JOHN MELLENCAMP
LIVE AND IN PERSON TOUR
STRANAHAN THEATER
TOLEDO, OHIO
MARCH 17, 2024
By Neil Shumate, OOTB Publications
With John Mellencamp being 72-years-old one might think his age could hamper his performance; however, last night his presence seemed youthful and his gritty, smoky signature vocals resonated.
Following a 20-minute intro of black-and-white classic movie clips that set the mood, fans were treated to a mixed catalogue of hits and lesser known fan favorites with brief, humorous storyteller asides. Most songs during the 90-minute set were backed by the legendary singer-songwriter’s full band—which included magnificent violin solos and a backing accordion, a setup like The Decemberists or The Avett Brothers—other songs (just 1.25) were unplugged as stand alone acoustic performances with just Mellencamp, his guitar and a harmonica.
During an acoustic version of “The Eyes Of Portland,” Mellencamp sang with vigor about homelessness after sharing a story that influenced the song, with lyrics: “In this land of plenty, where nothing gets done… living here in the gutters in this land of the free.”
Known for straightforward, catchy, midwestern working class rock-and-roll and folk rock, Mellencamp, who has been performing five decades and was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2008, has always stood out from the Rick Springfield’s and blended more with the Bruce Springsteen’s, and he does get political.
Fans were out of their seats and on their feet, clapping, dancing and singing along to: “Small Town,” “Check It Out,” “Human Wheels,” “Lonely Ol Night” and more.
After an unexpected verbal exchange between Mellencamp and a rude drunken heckler in the crowd, Mellencamp angrily walked off stage after performing less than a quarter verse of “Jack and Diane.”
Many began to leave and thought the show was cancelled as the lights began to go up, but fortunately the lights dimmed, the band returned and cranked up the decibel to perform “Rain On The Scarecrow” after the heckler was removed. Mellencamp & Co. performed more songs including 1982 hit “Hurts So Good.”
Although the heckler was wrong and out of place, John could of handled the situation much better. The concert wasn't the same after Mellencamp returned to the stage. He never again communicated w/the audience, there was no apology, no encore and at least a couple songs were omitted from the show.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree mr.mellencamp showed show no class......
DeleteI am from Mellencamp's real hometown of Seymour Indiana, and I am personally not surprised. Mellencamp is a jerk and last I heard, claims that Bloomington Indiana is his hometown, which is NOT a small town.
ReplyDeleteWhat???
DeleteWe were among the people who left as one of the (at least 3) hecklers was right behind us and vigorously resisted any effort to quiet or remove him. The hecklers were an embarrassment but I also think a seasoned professional could have handled it better - maybe by saying he was going to stop until the loud mouths were removed. As it was, there was no indication he’d come back and we didn’t want to be a part of a potentially violent situation, so we wasted 2/3 of our $450 tickets.
ReplyDeleteWow.. I was there myself .I think it was handled wrong as well. John mellencamp showed no class.. I've been the fan of his for 42 years seen him numerous times. I will never go back
DeleteHe said he was going to cut 10 songs from his set & I think he did. When he came back to the stage it seemed to me he was going to do just enough to get paid. The band was great but Mellencamp was weak. His songs often have a “common man” thread to them but he sure acted like a diva. The heckler was out of line and so was Mellencamp.
ReplyDeleteI agree they were both out of line.. What's part of the lyrics to the song minutes to memories. So Suck It up and tough it out and be the best you can be ..Suck it up John.
DeleteMaybe he shouldn’t make the audience sit through a 20 minute video. I mean start it 20 minutes before the concert as walk in music. At show time, we all want to see and hear live music. If he doesn’t want to perform right away, at least have a warmup act.
ReplyDeleteMy sister in law went, sat right in front of the sound system guys. When John walked off and lights went up she asked the sound guys " will he be coming back"? The sound guys said quote "Who the hell knows'. That tells you he's a little bitch and very hard to work for.
ReplyDeleteGuess the guy should have kept his mouth shut. I love all everyone says Mellencamp should have done this or done that. None of you would stand up there and take shit like that... Admit it.
ReplyDeleteTypical Biden voter
DeleteTypical left winger
DeleteMaybe the heckler should have kept his mouth shut? Maye security should have acted faster. Mellencamp has running this same show for the last 3 tour so people should be surprised by the more toned down version he puts out today. I don't think Mellencamp should have to stand up there and be disrespected by drunk. None of you would do it... admit it.
ReplyDeleteTypical Democrat behavior
DeleteTypical buckeye behavior!
ReplyDeleteShame on Mellancamp. He's a perform, paid to perform. He's NOTHING without fans. He should learn to suck it up and play. People don't pay $150 a seat to hear a damn lecture. STFU and play. Quit being a big baby.
ReplyDeleteThe common thread on review after review is that JM is all about lecturing the crowd, being politically divisive, and not play his hits. Basically he's a d***.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.newyorkcitytheatre.com/theaters/beacontheater/john-mellencamp-customer-reviews.php?r=a&sort=worst&page=all
Saw him at the Cynthia Mitchell Woodlands pavilion years ago. The music was good but he ranted quite a bit about his political views, never went to see him again.
DeleteI think he has Napoleon Syndrome and he ripped off his fans, will never go see him again.
ReplyDeleteI think he has Napoleon syndrome and he ripped off his fans will never go see him again we should get our money back.
ReplyDeleteI saw him in Chicago. Always loved him. So disappointed. If I didn’t go I would still be a fan. He has quite an attitude. Hecklers are annoying but after 50 years of entertaining. John. You got anger issues. Stick to the music. Keep your opinions to yourself. People pay big money to see their favorite artists to escape reality and have fun. Maybe you should give up singing and just go into politics. You’re on their opinionated depressing level.
ReplyDeleteIt's nothing new -- below is the 1982 Rolling Stone chronicle of his infamous J.W. Little Memorial Stadium tirade:
ReplyDeleteJohn Cougar raised a bit of a ruckus in London, Ontario, on August 30th when, in front of 14,000 fans, he reportedly launched into an obscenity-laced tirade against the concert's promoters, flung rented equipment into the packed audience -- allegedly injuring two young women -- and stalked offstage. "It was just unbelievable," said Don Jones, one of the three promoters who had contracted Cougar to play between sets by Del Shannon and the Beach Boys.
All seemed fine until midway through Cougar's set, when, according to Jones, "the guy just snapped. He started into this little preach about how 'the promoter has ripped you off. You've all come to see me. (expletive deleted from original story) the promoter, he's an (expletive deleted).' He went on and on."
Cougar concluded his set by hurling a $3,200 drum kit, rented by the promoters, into the audience ("A couple of girls were hurt by the cymbals," Jones claimed); kicking in one of the Beach Boys' monitors ("They were disgusted; they wanted to pull the plug on him"); and breaking a mic stand before fleeing.
Later, Cougar said he felt the promoters were "ripping off the kids" by forcing him to play a shortened set on "Tinkertoy" equipment. "Before I got on the bill, the Beach Boys had sold 2,000 tickets. So here are kids paying fifteen dollars to see me play thirty-five minutes." Cougar says he intends to play a free concert later this year for the Ontario crowd. Jones, however, vows that he will do his utmost to ensure that Cougar never plays in the area again.
I love it. so r n r!
DeleteI was at the Toledo concert in the mezzanine and simply don’t understand why the ushers/security didn’t do something. At least 3 different people went to the usher to complain about 1 of the loudmouths. I guarantee there were people who would have directly pointed him out because he wasn’t subtle. We went to the lobby when he stopped the show and when the band came out again, my friend said, are we even having fun? We decided to just leave but two of our friends stayed and said it wasn’t good after he came back. It was handled poorly by everyone there.
ReplyDeleteSo typical of these celebrity/ athlete primadonas who think their sh*t don't stink and that we all want to hear their political views. Just shut up and do the job you are paid to do. I run a mortgage company and if they came in to apply for a loan and I said well before we get started let me tell you about my political views or my religious beliefs, would they be okay with it? So why do they think we should be okay with it when they do it?
ReplyDelete