John Mellencamp

This was my first time seeing John Mellencamp after being a fan since I was a young kid. I grew up listening to his music and watching his videos on MTV and I thoroughly enjoyed the rock with a dash of country violin.

The show at the Chicago theater was probably a lot different than someone who would have seen Mellencamp in the 1980s would expect. Mellencamp is older and maybe/maybe not wiser from the lyrics of his songs. His newer music has a slower tempo, seems more introspective and looks at the world from the viewpoint of a man who has seen a lot of life.

The show started off with new material from his Plain Spoken album (most recent release). "Lawless Times," "Troubled Man," and "Minutes to Memories" were all played at the start of his show to capture the attention of his audience and hopefully focus it on his newer work. As a long time fan, I find it hard to reconcile his new music with the music I grew up loving. I do not mean this in a bad way. It is just that in my brain, John Mellencamp is still under thirty and raising hell in rural Indiana. Hearing his more mature voice in his new work is a pleasant surprise because the songwriting is in the same vein, just from a man who still dances, albeit a bit more slowly.

Mellencamp also played several fan favorites, "Small Town," "Jack and Diane," "Paper in Fire," "Check it Out," "Cherry Bomb," "Crumbin' Down," and "Authority Song." Each of these was a thrill to hear live from the man who defined so much of my youth. "Jack and Diane" was done acoustically which was a nice change to a song well over thirty years old. Mellencamp mentioned a sore throat and an almost cancellation of the show a few songs in but it was hard to tell how much his voice was affected because it sounded like John Mellencamp. Several songs seemed to have minor changes but that could have just been normal recorded-to-live-version differences. If the songs were changed structurally to give them a different feel for an audience that has been hearing them for thirty years or longer then I do not object as they were true enough to the originals to still resonate even if they stood apart from the originals themselves.

Overall, the energy level was pretty intense when you consider that Mellencamp has been performing live for "45 years" in his words. The band was tight and sounded great. Guitar, drums and violin packed the same punch for me as they did on the radio in 1982.

The show was my fiance's first real exposure to Mellencamp (she is from the East Coast originally and was not into him prior to the show). She danced, liked his bluesy renditions of "Catastrophe Called Life" and "Longest Days" and left with a much deeper understanding of why I have been such a long time fan. She commented on the walk back to the car how the songs really capture all of his life, from frustration with the small town life, the craziness of youth and a final acceptance as he gets older.

I wish the sound people at the Chicago Theater would have punched up the violin because being up the balcony, it sounded a little too quiet compared to the rest of the band and especially in his older work, the violin drives the tempo of the music. Also, Theater staff should have done a better job of shutting down or moving out obnoxious fans who did not know when cackling and loud voices were uncalled for when Mellencamp was speaking.

As far as Mellencamp and his band, I hope I get to see them again.

John Mellencamp - or John Cougar Mellencamp, depending on who you ask - is one of those songwriters who seemed to embody the eighties for all who followed him; like Bruce Springsteen, his trademark style of heartland rock certainly tapped into something undeniably American, but not necessarily in a way that was trite or exploitative of the flag; instead, this was music for the people. A slew of the top ten hits that he had in his homeland during his eighties heyday were very much rooted in that way of thinking; the likes of ‘Pink Houses, ‘Cherry Bomb’ and ‘Small Town’ were all based around Mellencamp’s everyman lyrical style, with his critical attitude towards the Reagan administration prominent throughout. That’s not to say, though, that Mellencamp’s considerable cult fanbase is exclusively politically-minded; instead, many of them buy his records and turn up to his shows for nothing more than good old fashioned rock and roll. He’s more than happy to oblige, too; on his most recent tour of the UK, in the summer of 2011, he performed epic, career-spanning sets to the delight of packed theatres, proving that his appeal is not just limited to the U.S. With his twentieth studio album set for this Autumn, it won’t be too long until he’s back on these shores - news that will thrill his cult following over here.

Seeing John Mellencamp was never a goal of mine, nor was it truly an interest of mine; however, my dad is a huge fan of John Mellencamp, so I was dragged to a live set to keep my dad company. Luckily it turned out to be a pleasant surprise and a great experience to have shared with my dad. As we filled into the venue, the first thing I noticed was how I may or may not have been the youngest person there. Most of the people were around my dad’s age, but there was still that high excitement of anticipation of the coming show. The anticipation and cheers were matched by the high energy from the moment the band started to play. They opened with “Small Town,” and Mellencamp was center stage playing his guitar. The entire venue was filled with people having a good time, both on and off stage. I was surprised to realize that I really knew a good amount of the songs that he performed, even to a point where I was singing along. Despite no longer being at the absolute height of his music career, his vocals were so on point, sound exactly the same as his younger days. Clearly a seasoned performer who knows how to give the audience what they want.

The opening act for the show was actually a 25-minute long documentary it was quite boring most people in the crowd were talking through it. A few of the crowd were being disruptive and security did nothing. One joker kept booing Mellencamp, another lady kept getting out of her seat and moving forwards to record her own video and pictures and blocking the view of us who stayed in our area.

Mellencamp himself was great. He sounded awesome, did all the favorite songs, talked with the audience, told a hilarious joke about the US/Canada proposed wall, and was a fun guy to watch. Some of the loudest sing-along segments I've ever seen too.

It was a 90 minute or so set once the documentary was over, and no encores, however. So not a very long concert.

Still worth going if you like his music. I still enjoyed myself.

Ps - at least at TD place you were only allowed a drink in a cup, no water bottles allowed.

The show started about 5 minutes late with a "movie" showing the background and life of John Mellencamp. It lasted 30 minutes, the sound was horrible and it was difficult to see the pictures. It was dissappointing it was so long as We all paid good money to see a musical concert not to watch a 30 minute movie. Once the band started it was a great show. John didn't talk much except for a small story about his Grandmother and introducing himself which was fine. He played all the big hits except for one and many new and not so common songs. The concert ended in under 90 minutes and though there was lots of shouting and cheering, the lights came up and it was over. I really expected him to come back out for an encore of the song he was known for and hadn't sang during the evening. When playing it was great, though short and the movie was way too long to see while waiting for him to perform.

I saw Mellencamp in 1985 in Chattanooga. I wasn't a fan of his at the time, didn't own any of his albums, but I did know his songs that played on the radio. I got tickets and went only because it was something to do. Wow, that was one of my good choices. He had no opening act and except for a 5-10 minute break he had to take to run to the bathroom, he and his band lit up the arena for nearly 3.5 hours. From that day on, I was a Mellencamp fan. Some 500 concerts later, that show still ranks in my Top 3 of all time. Take some advice and listen to the "Uh, huh" and "Scarecrow" album and hear what a very tight band sounds like. Then catch him live, you won't see great live shows like him very often, especially now with computer generated music and autotune vocals running rampant in music today.

I loved the show! It did start promptly at 8:00pm, with a documentary film, which was nice. It got people in their seats before he actually came on stage. He performed many of his oldie-but-goodie songs and several new songs. John engaged the audience with a few stories, but spent most of the show singing. The acoustics at our venue were fantastic- so everything sounded perfect. I really really enjoyed hearing the songs I grew up listening to. Unfortunately, some of my favorite songs never received much airplay so weren’t included in the show. But the songs he did play, brought down the house. I’d highly recommend seeing the show if you have the chance!

The show began promptly at 8...with a 30 minute documentary about John Mellencamp. It was boring. Every time it faded out the crowd cheered thinking "Now the show will start!" But it kept going! The concert goers were annoyed and bored.

The concert itself lasted about 90 minutes. It was a good show, John took one short break while his keyboardist and violinist played very very well.

He did most of the hits I could think of and a bunch of songs I'd never heard before. A mix of new and old. There was no encore, which was a tad disappointing for the price of the tickets and given length of the actual concert.

Can't say I'd recommend it at the price of entry.

What a wonderful show!! I have been desperate to see John for only the second time for many years and I wasn't disappointed. The show begins with a film showing the long history of this great artist and then the band comes on and what a band. They were brilliant and so enthusiastic with the electric fiddle played bouncing around the stage. They are all talented musicians in their own right but in combination with John's great songs they were phenomenal. John interacted with the audience a little but this was about his music and we got plenty of that. What an incredible show, would love him to bring it to the UK, I would be first in line to see it again!!

This was my first time seeing John Mellencamp in concert. I did not really have the money to go to concerts growing up. But all I can say is I wish u could have, but I'm just glad I got to see him perform. He still sounds amazing even at a ripe 68 years old. The entire auditorium was singing the choruses fo songs for him. It was truly amazing. John Mellencamp was my favorite artist as I was growing up. I remember telling my mom I think Mellencamp deserves the the title of the king more than Elvis. Anyways, if anyone gets the chance to go and experience John in concert, do yourself the favor and go. You won't be let down.