played through his original Kustom twin head stack, and a host of other classic guitars. Stamina: Uh, yeah. Two hours straight. Encore: Yep. "Proud Mary", "Travelin' Band" Bob Langlie -The House of Blues, May 21, 1997- by Wiebo de Wit (listened to via Cybercast) I tuned in at 06:00 local time with my cassette-recorder at the ready. After the -very good- support act (The Fairfield Four) the tension was building up until John and the rest climbed up the stage and started their set with 'Born on the Bayou'. Mixing old and new work which worked very well, John and the band rose to great heights. I really liked the way John sang 'Green River' and 'Lodi', very relaxed, soulful and quite different from the LP version. Who said age-ing was a bad thing? Via the cybercast I couldn't see the public (real-video had to be cancelled) or John but I could hear they were having a great time. John was joking and telling stories to the public in a most friendly manner. No surprises in the set list -which was the same as the two Fillmore nights- but I give a big 10 for performance. Let's hope they keep their good form when they reach Europe! Signing off (still stunned and tired) Wiebo de Wit -The House of Blues, Chicago, May 28, 1997- by Adam Bryant via CCR mailing list The doors at the House of Blues opened at 7:30. We walked on in and had the choice of standing anywhere we wanted. We messed up big time. The stage was kind of high so we thought it'd be easier if we sat a few feet behind the stage. We should have gotten right next to the stage because I'm sure we would have gotten an autograph or something. If you're going to see John and have the chance to be right at the stage, take the chance! While we were waiting, Steph and I decided to go check out what memorabilia was being sold. We each got a hat, white t-shirt, and a bandana. The hat was black with "John Fogerty Blue Moon Swamp" written in blue. There were four types of shirts. One had "John Fogerty Blue Moon Swamp" on the front and then had the picture that is on the actual CD on the back. This is the one we got. Then the other white one had the picture from the CD on the front and nothing on the back. These two shirts were also available in black. The bandana is black with "John Fogerty" written in blue all over it and with blue alligators all over it. After we each spent $55 we headed back to our spots. At 8:20 the Fairfield Four came and sang some Gospel, and preached a little of the Gospel in between songs too. They finished their set at about 8:55. They went at it completely a capella. Their set was fun and they had everybody clapping along. Then at 9:25 John came out and I immediately got chills. He hadn't even played a note and everyone started singing "Happy Birthday." He took a bow and then went into "Born on the Bayou." Man, the goosebumps lasted throughout the song and the next couple of songs as well. I couldn't believe I was actually standing there watching Fogerty play live! I looked at Bruce Cook and he seemed to be equally amazed. I knew right away that I was going to be blown away. After Bayou, John made a comment about he hadn't even played a note yet and the crowd was singing "Happy Birthday." The night before Steph had made a sign that said, "Happy Birthday John." I held it up at this point, Fogerty looked right at me, pointed, and said, "Thank you." Man! That just got me so jazzed up! I felt sorry for Steph though :) John then went into "Green River," which included an extended guitar solo. He then introduced "Lodi" as "an old song about an old city in California. I ran out of gas there once." The crowd sang along throughout the entire song. Then came "Looking Out My Backdoor." Yet another song for the crowd to sing along with. John and the band then played "Suzie Q." As soon as he started the opening guitar lick the crowd cheered wildly. At the end of "Suzie Q" John immediately started on "I Put a Spell on You," kind of like he used to do with Fortunate Son/Commotion with Creedence. Man, Fogerty played a blistering guitar solo during the song, I mean blistering! I was completely blown away. _Nobody_ can come close to John's guitar-playing on the Creedence songs. If you've only heard Elliot Easton play Creedence guitar live then you haven't heard anything, John completely smoked! After that solo the crowd gave him a wild round of applause, too cool. After the song John said that sometimes when he plays he just goes into another place and that was one of those times. Somebody then brought out a lap-steel guitar and John looked at it and said, "What the heck is that thing?" He then played "Bring it Down To Jellyroll" with Johnny Lee Schell on keyboards. John's steel guitar was awesome. They then took the steel guitar away. John then played an excellent version of "Southern Streamline." He added some cool guitar parts within the song and I loved the way he ended it. I like the way the guitar sounds at the end of the recorded version, but it's in the fade-out, so I was glad to hear him playing that nice and loud. He then played "Who''ll Stop the Rain" and the crowd sang along the whole time. He even quit singing once and just let the crowd sing the "Who'll Stop the Rain" part, it sounded as if every person in there was singing along, I really loved hearing and seeing the crowd sing along. I've never seen a crowd so into the music. At this point John brought the Fairfield Four back out and they sang with him on "The Midnight Special" and "110 in the Shade." The crowd was really into "The Midnight Special," this was another song where you could hear the crowd singing the whole time. And let me tell you, "110 in the Shade" is so much more powerful live. The Fairfield Four then left and a dobro was brought out. John then explained what it was and joked, "When you have a brother who's rich you ask him, 'where's the dough bro?'" He then apologized for telling such a lame joke :) Man, he was joking and talking with the crowd the whole time. This is the way concerts are supposed to be! Somebody asked how long he had been playing the dobro and he talked about that for a minute. He then played an excellent version of "Workin' on a Building." He then introduced "Joy of My Life" and talked about Julie for a while. She was in the balcony. While he was singing the song he kept looking up at the balcony, Julie wasn't up there. After the song she came out on stage and gave John a birthday cake with a candle. The crowd then "Happy Birthday" and blew out the candles and made a wish. He said he'd see after the concert if his wish came true, he said that's when his wife would give him his "present." I think John's just a dirty old man ;) John then played an _excellent_ version of "Big Train (From Memphis)" with an awesome guitar solo in the middle. They then changed the stage back to normal and John got his baseball bat and played "Centerfield." The crowd went wild the minute he started the first guitar lick, and then everyone sang along the entire time. Next up was "Down on the Corner." Yep, you guessed it, you could hear everyone singing. John then opened a birthday card that a fan gave him. Someone then brought out a piece of paper to John and John announced, "It's final, the bad guys 87, the good guys 100." It was pretty cool seeing so many people there on a night that the Bulls was playing. After the concert a woman told us that she gave up Bulls tickets to see the concert. That's the kind of thing I like to hear! John then did excellent versions of "Swamp River Days" and "Hot Rod Heart." But then I didn't recognize the next song at first, the intro was different than anything I'd heard before. Bruce was a little confused too. Then John started singing, "Before You Accuse Me," and I could only shake my head and go, "Ohhhhh." I've heard people say he should do something other than this song, but I thought it was awesome, especially since he added an awesome guitar solo within the song. John then played "Long as I Can See the Light" with guitar substituting for sax. Steph and I both think it'd be cool for him to break out the ol' sax on stage though :) Then he played an absolute awesome version of "Old Man Down the Road," referring to it as "The song that brought me back the _first_ time I made a comeback." Then he played "Blueboy" with a little extra guitar thrown in. John played "Walking in a Hurricane" next, and he added a guitar solo at the end which made the song about a billion times more powerful live, I always wanted some more guitar on that song and I got to hear exactly that in concert! Next came "I Heard it Through the Grapevine." What can I say? More singing along from the crowd and more awesome guitar work from John. Next up was "Bad Moon Rising" and then surprisingly John started playing "Fortunate Son." The show was already two hours or more old and the crowd and John were still just as much into it. Man, you haven't heard anything until you've heard "Fortunate Son" live! John then left the stage, and the crowd began to cheer for him to come back. And that's exactly what he did a couple of minutes later. He then played "Proud Mary" and "Traveling Band," which I wasn't expecting. The crowd was singing along until the very end and John stayed strong throughout the entire show. We were all worn out at this point. We bid Bruce a fond farewell as he went to get his shirts and stuff (it was fun dude!), and then we went to try (unsuccessfully) to get some of those posters that were in the window. I have never been so worn out by a concert in my life. We had been standing up for over 5 hours and were all about to pass out. We ended up driving about 50 miles out of Chicago. We were looking for a place to stay when a cop stopped us, he said that my license plate light was out and then he said I was driving around slow and all and he wanted to make sure I hadn't been drinking and driving (not a chance, especially since I don't drink). I told him we had just got back from seeing Fogerty and was asking how it was. He then let us go "without a warning." We then found a hotel (my sister had one bed, Steph the other and I got the floor, even after all my driving! :)), grabbed a quick bite to eat at Denny's, and then went to bed and headed back the next day. Man people, this was the most awesome concert I've ever seen! It was _really_ loud too, which didn't bother me, but Steph didn't like it so loud. Some dude gave her some ear plugs and she said it made it a whole lot better. John was very personable on stage. Audra (my sister) said he had a "neat" personality. She's a casual Creedence fan, but she really, really enjoyed the show. I thought she'd pretty much just stand there the whole time but she was singing and dancing along, I couldn't believe it. Steph wants me to add that she thought the show was just absolutely great and that there is absolutely nothing like it. Man, I can't wait to see him again! I heard everyone after the show saying how great it was. As Bruce said at the end, this was "the concert to end all concerts." I almost don't want to see anybody but Fogerty play live again so as not to spoil anything. End on a good note ya know? :) And let me be the first to say that there wasn't anything missing in the concert. John has a great band backing him up. Aronoff is a powerful drummer who smiled the entire time. And Bob Glaub certainly did his job on bass. Johnny Lee Schell and the other guitarist (I don't know how to spell his last name) did good jobs on rhythm guitar. There was nothing disappointing about the show and I must say that it even exceeded my expectations, and I was expecting a lot! If you haven't seen John play live yet then you can think about how great it's _going_ to be, but believe me, once you actually experience it you'll realize how much greater it is than anything you could expect. Trust me people, this is as real and as powerful as it gets. Keep on Chooglin', Adam The House of Blues, Chicago, May 28, 1997- by [name unknown] via Todd Snider mailing list Got the chance to see John Fogerty in concert last night in Chicago. He was doing the second of two nights at the House of Blues (a VERY cool place, even with doubts going in the first time, worried if it would be too, oh, commercial, I guess). Anyway, the place was packed with 700-800 people, and it is Fogerty's first tour (this is a very short warmup for a longer summer tour). His new album is great, and I thought he'd do CCR tunes in the show, after seeing him do Fortunate Son and Born on the Bayou at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opening on TV in 1995. Apparently, he had refused to play CCR songs after having to give up the song royalties in the 1970's to get out of his contract with Fantasy Records. Well, he came out last night and was incredible. Maybe one of the best concerts I've had the chance to see in the last ten years. He opened with Born on the Bayou, Green River, Lodi, Who'll Stop the Rain, and then said "You may know I have a new album out" (people cheer) "Well, this isn't one of them", and preceded to play a killer Suzie Q, and segued into a great version of Put a Spell on You. Unbelievable. It was almost the whole CCR Chronicle album with about seven of his new songs and four off the Centerfield album too. I counted 29 this morning and know I'm forgetting a couple. Midnight Special was killer, with the Fairfield Four, a gospel group who opened the show, singing backup. Shit, he did it all. Down on the Corner, with a great singalong, and Fortunate Son closing the regular set. The encore was Proud Mary and Travelin Band. Fogerty hadn't toured since 1986, and it was obvious he was "feelin' it". Kenny Aronoff (Mellencamp, etc) was great on drums all night, and John had two other guitar players plus Bob Glaub on bass. They really were tight and rocked hard, without flash. (Nervous Wrecks anyone?) All in all, a show I'll remember a long time. It was his 52nd birthday, and his voice is so cool. He's a shouter, with lots of emotion, often sacrificing being understood for a great scream. I pulled out the old CCR "The Concert" on vinyl and listened to it this morning. I guess he's on Letterman June 5, and goes to Europe this summer. Definitely one to see if he does the states in the fall. Thanks for listening. Boy, I had a good time, even with a three hour drive home. (yawn) June 26, 1997: Roskilde Festival, Denmark- by Wiebo de Wit At 22:30 the lights went down and swamp crickets are heard over the sound system. So this is it: John's first concert on European soil in over 25 years! We can hardly believe it. We had made a banner which said 'HELLO JOHN, GREETINGS FROM BELGIUM'. When John starts to play 'Born On The Bayou' he walks towards our side of the stage, sees our banner, points to it and goes 'heeeyy!!'. What a start! John looked fit and ready. He wore blue jeans, a blue shirt and a red scarf. The band sounded phenominal and they were really in to it. I could hardly believe that we were actually listening to a John Fogerty concert! From the first notes John was going for it, smiling and stamping his feet. I expected a shortened festival set but they played a two hour show while rain was pouring down like nothing else, but we couldn't care less. When John walked on to the little catwalks and stamped his feet he let the water fly. Such a cool sight. During 'Who'll Stop The Rain' the rain actually stopped which was a magical moment. Later on it began twice as hard though :) The band was really great. Kenny Aronoff was rocking away in his now well known manner. Eventhough the two rhytm- guitarists weren't moving around a lot, they laid a very solid base down which worked great. Everybody is saying that they miss Stu and Doug but I believe that this band is the best that could've happened to John these days. They are a great rock band together and let's hope they can work some things out so that they can keep playing together for the big world tour which will begin later this year. We had no voices left when the show was over but we didn't really care. There was not a big crowd when the show started but when all was over I guess there were at least 15.000 people standing there. John made a lot of new fans that day ! Be sure to see them when they play somewhere near you. This is de setlist: Born On The Bayou, Green River, Susie Q, I Put A Spell On You, Jelly Roll, Southern Streamline, Who'll Stop The Rain?, The Midnight Special, 110 In The Shade, Centerfield, Down On The Corner, Swamp River Days, Hot Rod Heart, Before You Accuse Me, Long As I Can See The Light, Old Man Down The Road, Blueboy, Walking In A Hurricane, I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Bad Moon Rising, Fortunate Son encore: Proud Mary, Travelin' Band. If you want to see some Roskilde pics then go to the Gallery Page. If you want to read a story about our trip to Roskilde and Hamburg, then go here. June 27, 1997, 8 PM: Grünspan, Hamburg- by Wiebo de Wit After the Roskilde concert we couldn't wait to see John again tonight in a much smaller venue (+- 400 tickets sold) As soon as the doors are open we rush to the stage and there we are, up front for the second John Fogerty show in two days! And this one turns out to be even better. John seems to prefer the smaller club to the Roskilde grounds yesterday because he really is going for it. We were so close to John that he could actually sweat all over us (which he did). John's voice is very powerful tonight: 'Travelin Band' and 'Fortunate Son' sound fantastic. We get to hear the same set list as yesterday but John is much more interactive with the audience. He even calls out Peter, Helmut and Robert's names telling us he even knows the people here by name. Great fun. Before John starts Jellyroll I ask him what kind of thing his steel-guitar is. 'Is it a bird? it it a . . .' and John responds by saying 'yeah... what is that thing?' giving his impersonation of a singing saw 'wheeeeeeeaaa'. This show is really something else. Excellent version of '110 In The Shade'. So many stupid and fun remarks were made during this show between John and his audience but what for me really stands out is that during Bad Moon Rising's chorus John looks at me and sees me sing. He sticks up his thumb and says 'Allright !' Peter also notices this and smiles to me. This is the best evening of my life and I will never forget it ! Never. Robert later on signs to Kenny Aronoff that he would like one of his drum sticks. Kenny throws one to Robert but it passes by over our heads . . . Too bad. But after the encores Kenny walks up to Robert and gives him one personally ! That's what kind of evening this was. A very personal night for both the performers and the audience. After a complete two hour set John thanks his audience and gets backstage. This was a night which I will always remember. If they get back to Europe later this year I will definitely go back to see this man and his band again. They have tought me the true meaning of Rock and Roll. The setlist was the same as the Roskilde show. If you want to see pictures from this performance then go to the Gallery Page. If you want to read a story about our trip to Roskilde and Hamburg, then go here. John Fogerty at the I.C. Light Amphitheater, Pittsburgh PA July 15, 1997 courtesy Tom Dirkx via private email Pittsburgh; home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the greatest Fogerty fans in the world. You can also find some of my comments on John's own site. Just like thousands of fans from around the world I listened to CCR (or better John Fogerty and his back-up band) during my teenage years. And just like thousands of fans from around the world I was heartbroken when the band split up because I thought I would never, ever have an opportunity to see "The Man" John Fogerty; live in concert. There was a brief glimmer of hope in the mid-eighties when he came out with his Centerfield album which actually contained some great songs (Old man down the road has that suitcase covered with rattlesnake hiiiiiiide). I still listen to the "oldies" but they never seemed to get old. Sometime in June my wife, who knows my passion for anything Fogerty, mentioned to me that he had a new album. Of course I had to go get it... and what a CD it is! This is the best music since Cosmo's Factory. Great songs, great music... Nothing like it on the radio... I'm back to 1969 Now things go fast... Next thing I know is : Fogerty plays Pittsburgh and next thing I know: I'm at the damn concert; not 10 feet away from the stage!!! In case you don't know Pittsburgh; the IC Light Amphitheater is by Station Square which is close to Three Rivers Stadium (baseball and football stadium). When Fogerty played "Centerfield" (Put me in coach; I'm ready to play; today) you could see the lights of Three Rivers Stadium in the background where the division-LEADING Pittsburgh Pirates were winning that night. When I got there I was seated next to about a dozen college age students (18, maybe 20 years old). I asked them: "You can't remember Fogerty; CCR was before youur time". One of them just looked at me and said. "My parents have great taste in music; I grew up listening to him. He is THE BEST" This was on July 15... Stage goes dark... swampsounds and......."Born on the bayou with that famous Fogerty voice......tears in my eyes. Heaven is somewhere close I know (Thank you Fairfield Four!) On with Green River A "Woodstock-era" amp for Susie Q and I put a spell on you... Big hits great versions of "fillers like "Before you accuse me and midnight special and lots of new stuff too. Think about it; who can sing a train song, follow that with Centerfield and than sing with a Southern Gospel band!! His voice is better than ever and ,boy, can he play a mean guitar!!! He came back for Proud Mary and Travellin Band and I can honestly say that I never sat down (although the tears did stop at some point). I also remember him joking around with the audience; John seemed remarkably "loose" Just before he played "Joy of my life" (his "love-song" for Julie) he said something like: I was lucky to find her; I hope you may find a wonderfull woman like that who will do anything for you... even dance naked on the coffee table. I knew he was a good guitar player but he can REALLY make that baby sing. I have seen a lot of guitar players who just hit a lot of strings real fast. But that doesn't make them good. John knows how to put a song together in such a way that every note counts.. and he can do it live in concert too. He was constantly changing guitars to get the sound he wanted; he got that "biting" Green River sound; that "bubbly" Born on the bayou/Susie Q sound, the "baseball guitar"for Centerfield; he sat down to play the dobro (now there is an instrument you don't hear much on the radio), that "Bad Moon Rising/trainsong" sound and he used a different guitar for all of them. One last thought (since he played a few tunes (110 in the shade & Midnite special) with the Fairfield Four. A lot of music in the States is either regarded as "white" music (especially Country) or "black" music (especially R&B). John Fogerty is one of the very few artist that can go beyond these artificial "lines" and play Rock, Country, R&B, pop (plus his own "swamp" songs). I just LOVE all the influences and I can not speak for him although I believe that he must be thinking: A GOOd song is a Good song" no matter what the label. I had to add this thought because I lived in the Deep, deep South (Louisiana) for seven years where these things can lead to controversy. I'm glad John handles his music as just that: Music. By the way: the "original" Dale Hawkins version of "Susie Q" was recorded in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana (and if you have never heard it... It's a "rompin', stompin' broncin'" song (just to borrow a few words from Fogerty's new album) I really can't say much more other than that his band sounds great... very, very "tight" with great drums and bass. He played for close to two hours and although I didn't count the songs it must have been close to 25 in total. Basically all the great ones (The only one I missed was "Sweet Hitch Hiker"), a few I didn't expect (Befoer you accuse me; Midnite special) and almost all the songs from the new album) When I left the concert, I ran into the college kids again. They were as excited as I was. One of them looked my way and said: At least you got to see him after 25 years!!! Thanx kid; You (and Fogerty) made my day!! Here's to the greatest Rock/swamper of 'm all!! This was the absolute highlihght of my concert going life; I hope many more fans will have the opportunity. I also hope John won't let us wait another 10 years for his next album. See you in Cyberspace. John Fogerty at the Lollipop Festival, July 25, 1997 courtesy Robert Aerts via CCR Mailing List Hello fellows out there. Just got home from (no, not Illinois) the Lollipop festival in Sweden. It took us a 19 hour car drive to get there and just as much to come back home but it really was worth the trip. So many nice things happened that it is too much to tell it all right now. I met Jukka Leino, Bo Hannsson, Anders Widman, Bjorn Harald Saether and two other guys from the Norwegian fanclub, and some other guys which names I forget now because I'm still so tired of the trip. One of the nicest moments was to find out that at the time we were in Stockholm we heard about the live show from Roskilde on the radio, we ran to the car, put the channel on 99.3 and could listen to the Roskilde show in the car. It was strange to see four people sitting in a car, shaking their heads and feet and nobody knew why. All the passengers thought we were crazy. For those that didn't get the chance to hear it yet, let me tell you that it was one of the best live shows I've ever heard, It was superb, probably recorded from the soundboard. GREAT!!!!! I was at the show in Roskilde but this sounded even better. Well to go on about Lollipop now, Friday afternoon there was a meeting from CCR/Fogerty fans in a restaurant called Hemingway, and lots of fellow fans showed up. There was a video playing constantly CCR and Fogerty clips, live shows,etc. There were about 10 TV's there, so everybody could see it well. There were even some drinks that had names like 'Green River' and others I forgot, I think also a "Blue Moon Swamp" drink. It felt great to meet and talk to all these other fans. There even was a quizz organised about CCR/Fogerty with some difficult questions.... Then it was time to go to the concert, we went there, parked the car, then we had to take a bus from the car to the festival site. This was a beautiful place, all surrounded with threes and hills and a lot of sunshine and happy people. We went to the stage and saw the Staple Singers too right before John's appearance. They were a good warm-up. Before the John's appearance, I kept looking for Bob, but I only could see a glimpse of him, backstage. John came up, completely dressed in black and the people just went out of their head. I stood right in front of him and it felt so great when after 30 seconds he saw me, looked me in the eyes, pointed at me and shouted something I couldn't understand, but I'm sure it wasn't "go home". Even a bigger smile came upon his face when he saw the big sign I showed him which said "Welcome John, greetings from Belgium". The same sign I had with me at the Roskilde festival. I'm not going to describe every song he did, because I'm not so good in it, but they were all about the best I've ever heard, better than in Roskilde, maybe also because there were several stages so at each stage only the people showed up which were really interested in this music, this was completely different in Denmark. For those that are interested here are the songs he did: Bayou; Green River, Susie Q; Spell; Jelly Roll; Southern Streamline; Who'll stop the rain; Midnight Special; 110; Centerfield; Corner; Swamp River Days; Hot Rod Heart; Before you accuse me; Long as I can see the light; Old man down the road (my favourite live song); Blue Boy; Hurricane; Grapevine; Bad moon rising; Fortunate son. Extra songs: Proud Mary; Travelin' Band. Altough people kept asking for more, the local crew started rebuilding the stage. There were no palm trees or whatever on John's stage, it's probably impossible to do this on a festival, because it's always rushing and rushing. I saw almost the whole show was taped for TV so we're probably going to see more about this later. I'm exhausted now but though some of you would like to read a little bit about our experience. In a couple of hours I leave for a vacation to Crete, Meanwhile have a nice time y'all!!! Robert John Fogerty at the Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, July 26, 1997 courtesy Ove Enqvist via private email When I bought my first LP and at the same time my first CCR LP ever, Cosmo's Factory, in 1970 at the age of 17 , I hardly guessed I'd go to a John Fogerty concert at the age of 44. However, persuaded by a friend I bought the last ticket available for the Helsinki concert on 26 July 1997. The ticket was worth every penny (or finnmark) it cost. John Fogerty started with some well known CCR tunes, i.e. Green River, Looking Out My Backdoor (one of my favourites) and Suzy Q. Soon all the audience was stomping and hopping and singing along in the chorus myself included. I had never believed this, at least not of myself! Next there were some newer tunes, some of which I had not heard before, only to round off with more CCR classics The encore consisted of Proud Mary and Travellin' Band, two tunes I'd been waiting for from the very start. Although John's voice as well as the amplifiers threatened to collaps at the very end of the consert, this was the experience of my life! Ove John Fogerty at the Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, July 26, 1997 courtesy Kennet Furu via private email Coming in to the club-bar, I could hear John play "Working on the building" at the soundcheck. In the bar they played Eagles -"peaceful easy feeling", and it shure was! The warm-up artist was Joey Tempest, the former band "Europe's" star. (Final Countdown) After he'd left the stage, the crowd began to make noise, the excpectations were high! Then the lights went down, and the noise of the crowd went up, the swamp sound was drawned in the noise. And then, there he was! , beginning with "Born On The Bayou", after 1/2 hour he played the first song of the new album. Then they came in with another guitar-amp, and the "original CCR guitar" for John. He told us that he'd bought the amp and the guitar back in -68, and he used them in the Creedence recordings, "later on I used them at Woodstock", he said, and started "Susie Q", and straight into "I put a spell on you", there we had the original CCR sound! He played for about 2 1/2 h. He was in a good mood, the arena was sold out and he had, just before the gig, recived a gold record, for BMS and the night before a platinum (in Sweden). It shure was a night to remember,as he also pointed out. Kennet Furu John Fogerty at the Spektrum, Oslo, July 27, 1997 courtesy Erik C. Osterud via private email The show at Oslo Spektrum 27-7-97 was fantastic. The hall was packet with 7000 exstatic fans as the show opened with 'Bayou'. Green River was realy 'groovin' with the 2 aditional guitar players, although they didn't do much lead work. One of the guitars players were anounced as a 'multi instumentalist' , but he had no oportunity to show that , as Mr. Cameron Fogerty dominated all the guitar work. His guitar work was very confident this time around compared to the 1987 tour. I also enjoyed the impromptu incident on 'Cottonfields' when the public started singing as Fogerty were preparing his guitar for '110 in the Shade', he imidiatly followed and with the rest of the band joined in. That was awesome. It was great to hear he had a song from 'The Ranger' album , but missed songs from the '75 album like 'Almost Saturday Night' and 'Dream Song' I also ment that he should have included 'Change in the weather' and not so many 'hit' songs from the CCR catalog. As a fan I would rather like to hear : Tombstone ,short version of 'Chooglin' ,'Pagan Baby' than songs like 'Bad Moon'and 'Proud Mary'. One should ask Mr. Fogerty : You have such a huge catalog of great songs which are all familier to a large public, why don't you take some of the less played songs to the stage. It must be even more entertaining for you also. I hope that he have the right goals in focus now and produce 2-4 more great albums for my CD collection before going into retirement. John Fogerty at the Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, Canada courtesy Peter Guzzo via private email A review of the John Fogerty "Blue Moon Swamp" show in Vancouver, B.C. Canada, on Friday August 22, 1997 at the "plush" Orpheum Theatre in downtown Vancouver. As I hold this little white piece of plastic in my hand I can't help but feel the magic, the raw talent, and power of the man who held it between his fingers while playing some of the most timeless songs ever to hit the airwaves and influence generations of music lovers. I can't help but hope that some of that talent will rub off on me as I feel so lucky to hold it, but that might have something to do with me having been seduced by the love of guitar playing 17 years ago. I have always wanted to see this man in concert. He is without a doubt one of THE best songwriters of our time, but I'm sure you all know that already so on with this review! As I walked into the building, the first thing I noticed was that it was without a doubt the strangest mix of people I had ever seen gathered in one place. There were the drunk, roudy, leather clad types who walk around like they own the place, the rich well dressed middle-aged yuppies who probably just parked their Volvos and BMW's, the young, rambunctious, black-clad generation X crowd, the quiet tie-died, head banded hippies of the 90's, and of course, the first 60's flower power old folks with their long gray hair and glasses. An interesting mix of people to say the least! I guess I fall somewhere in between the young and old crowd. The opening act was a Missouri rock band called the Bottle Rockets. They had some interesting songs but the crowd was becoming impatient to see a man many have waited a lifetime to see. It was pure magic from the moment John Fogerty first stepped onto the stage picking the stings of the first chord of "Born On the Bayou". It sounded just like a creedence record but there he was, live at last! He followed that with "Green River" and continued his repertoire of old classic Creedence tunes, a pleasant surprise. He played them all.....all the old favorites interspersed with some the great fresh tunes on the Blue Moon Swamp CD. He assured the crowd that this time he was here to stay. It was pure love between audience and performer. He was very relaxed and confident, and even asked people to yell out their requests. You could feel the fun he was having playing and singing those great tunes for his beloved fans. One of the highlights of the show was just after "Suzie Q" when he explained that the old looking amplifier the roadies had wheeled out was in fact the very same amp and guitar that he used to record that song and the next one ("I put a Spell On you") back in the sixties. It was also the same equipment he used on the stage at Woodstock and "other infamous places" as he put it. It sounded awesome as he stood in front of it getting feedback from it as he played. What a great guitarist! He is able to do so much with so little...his riffs sound so simple yet so powerful and effective! He played for a solid two hours and included "The Old Man Down the Road" and "Centerfield" from his previous solo album. He also played most of the tunes from "Blue Moon Swamp" and they were just as well received as the oldies. Can't help but mention the incredible backdrop of a river and surrounding vegetation, tall mossy trees, swamp (complete with tree stumps and bullrushes on the stage itself), smiling alligator, snake who's eyes glowed in the dark, stork, and singing turtle on a rock, with a beautiful sky and clouds that changed from bright and sunny to a reddish sunset, to evening with rising moon, to night time (by mid show) with a full smiling bright moon reflecting off the river. It was one of the warmest, most creative backdrop stage settings I had ever seen! After one encore the show ended suddenly and as the crowd thinned out, I walked up to the stage to get a closer look at the equipment being wheeled off. That was when I spotted the white pick beside his mike stand, the same ones he was handing out to some of the people in the front row. I asked the roadie if I could have it and he said sure! I asked if it is in fact one of John's, and he said it sure is as he handed it to me. Not a big deal for most people, but for me a treasured souvenir of what was easily one of the best shows I've ever seen. I'd go back to see him in a minute no matter what the price of the ticket! Don't miss him if you ever get the chance. Peter Guzzo (Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, now living in Vancouver, B.C.) John Fogerty at St. Louis, Mo. courtesy Fran Nolting via private email I had the dream of a lifetime opportunity to attend Johns's Sept.8th concert in St.Louis, Mo. Not knowing what his choice of songs would be, and performing without the rest of CCR, I was afraid I might be disappointed, but he fulfilled every one of my greatest expectations! He played every one of his greatest CCR songs from the past, right down to playing 3 more after a standing ovation that never for one minute thought about letting up in the least until he came back on stage. And also, of course his new great tunes from his new release, Blue Moon Swamp. I was impressed by his gratefulness of the call back to the stage. He said "It does this old heart good to still be called back after all of these years" (not necessarily word per word). And he thanked the crowd many times also throughout the concert. More often than not: A great deal of the time, we stood to our feet and danced and sang along as the Fox rocked with THE BEST. I waited 2 hours afterwards (John's Bro., Bob, warned us of the 2 hours but we didn't believe him: Sorry Bob, and thanks anyway)for the chance for an autograph. Finally, John emerged and walked over to approx.20 long standing fans who eagerly waited the honor of his presence. He appeared tired, but was gracious and managed a smile back at me as I thanked him for signing my guitar book. If you ever have a chance to see him, put forth the effort, no matter how difficult. You will not be disappointed. My face glowed for weeks afterwards. John Fogerty at the Vet's Memorial in Columbus, Ohio courtesy Tom Dirkx via private email My,oh my, what a lucky rambunctious boy I am!!!!!!! Just got to see Fogerty for the second time in two months. This time at the Vet's Memorial in Columbus; Ohio on Sept. 16. And believe me; it's still MAGIC. When he walks onto the stage and plays the first couple of notes of "Born on the Bayou" it just sends chills down your spine. Absolutely timeless, classic song!!! I saw John two months ago at an outdoors concert; this one was indoors and it DID sound different. His voice is much, much better than you would believe (especially on songs like "Spell" or even "Long as I can see the light") And I'm even more impressed by his guitar playing. He knows how to make every single note count and can do it "live" in concert. At one point he played "Big Train from Memphis" and after the first few lines he started just to "pick". I'm not sure if it was planned but he could take a "simple" train song like that and get the absolute most out of it. Just a few other thoughts. The opening act (Bottle Rockets) was mainly.... well.... LOUD. I can see where the audience was getting anxious to see the main man. Someone wrote about the background.... Yes; all the big critters have his trademark hanky around their necks. And the Blue moon does shine. (Just for fun: Do you know what a Blue Moon is????? A month is usually 30 or 31 days (except feb.) and a lunar cycle takes 28 days. So most months have only one full moon. But every now and than a month will have a full moon early on (on the first or second of that month) and a second full moon on the 29th or 30th. That second full moon in the same month is called a "blue moon" (And just for your info: it WAS a Full moon in Columbus on the 16th) Great moments: He went directly from Susie Q into "Spell" Pure magic...chills down your spine....... They did wheel out the mini drums and got "unplugged" just like before (although without the Fairfield Four). Sing-a-longs on Down on the Corner, Midnight Special and, boy what a bluesy intro just before "Before y'accuse me". John was very, very relaxed, handed out guitar pix and joked with the audience. Someone handed him an "Ohio State" shirt (The Univerity of Ohio State is located in Columbus) and he proudly displayed that. he also commented about the gap in front of the stage. "They should fill that with champagne and naked women" he said. Great line!!! His band is strong, very, very strong! When he introduced Kenny he said that during the "unplugged" portion of the show he could hear all the girls go "Hi Kenny"...... He asked for "requests" although he played the identical same set as two months ago in Pittsburgh with all the guitar chages as well. My wife got a big kick out of the "baseball bat" he used for Centerfield. Strange mix of people.... 60's Vets, hippies, leather, gen X and old fogies like myself. But have'nt heard this sound for soooooo long that I'm already looking forward to the next concert. Keep on Chooglin' John!!!! John Fogerty in Turcu courtesy Jukka Leino via Fogerty's Swamp. Hello and greetings from Stockholm, I'm on the road with Fogerty. Two days ago it was Turku, tonight Stockholm. I write very shortly because I'm in an internet cafe in Kulturhuset. The concert itself was great, I think it's getting better and better, especially new songs are now stronger. The audience in Turku didn't make any difference between CCR and BMS songs. A lot of people sang also with the new songs. No Up Around the Bend or Run Through the Jungle but an extra song with Cottonfiels a'la Oslo. John Fogerty didn't have time to sign anything after the concert but I met Kenny Aronoff and Johnny Lee Schnell. Johnny Lee told me that they are rehearsing 2 songs: Rockin' all over the World and Almost Saturday Night. The Live CD will be recorded during December in US and will be out soon next year. I actually met John Fogerty the next day after his 1 hour of jogging around Turku. He was very exhausted but still willing to sign my photo album from Hamburg concert. Thanks, you're great ! Hope to see you tonight in Stockholm. Bye for now, Jukka Leino. John Fogerty in Stockholm courtesy Michael Bernander via Fogerty's Swamp. Today's newspapers are full of praise for Friday night's concert. The leading daily Svenska Dagbladet says that JF's voice is as good as ever, but that his guitarr playing has improved immensely since the old days. The paper goes as far as saying his one of the very best rock'n'roll guitarrists of the 90's! What can u say? Personally I think it was a great gig. Some of the oldest songs (Looking out my backdoor, Lodi) JF seemed to be doing because he had to. Last July he did them because it was fun. But, heck, who can blame him after months of touring? Other oldies (I put a spell on you, Grapevine) were just fantastic, with excellent guitar playing. The Stockholm Globe arena was sold out (12-13000 people) for the first of 6 or 7 concerts in Sweden. The atmoshpere was fantastic with the whole audience singing Cottonfields with John only miming. Man, did he look happy! Cheers Michael John Fogerty at the Scandinavium, Gothenborg, Sweden by Wiebo de Wit. Well, what can I say? I had to make a long trip to get to this concert but it was worth it. We travelled in a bus together with 15 other members from the CCR/Fogerty fanclub. It was a long trip but we made it on time. John was excellent in the show and the band really played as a band. I think this is the best that this show is gonna get. I witnissed the excellent Hamburg show but this one really blew my mind. 2 1/2 hours of kick-ass rock and roll. John really had a great time and so was the band. They were laughing, playing and jumping around and that got through to the audience as well. John himself was having a great time. He conversed with the audience and threw guitar picks around. I got one myself but I lost it on my way home. Bummer. BUT, we witnissed the sound check and we got to talk to John and the band before they left for a snack. Thanks to Julie and Bob for making this happen! It was great meeting you and I hope we can do it again someday, maybe next year when the BMS world tour kicks off again. Who knows. Here's the set list (courtesy of Mats Schorling) time: 20.40-23.06 01. Born On The Bayou 02. Green River 03. Lodi 04. Lookin’ Out My Back Door 05. Suzie Q 06. I Put A Spell On You 07. Bring It Down To Jelly Roll 08. Southern Streamline 09. 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 17. Swamp River Days 18. Hot Rod Heart 19. Before You Accuse Me 20. Long As I Can See The Light Band introduction 21. The Old Man Down The Road 22. Blueboy 23. Cottonfields 24. Walking In A Hurricane 25. I Heard It Through The Grapevine 26. Bad Moon Rising 27. Fortunate Son Encores: 28. Proud Mary 29. Travelin’ Band John Fogerty at the Scandinavium, Gothenborg, Sweden courtesy Robert Aerts via Fogerty's Swamp. Well I don't know where to start. So many things happened. This was probably the best John Fogerty show I saw so far. We drove with 17 people (6 from Holland, 9 from Germany, and 2 from Belgium, all members from the worldwide fanclub) to Gothenburg. A trip from about 2000 kilometers from my hometown (In Belgium) to Gothenburg, Sweden. (that's about 1243 miles folks!!!, and the same road back home!!!) We met a lot of nice people there, got to see the soundcheck (thanks to Bob and Julie) talked with John, Bob, Michael, Kenny, and Johnny and had the most wonderful concert of our life. I don't know what I liked most, the instrumental version of "Who"ll stop the rain" (during the soundcheck), the great extended version of "Green River", the even better version of "Cotton Fields" sung by the crowd, not by John, the Eddie Van Halen (sort of) solo he did during "Old man down the road" or any of the other 25 songs he did. It all was incredible, awesome and some more English words I can't remember at this time..... Thanks John!!! We'll be leaving again to Sweden this Thursday, with five persons, (Peter Koers, Helmut Arnold, Petra Schaap, Arnold Zwaenepoel,and me) and I hope to meet some of you during or after the concerts again. (We're always in front of the stage) We're heading for Norrkoping, Karlskoga and Stockholm. (Nov. 7, 8 and 9) I'll keep you informed about that, probably wonderful trip again, later. Robert (42, but jumping around like a little kid, and still in trance from Gothenburg, he really has put a spell on me!!!) John Fogerty at Norrkoping, Karlskoga and Stockholm courtesy Petra Schaap via Fogerty's Swamp. Hi, y'all !! I dont know how to start. I might be broke by now, but it sure was worth it. To all of you who still didn't see Him live, next time you better take that plane to Sweden!!! I was on the road with Robert Aerts, Peter Koers, Helmut Arnold and Arnold Zwaenenpoel, joined by Barry and Theresa, (Brrr & Trrr), Jukka, and Darlene from New Orleans. We saw gigs in Norrkoping, Karlskoga, and that fab happening in Stockholm.... Norrkoping was our first since that unbeleaveable day in Gothenborg. I thought it could never be more fun than Gothenborg but I was damn wrong!! First the band showed up at the backdoor, we were allmost frozen but somebody was still able to make a picture of me and Johnny Lee! Later, standing at the frontrow with Helmut and Darlene was great, and Helmut had to shout in my face when Rockin all over the world came!! I just could not believe it. I still can't. This is probably the best I ever saw live. Apart from Lodi....half past the song, John looked me in the eyes and pointed at me!! He remembered! He had to smile and after the song he bowed for me. Lord, talking about HEAVENS... But as always, things can go more crazy than ever. Somewhere John played an intro wrong (Hot rod heart?) He joked about it, and as he was allready standing right in front of me, he putted his guitar to me and said "You touch it!" Sure baby! I was so knocked on my feet I reached out my hand and did "pling, pling, plong!" on the neck..... Next was my toy alligator, wich I gave him. He reached out for me, said "is that for me?" and I said it was for the whole band. He laid it down next of the drums but because of Kenny it felt down every two minutes. After that song, I think it was Down on the corner, he came to me again and asked "What was your name again?" I shouted it for 10 times but he didn't understand and said things like "Fefra?" I was with my head in a cloud during the rest of the gig!! Afterwards Darlene was so lucky to be picked up by Bob and she met the band, while we were dreaming in the empty hall. The next day started great, the sun was shining and heading for Karlskoga we had to leave the Highway and we saw some beautifull places of Sweden. But in the middle of NOWHERE, NOTHING, etc, our van broke down!!!! It was horror. Lucky enough we were followed by Darlene with Jukka and Barry en Theresa, so after 3,5 hours of horror I joined them to Karlskoga. The guy who had fixed our tickets was allready worried when we showed up, and after a while the others arrived, helped by Anders (Witman?) Because off all our trouble that day I was exhausted and not really able to enjoy the show, even not when John looked, laughed and pointed at me the whole time during Lodi. I was also splashed to the fence. But it was REALLY great when all those journalists started to take pictures of us and my "Fogerty for President" sign!!! It even showed up in a newspaper!!! After the show we tried again to meet the band but again only Mike showed up. The next day started great and stayed great. We drove off to Stockholm and the mood was right. In Stockholm, we walked around the hughe Hovet and waited outside for the band. We met some crazy guys who were in the building for a long time but finally were kicked out, shame!! Finally the famous black "lyxvan" Chevy drove by and John and Bob where in it, but nothing happened. We were really dissapointed, because this was the last day. We met more and more great fans, from Norway, Holland, England, and we joined the queue in front of the building. Our gate opened as last, I went so crazy I almost hitted the security girl who said me to stay calm. Thank God we still got our frontrow positions!! That night I really "walked with the angles". Our big hero, the man who was just a voice from my speaker for nine years, he got so close... When he wanted to start Lodi, he surched in the crowed, pointing at the frontrow, then he saw me, and started the Lodi trick again. I can not believe it, but again he dedicated it to me, without words... Afterwards he bowed again, left me crazy next of Robert... The whole gig he came up in our direction. I reached out with my A's cap to catch a pick for Robert but he allready got one. That cap is holy now. During centerfield I showed him my cap and he noticed it, and somewhere in the middle I threw it on stage. At the end Bob took it and gave it to John, who putted it on!!! He walked to me again and I took a picture, and then he started to act so weird!!! He posed for me, and I had to wait untill my flashlight was ready so I said him so. He said weird things and did the weirdest poses there in front of me!!! Finally my flashlight worked and he gave to cap back. With the FAB words: "You can give it to me when we' will be back next year".... Oooow!! A couple of times he said "I will be back, but most of the time he looked in our direction when he said that so i am quiet sure he WILL come to Europe next year!! Then he showed a fabulous "I love sweden" sign wich he held up high and everybody went crazy... He was also making jokes the whole time, and one time he pointed at Robert and me, and to the others, who were in front of Bob Glaub, and he said in the mike "Hey, these guys know these guys...and they have a message!" What message!! For five minutes I tried to get in contact with them, and Peter did the same, so your joke worked out right John, haha! We were right in front of Johnny Lee and that was quiet fab. We had eye contact with him the whole time and I asked his pick for a couple of times, wich he gave at the end!! He is SO cool!! After the show Bob F. showed up and before I knew what happened we were heading for Johns dressingroom. We passed the guys from the band and there John was. He talked to Peter and Helmut and then he saw me, Oh Boy! He shook my hand and came SO close to ask what my name was.... I had to spell it and now he understood. This was the 3th time I met my big love but I never was so mixed up before. I just stood there, holding his hand when he talked to me... When everybody had talked to him Bob started to chase us out, what John didn't like. I was allready outside, looking for Kenny and Johnny Lee and the others I turned around and said goodbey, and the last thing I saw was John with this huge smile, he waved and said "Bye, Petra!" I thought it was a dream but there are witnesses.The others were hanging around and so nice friendly and super again, it was just great. Unfortunately we couldn't stay backstage forever and we had to leave. Outside in the fog we had to leave Jukka, barry and Theresa and Darlene, and the guys we just met, wich was so hard and terrible. We were on our way to reality again. More about our fab trip soon on Peter Koers' pages!!! With nice pics!! One day I meet all of you (again), Petra. John Fogerty at Norrkoping, Karlskoga and Stockholm courtesy Barry King via Fogerty's Swamp. THE DIARY OF THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME. (or until February!) --------------------------------------------------------- Man oh Man oh Man ... I dont know where to start! This note represents my personal memories of the trip. Obviously it is slanted very much towards the moments that I remember. Sadly, it is impossible to totally recall every incident. Others of our group will recall other details. For example, I am sure Petra will remember LODI all her life!!! It was beyond my wildest expectations for the trip, which were already sky-high. I wish you could all have come along. This is going to be a long e-mail! Thursday 6th Nov. ----------------- Went into work. Made final preparations via e-mail for meeting up with people. Tried to work, but it was impossible due to increasing excitement. Had an important squash match in the evening. Very tough match. Won in 5 sets, probably due to adrenalin already pumping round my system. Got home 10 pm. Woke Teresa up at midnight, set off for Stansted at about 00.30 ... got to Stansted at 4am. Tried to sleep in car. Not much success. Friday 7th November. -------------------- Checked in at 6am, flight took off 7.15 ... heating not working .. the plane was freezing! But who cares, we were on our way. Got to Nykoping airport at 10.25 ... tiny airport. Got taxi to Nykoping railway station. (10 quid!!!). Had to wait til 12.47 for train to Norrkoping. Arrived Norrkoping at 13.30 ... Jukka was waiting for us at the station. Went and checked in at the Grand Hotel (70 quid a night). Went for something to eat, then got the bus to the concert venue: Himmelstalundshallen... Found Robert, Peter, Helmut, Petra, Arnold and Darlene Schwartz outside the artists entrance. Darlene had come over from New Orleans for the gigs!!!! It was foggy, very cold and raining outside the venue. We were all freezing. Darlene was offering indecent amounts of money just to get her hands on a decent pair of socks. The band (minus JF) arrived around 16.45 ... we had a short chat with them. I shook Kenny's hand, we all said Hi to all of them. Then the Tour promoter (Mike) came out to have a chat with us. Mike told us that there would be no soundcheck cos JF was staying in Stockholm and would only arrive just before the show started. Damn, all that waiting in the cold ... Anyway, doors opened at 18.30 ... we are first in and right down the front, to the left, right in front of JF;s microphone. 6000 people are packed in the venue. Some are drunk. They will not remember anything about the show. Their loss. Support Band start at 19.30 ... finish 20.10 ... Not bad. Excitement building ... Julie sticks her head round the curtains and waves to us.. 20.40 The lights go out, big cheers, crickets sound out, then suddenly the curtains go back and there he is playing those opening notes to BOTB. What a feeling!!!! This was the first time I had seen the full stage backdrop. It is excellent. JF is in the blue outfit. JF sees us in the front row ... Big smiles. Then he sees Darlene, he is visibly stunned!!! The place is going wild, the music is fantastic, Bob, Kenny and Johnny Lee all smile at us. Bob shouts Hi! Toronto and Hamburg were great, but this was something else. John's guitar solos were out of this world. The riffs were fantastic, even better than in the summer. He kept coming and standing right in front of us and smiling down. Teresa's camera is working overtime. Then he announces that there are some people here at the front who have come a long way to be here. I just want them to know I appreciate it. Every song is excellent. JF is in a great mood. He keeps coming over and chatting with us during the songs! Man, this is unbelievable. A drunk girl behind falls asleep on my shoulder with a big grin on her face. She is impressed every time I tell her what the next song will be!! Then the big smiling Moon comes out during the acoustic set. Great. Every song is perfect. The improvised guitar at the start of Before You Accuse Me stretches out to 2 minutes!! An incredible bit of improvised J. C. Fogerty Swamp guitar. I didnt want that bit to ever end. On we go with Blueboy, Rockin all over the World, Hurricane, Grapevine then Bad Moon Rising. During BMR he's looking at me the whole time just like he did in Hamburg! He must know somehow I like that one, and he must remember I was in Hamburg. Sh*t, cant be true, just a coincidence. In Proud Mary, when he mentions New Orleans he smiles our way and points to Darlene. Amazing.... Then before we know it, its all over.... 30 songs, over 2 and a half hours. We wait til everyone has left. Bob Fogerty comes over to say Hello. He shakes my hand, says Hi. Crikes, he remembers us from Toronto and Hamburg. So its all over for Friday. We are knackered. Only 2 more concerts to go! We arrange to all meet at 11am. Saturday 8th November. ---------------------- We wake about 8.30 ... massive breakfast. I should think so for 70 quid! We walk with Jukka over to Darlene's hotel. She is just paying. We load everything into her rented car. At the checkout we get talking to a nice guy about JCF and how we had come from all over. We ask him if he was there last night. He said 'Sure, I am the drummer for the support band!'. More conversation, then we say we'll see him tonight. Meet up with the others in the Belgium van at 11.15 ... off we go to Karlskoga. All is going well for about 50 kms, then suddenly the van pulls off the road. Apparently, there was a bad noise and the engine cut out. It seems very bad.... We are in the middle of nowhere. Next town is 50 kms away. Jukka and Arnold find a number for the nearest Renault garage. The guy doesnt want to come out cos its Saturday. He says we will have to wait til Monday. Jukka rings the police who order the garage guy to come out! He does so but tells us it will cost 350 quid to get towed the 50 kms to Orebro. B*stard and so on. No choice. Its getting late. We have been waiting there for 4 hours. 5 of us in Darlene's car set off to Karlskoga. The others drop the van at the garage in Orebro. Arne drives from Karlskoga to Orebro to collect them. We get to Karlskoga at 18.00 ... luckily I find Mike straightaway. We dont have tickets. We dont have to worry. Bob has sent tickets for us!!!!! Big queues are forming. Small town of 20000 people. This is the event of the century! We discover we are a ticket short. Teresa manages to get into the building, finds Mike and hey Bingo, we have the ticket we need. I was just buying a ticket outside. I handed the guy 400 krone. Teresa rushes up and says No, we dont want it. She grabs the money back. The poor guy looks confused!! 18.30: The doors open, we rush in. I am as fast as Linford Christie down to the front. Perfect position again. Support band come on. Its freezing in the stadium. 3500 people. 20.10 Support finish. Bob F sticks his head round the curtains. Waves to us. The concert is a repeat of the previous night. I cant say which concert is best. Bob Glaub is smiling at us. He says something but I cant make out what it was. JF is taking care to get all the solos correct. No obvious bum notes. And the solos in GR, OMDTR are amazing. Tonight he is in black. He has added some really good Fogerty type riffs in those solos. Just like the previous night John is all smiles and chatting to us. And again, in BMR he looks at me all the way through. This is amazing! Its not just a coincidence. Well, we will find out for sure tomorrow night. And in Proud Mary he is smiling and pointing at Darlene again.... Suddenly, its all over. Mike Canipe comes out to talk with us. He says he hopes we get the car fixed. Well, he builds cars for fun. We could have used his help!!! Anyway, off we go to find a hotel. The cheapest is 50 quid for a single room. Teresa gets a single. I sneak in after her. Very tired and happy. What a sleep. Sunday 10th November. --------------------- We wake at 8.30 Another big breakfast. The others try to hire a car. No chance in this village. We stick together. Finally they get a big red Volvo. Easy for us to follow ! Darlene amuses us with many unrepeatable stories. Its a 3 hour trip to Stockholm. We get there around 3pm. We talk to Mike again. He is very pressurized. We hang around wondering if there will be a soundcheck. Then, from inside we hear RAOTW. Jukka has disappeared. Later, we learn that he found an open door and sneaked into the soundcheck. We look for Ron Boden to give him his ticket. We finally find him at 18.00 - phew! Then we queue up outside. The doors open about 18.30 We rush down the front again! This time we split into 2 groups one to the left of the stage and one over to the right. But we are all right in the front row. This auditorium is bigger - about 10,000. The Swedish guys to the right of Teresa cant believe that we have all come from UK, Belgium, Holland, Germany, NewOrleans, for the gig. We tell them to watch out for JF pointing at Darlene in Proud Mary. Oh yea, sure, they think. 19.30 The support band come on. Teresa shouts out to Werner, the drummer. He sees us and laughs. but by the 3rd time I have had enough of their music. Cant wait for them to finish. 20.10 All their equipment is cleared away. JF+Band's microphones and monitors are all set up. Everything is ready. Mercury Blues (Al Jackson) is playing over the speakers. Then over to the left of the stage I see Bob F waving at me. I wave back and point him out to Darlene. He comes down to the gap between stage and front row. He shakes my hand, teresa's and Peter Koers. He says 'not long to go now'. The Swedish guys are amazed. They ask Teresa if that is Bob Fogerty. She replies Yes, they cant believe that he came over to say Hi to us. Then before we know it, the lights are down, the crickets fill the air. The curtains roll back and a blue-jeaned John Fogerty is there right in front of us!!!! He comes over and acknowledges each of us. He sees our greetings and smiles. The music is as good as the other nights. Bob Glaub smiles at us. Then he asks me: How are your ears??? I pretend I cant hear and say What????? He laughs. The solos are just like the other nights. If he betters these shows he is SuperMan. At one point he comes over and says Hi to Peter Koers. Then a while later, whilst playing, he comes over and says to me 'Hi How are you doing?' - I cannot believe what I heard. I reply ... Just fine John. At the end of the song he comes over and tries to give me his guitar pick. Many hands are outstretched, but its for me! I drop the bloody thing but retrieve it later. And so it goes on. Then he sees that Robert and Petra are separated from the rest of us. He points to us and says: Hey, do you guys there want to send a message across to these guys here!' . Petra throws a baseball cap onto the stage. John picks it up and poses in front of her wearing it for her to take some photos. Cotton Fields is hilarious. We are pretending to cradle babies. This was instigated by Darlene, of course!. JF sees what we are doing, laughs and comes and stands in front of us. I cant stop laughing. There are many instances where he came over and acknowledged all the members of our group. It was incredible. Then in BMR, yet again he looks at me throughout the whole song. At one point he pulled away from the microphone and said something to me but I cant hear what it was. So it was true. It happened in Hamburg and each of the 3 nights in Sweden. He must know I like that song a lot! Then came Proud Mary. This time it is even funnier than before. When he mentions Memphis he shakes his head whilst looking over and smiling. Then when finally he says New Orleans it is the biggest point and smile of the 3 nights. Great stuff. The Swedes to our right cannot believe it! Then suddenly it is all over. Damn!!!!!!!!!! General Points: --------------- 1. They are much more a band now. JLS and MC fool around a lot more. In Stockholm, the last night for 3 months, they are all throwing things at Kenny! 2. The music has got even better than before. The solos are refined to perfection. Great JF riffs. 3. JF thanked every one of his crew by name. Not many would do that. 4. The Tour restarts in February in the States. We wait around whilst everyone leaves. Then suddenly Bob F is there talking with us. Quite a crowd have gathered. Bob tells us that John invites 'our group' to go backstage and meet him. Suddenly we are being taken backstage. It is hard on those who are told they cant come. Especially Ron Boden. He took it very badly.. He went outside and cried apparently. As we go through we meet the whole band standing around. Then we are in Johns small dressing room. John was very friendly. Julie sat back out of the way. I am very impressed with Julie, especially the way she has made John feel good about himself again. We were with him for about 10 minutes. He discussed the car breakdown, the Eurotour cancellation. He basically said that nothing had been signed and that many people jumped the gun. He said they will be back over to Europe next year. He said he remembered us from Toronto and Hamburg. We had a chat about the Guvernment, where he played in Toronto. We each had our photos taken with him. Petra became all tongue-tied whilst talking to him, couldnt speak and finally just said 'Oh F*ck'. He laughed. I told him it was a privilige to be at his concerts. His reply was simply 'Why, Thank You, Barry'. He was very unassuming and plain nice. I was impressed. Then it was time to go. I said cheerio and Thank You to Julie. Outside his room, we met the rest of the band. We talked with all of them. Bob G asked Teresa where she was from and how she ended up living in England. Teresa took my photo with JLS and MC. JL rammed a cigar in my mouth for the photo.... As we were leaving I shouted over to Bob F: Thanks Bob and waved. He shouted back: See you next year. It was really a wonderful weekend! I wish it could have gone on forever. I will certainly NEVER forget it. The details may fade, but the feelings will always be with me. And it was good to be able to share all these experiences with the others in our 'Travellin Band'. Our friendships have been made stronger by these shared experiences. And it was great to meet Darlene Schwartz from New Orleans. She is a very nice person. I am certain we will all be meeting up again before very long. Phew. Hope you enjoyed reading that. Barry.