So I went to the Mellencamp concert...

[Skorixor]

Yes John Mellencamp came to lil ole Terre Haute, IN. And if you know anything about Hoosiers, is that they worship anyone who makes it big from their state (because their state sucks and they have nothing else to cheer for). So when Mellencamp comes to town (hell, it only took him 45 min to drive here from his house in Bloomington), it was as if Jesus himself came here. It was crazy. And if you ever get a couple thousand drunk rednecks together whooped up into a craze, it's something to behold.

So back to the concert, and I'll have to admit it was a good one. I used to really enjoy Mellencamp, but I grew out of those Farm rock days, but I found myself singing along to many of the songs.

The concert was set up different than most. No opening band for one.

The first half was a mix of different songs, some more eclectic than others, but a good mix, and he did play my favorite song "scarecrow" about devils and such. Of course he opened with "small town" which got everyone to warp factor 10 right off the bat. Nothing like singing about your little town in Indiana to whip the natives into a frenzy.

Here's where it got interesting...instead of having an intermission, they rolled out 60's music legend Donovan, Mellencamp's idol when he was a kid. So Donovan played a couple of his hits, which upon listening to them all in a row are basically this: sing the same line 3 times, sing something different, then repeat the original 3 lines again, repeat ad nauseum.

So then he gets to the third song, which is something off his "brand-new" album. Brand new meaning the record just came out, not brand new as in substance. This song was song weird freaking new-wave hippie shit that was horrible IN THE 60's, and even more god-awful now. I was surprised the fans didn't start throwing chairs at him. Now I'm not pregidous against 60's music, but I like the GOOD bands from then, the Doors, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Clapton, etc... This was just bad. So before the riot began, he sang 3 more hippie hits of the 60's, finally ending with "mello yello." the crowd rejoiced.

The Second Act kicked off with a bang and never let up. It was a Mellencamp Hits Marathon. And I do mean marathon. There were no breaks between songs. One hit right after the other after the other after the other. Not even a split second pause. It was really quite amazing. They were really rockin their ass off and not stopping. He paused once for a guitar change. He then paused to introduce the band before the 3 song finale.

Now the bad part:

I am legally fucking deaf. I kid you not. This was the loudest concert I have EVER been too. You're thinking, "WTF?? it's Mellencamp. He plays acoustic on half his songs." That is true, but I am deaf. And I know about loud noise. I walk around running jet engines for a living. This was by far the loudest ever. I will now explain why.

Hulman Center at Indiana State Univ. is a very small arena. It is used for the crappy basketball team, and events. It is VERY small. It only seats MAYBE 12000 people...United Center where the Bulls play holds what 30-35000? Well Mellencamp brought all his gear for a arena that size. After I sat down I looked up at all the speakers set up. They were those big square ones about as tall as a person. THERE WERE SIXTY OF THEM. So a full arena setup in a space 1/3 the size. At some points the really rocking songs got so distorted I couldn't understand them. On top of that the bass was severely turned up, so much so it interrupted the quality of the vocals etc...now you may think, "aww he's just being an old fogey." But the bass was so powerful my vision was distorting because it was vibrating my glasses. Thump-blurry-clear vision-Thump Thump-blurry-clear vision. I swear. It was fucking ridiculous.

Overall, a pretty good concert, minus the deafness. (it's like my head's in an aquarium, and all the fish are blowing police whistles)

[Zyre Mercutio]

I went to Farm Aid 10 here in Lousiville in 95 and Hootie & the Blowfish, DMB, and John Mellencamp were some of the folks on the bill. Mellencamp easily stole the show churning out radio hit after radio hit which most everyone could sing along to. After his set was over his guitar player at the time got
married on stage right before Neil Young took the stage.

Loudest act I have ever seen in concert has to be the Smashing Pumpkins, both time they were deafening and oddly enough the only other "too loud"
concert I have seen by an artist I like was Joan Osbourne, as the Palace here must really have screwed that PA equipment up.


Zzzzzz

[Keer]

Mellencamp has overcome alot. Spinabifida as a kid then a heart attack in the last few years. Nothing like a brush with death to spark up the love of life and the crowd.