Chuck Berry starts out slow but gives crowd good show

CHUCK BERRY, RENAISSANCE Deer Valley Amphitheater, Aug. 29

DEER VALLEY — When former presidential candidate John McCain used Chuck Berry's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hit "Johnny B. Goode" as his campaign anthem last year, the presidential candidate joked that he was using the song because Berry was the only artist who didn't complain about him using it.

Perhaps McCain tainted the song for the father of Rock 'n' Roll — as the pro-Obama artist left fans without a performance of the legendary song at his concert last night.

He did, however, open the night with the crowd-pleaser "Roll Over Beethoven," lackadaisically entering the stage as if he were going to roll over himself.

Fans welcomed the soon-to-be 83-year-old Berry to the stage with a standing ovation, while Berry shuffled to the microphone, casually chatted with the band, and let his standard uniform of a sailor hat and ruby-sequined shirt glimmer in the stage light.

Berry quickly moved into "School Day" and "Sweet Little Sixteen," the song ripped off of the Beach Boys' anthem "Surfin' USA."

Drifting from the melody and sounding rather hesitant early on, Berry seemed to gain confidence in his voice with each guitar stroke — as the song came to a close, he engaged the crowd, asking, "Can it get a little louder?"

In turn, the crowd cheered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee on as he moved into "Memphis, Tennessee" and "Wee Wee Hours."

He seemed to recall youthful memories as he sang with a smirk, "I wonder if you still remember all the freaky things we used to do."

The crowd spanned from college-age hipsters to Berry's generation, and though many of the older fans sat calmly dining on wine and cheeses, others served as energy-boosters, encouraging the audience to get to their feet as Berry leg-kicked across the stage.

More than once during the evening, Berry stumbled over lyrics and melodies, always admitting his fault. "I can't remember some of my songs because they are older than I am," he said.

The legend cruised through "Let It Rock," "Carol" and "Reelin' and Rockin'," and then delighted the audience with the cheeky "My Ding-A-Ling," letting the audience fill in the catchy line for him.

Further playing off his old age, Berry teased the audience with slow, sensual jerking motions, smiling and saying, "That's called 'titillating.' "