John Fogerty at the Royal Albert Hall - comments follow-up
Having mentioned listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival in today's "Lifetime of lost playlists" post, I thought I'd follow up on my moan about the John Fogerty show I saw whilst I was in London a few weeks back.
To recap, I was very excited to be around and to get the chance to see John Fogerty live, especially as I was able to go in the company of my dad, who'd introduced me to the band with cassette compilations and by letting me play his 7" singles all those years ago in the 1970s.
Although I mostly enjoyed the concert, especially the run of CCR classics at the end, it was spoilt for me by the very intrusive DVD filming that was going on. The show was stopped a couple of times to re-touch make-up, and the crew set up false shots of the audience cheering and reacting to the music before John had even played a note. My complaining obviously struck a chord with quite a few people, as I've had lots of comments on the post and some emails as well - mostly agreeing with me.
"I was there too. I was so disgusted that I got my ticket refunded." - Nick
"I've seen him in concert before and it was brilliant but the RAH was rubbish. A spoilt evening. We (6 of us) walked out while the second hand clap was on - and there were others walking out as well. I still listen to his music but never again will I go to one of his concerts. A waste for £500 for the 6 of us." - David
"I have never seen such contempt for a (high) paying audience, including having this aforementioned producer turning his back and making 'kiss-my-ass' gestures to us even as he was in the act of supposedly apologising. We eventually had to abandon our seats and sit behind the stage (terrible sound) because we were forced out by the paid extras or hired fans, or whatever they were, who were parachuted in to stand in front of us and dance and shout, making it impossible for us to enjoy the show. It was really quite pathetic and strange to see, from the performers' viewpoint, this large, hostile and sullen audience dotted with pools of film lighting populated with paid actors going berserk." - John
By the weekend the controversy had reached John Fogerty's Wikipedia page, with my article being cited as evidence that fans had been 'aggravated' by the 'production problems':
"On June 24, 2008, Fogerty made a return to the Royal Albert Hall, a venue he last played at with CCR in 1971. It was the last concert on his 2008 European Tour. Despite numerous production problems which aggravated many fans (some walked out in disgust) this concert was filmed and is scheduled for release on CD and DVD in December 2008."
However, some people weren't so impressed with my description of the night's events.
"I don't understand all this negative writing about the RAH concert! I was there too, with a friend and coming from the Netherlands. And we had a great time!" - Harry
The real broadside came from a guy signing himself as Robert:
"I think all of the above comments came from the same person, or his friends. Believe me, we were there too and the concert was just GREAT. I already heard a recording (made by a friend) and it sounds just terrific. I don't understand what the above people really want to achieve and why they are writing lies like this... they certainly are NO John Fogerty fans." - Robert
As I replied to him in the comments myself - I consider I've been a fan for thirty years, but, hey, what do I know?
I still enjoyed the concert despite the filming and disappointing set schedule. He is a real musical hero and the chance to see him live here was a real treat. The fat git who kept interrupting the show was arrogantly annoying. How about all who kept thier tickets getting a discount on the dvd/cd or even a free one. JF come back and do it again without the fat git and his motley crew.
Yes I didn't want the negativity to take away from the good bits of the show - when John was on form it was great - "Comin' Down The Road" and "Ramble Tamble" have barely been off my iPod since.
I was there and largely I agree with your comments. It should have been great, but it wasn't. Lots of people left, but in London this could be to catch the train home. I thought the Band were great and JF tried to get it going, but the damn DVD people prevented that. It will be interesting to watch the DVD.
We saw John Fogerty 2 years ago when he played a packed house at the Hammersmith Apollo - a truly memorable experience. We saw him last year at Wembley Arena - a much larger venue but one which he was unable to fill. The music though was good although the ambience was a little strange being in an auditorium that had been partitioned off to make it look full. Unfortunately I was unable to go on the Royal Albert Hall pilgrimage. My husband was at the RAH when Fogerty last played there in the 70's and he was awaiting this concert with great anticipation. My son accompanied him and they were looking forward to an evening of well known and loved music. However, like you and many others, they were bitterly disappointed by the constant delays and interuptions. They had to leave before the concert had hardly got started to catch the last train home. The tickets were extremely expensive and they came away with the feeling that they had been ripped off. My husband has been a Fogerty fan since the 1960's and has followed his career with great interest over the last 30+ years. To say that the fans were ripped off is an understatement. It would appear to me that they have been treated with the utmost contempt. Whether this is by Mr Fogerty or by the promotions company I'm unsure, but if he carries on this way I am sure that the next time he plays in the UK he will struggle to find an audience.
Bit late but just found this!! Loved JF, Cosmos factory was the 1st LP I bought, Up around the bend one of the 1st singles. Never saw the guy live and was gutted in 2006 to see him playing in England the day we were going on holiday. Unbelievably the same happened in 2007. When the RAH show was announced I couldn't believe I was once more on holiday. Luckily this time we were staying in England. Somehow I persuaded my wife it'd be a good idea to drive from Cornwall to see the show and then back to resume our break! To say that the show was a disappointment would be an understatement. We walked out after an hour or so as had about 33% of the audience. John was good but the production crew ruined it. To this day I've not managed to play his cds. I complained to the RAH and they gave me my money back although this in no way made up for the disappointment of losing an idol. I regret seeing him and really doubt I'd bother seeing him again.
Wow, I am impressed with your powers of persuasion. The closest I've come to something like that is convincing the other half that it was worth a two-day trip to Paris, with seeing Kraftwerk as the main attraction, in 2002.