John Mellencamp - Live At The Ford Center

The Mellencamp concert last night was excellent. Easily one of the top ten concerts I've ever attended, and I've attended some damn fine shows in my time.

Mellencamp played all the songs you'd expect, but that was exactly what everyone wanted to hear. "Little Pink Houses," "Small Town," "Jack and Diane," "Hurts so Good," "ROCK in the USA," "Crumblin' Walls," "Paper in Fire," "I Need a Lover"--they were all there. The best part was that Mellencamp altered each song just enough to make it fresh, tweaking minor things, fiddling with arrangements and pacing, and generally making the songs feel new. At the same time, each song retained enough of its essence, its basic and fundamental core, to remain familiar and recognizable. This is no easy trick, and not everyone can pull it off (folks have long debated whether Bob Dylan, who changes arrangements and lyrics at the drop of a hat, actually manages the trick. Of course, he's known for completely altering a song almost out of recognition just on a whim). One of the most entertaining segments of the show involved the band hunkering down for an acoustic set of five or six songs, with Mellencamp sitting on a stool in the middle of the stage with an acoustic guitar. During this set, they played songs like "Rain on the Scarecrow," which I think was the most successful reinterpretation all night. In an acoustic setting, the poignancy of the song really came out without sacrificing any of the energy or power of the original electric version.

The audience loved every minute of the show. Folks were singing along at the top of their lungs to almost every song, everyone was standing up, and even the sixty-odd year old woman behind us, whom we think came for Donovan (she was sure dancing around during his set, anyway--dad suspects she had a lot of fun in the '60s), tapped her toes and bobbed to the beat.

Everyone left the Ford Center last night in a good mood. The audience had a blast, Mellencamp had a blast, and Donovan was actually still stoned from the '60s, I think, so I'm pretty sure he had a blast. You couldn't have asked for a better concert.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: John Mellencamp, "Rain on the Scarecrow (Live)"