Story and Photos by Nick McCabe
Scroll down for a gallery of images from the show.
Creedence Clearwater Revisited brought their set list of classic rock and roll hits to life Friday night at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno. The band is made up of two of the four original members of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Doug Clifford (drums) and Stu Cook (bass guitar and vocals). The band is rounded out with Kurt Griffey on guitar, Steve Gunner covering keyboards, guitars, percussion, and vocals, Dan McGuiness, the newest member, on lead vocals and guitar.
(Former member Tom Fogerty left the band in 1971 after long-standing animosity with his brother John, and died in 1990. John Fogerty, with much discord distanced himself from his band mates in late 1972, marking the end of Creedence Clearwater Revival.)
The band started off the set strong with “Born On The Bayou,” “Green River,” and “Lodi.” My first observations of new man Dan McGuiness were that he looked a lot like a young John Fogerty, but didn’t sound much like him. As the evening and songs moved along I gradually forgot what Fogerty sounded like and grew to be impressed with McGuiness’s beautiful voice. When they played “Long As I Can See The Light,” I was sold. McGuiness is definitely a good find and great addition to the band.
Stu Cook and Doug Clifford are a truly rock solid rock and roll rhythm section—one of the finest of their era. Cook was strutting around with a huge smile most of the time. Clifford sat stoic, pumping out a solid tempo that did not waver.
“Susie Q” was a 10-minute showstopper. Guitarist Griffey played an amazing extended guitar solo that got the crowd amped up. He would move around the entire stage bringing his performance up close to everybody. This was followed by “Hey, Tonight” with Clifford’s young granddaughter joining him on his drum riser to play tambourine.
Another couple of show-stoppers were “I Put A Spell On You” with some more fine guitar work by Griffey and killer vocals by McGuiness, and a 13-minute version of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” which featured Cook on a great bass guitar solo.
A good set list is like a good story. It pulls you in, takes you up, brings you down, and back up again. It’s a journey. This band has put together a great set list. They ramped up to the close with “Bad Moon Rising,” “Proud Mary,” and “Fortunate Son.” They encored with “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?,” “Travelin’ Band,” and finished the evening off with “Up Around The Bend.”
If I were in a position to make recommendations for a change (which I am not) I would tell them to keep the flow going when they have the crowd excited and on their feet. During the three songs leading up to the pre-encore end, the crowd was up and into it and they played without a stop. Perfect in my mind. During the encore they didn’t continue this trend. After “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” there was over a minute of banter (a tiny bit too much time), but after “Travelin’ Band” there was almost three minutes of acknowledgements and thanks before the final song, “Up Around The Bend.” The crowd was amped up and left waiting. Think of it like a sexual experience. You don’t stop to chat it up just before it hits the big climax! After that you talk a bit and say, “Now go home.”
SET LIST
- “Born On The Bayou”
- “Green River”
- “Lodi”
- “Commotion”
- “Who’ll Stop The Rain”
- “Susie Q”
- “Hey, Tonight”
- “Long As I Can See the Light”
- “I Put a Spell on You”
- “Down on the Corner”
- “Lookin’ Out My Back Door”
- “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”
- “The Midnight Special”
- “Bad Moon Rising”
- “Proud Mary”
- “Fortunate Son”
Encore:
- “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?”
- “Travelin’ Band”
- “Up Around The Bend”
Nick McCabe is a Reno-based photojournalist and musician. He’s been shooting concerts in the Reno-Tahoe area since 2006 covering major touring acts as well as keeping up with local artists. He’s been writing articles and reviews since 2012, as well as doing interviews on occasion. His musical education and playing experience goes back to 1967. He is a founding member of the Reno Tahoe Forte’ Awards, and he still plays music locally for enjoyment. First concert: Jimi Hendrix. Last concert: we’ll see.
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