Concert Review: John Mellencamp
Thursday July 24, 2008
They say you never forget your first one.
Your first car, first love, first rock concert by a particular artist.
Reviewer Alun Williams fondly remembers the first time he saw John Mellencamp in concert. It was quite a revelation for him. The last time he saw Mellencamp in concert? Mmmmm ... not so much.
Here's a life lesson in the concept of "dancing with the one that brung you."
Comments
I was also at the Mellencamp concert and I thought he rocked! I loved the new twist on his old songs and enjoyed the new music he presented. People complained that he only did one song for an encore, but the guy is 56 years old, what did they expect?
The volume was not good, but it wasn’t for any of the 6 other concerts I have attended at DTE this year. Even Kid Rock’s sound was lacking.
Saw John Mellencamp in OKC at the Ford Center and the show wasn’t bad, but lacked the luster I would have thought a recent RNRHOF member would bring to the stage. The crowd (or lack there of) was the smallest I’ve ever seen in that venue for a concert. While John’s voice is still strong and his band is tremendous, I felt like the show never really got rolling except near the end and then it was over. The solo “Small Town” was decent but with a band like his why leave them backstage? The rendition of “Pink Houses” sounded more like a pub/bar band version than Mellencamp. The death nail in the coffin for me came when John preached a mini sermon on racisim. While I agreed with everything he said why do it at a concert? People pay good money to hear their favorites and escape for a few hours. As far as the one song encore – sure John is 56 but did you see the Stones on their last tour? Guys in their 60s and still kicking Mellencamp’s ass. I will continue to be a Mellencamp fan – always have been back to the days of Johnny Cougar, but as far as concerts go there are much better ones on tour this year.