Some acts constantly tour – and it is always a summer ritual to see them, while others like John Mellencamp tour schedules are much more conservative. Mellencamp’s recent show at the new Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts marked his first return to the state in several years, and even a longer time for Orlando.
With a purchase of a ticket fans received a digital download of his latest album Plain Spoken – a raw, passionate effort that is more Johnny Cash then the 80’s style Mellencamp that one may be used to hearing on the radio.
Leading off with the raw, yet tongue in cheek, “Lawless Times” and “Troubled Man” from the album showed he wasn’t afraid to showcase his latest effort.
Then came the one-two attack of “Minutes to Memories” and “Small Town” which caused the crowd’s energy to explode. The standing ovation after “Small Town” (which had more electric guitar and energy than the album cut) was something you may expect to see at the end of a show. From there he continued to alternative between hits and some deeper cuts.
A somewhat early in the set surprise of “Jack and Diane” saw Mellencamp tackle the classic by himself with only an acoustic guitar. It would be hard to find someone not singing along word for word – and when he paused between the first and second verse the crowd incorrectly launched into the chorus – prompting some jokes from Mellencamp before restarting the song.
As the evening went on Mellencamp became more and more talkative sharing stories of his family and life which gave some unique insight into his songs. A great story preceded “Longest Days” in which he share that his grandma once told him”life is short, even it its longest days” which lead the him writing the song.
The show wrapped up with a hit parade that included “Rain on the Scarecrow”, “Paper in Fire”, “Authority Song” before closing out with “Pink Houses” and “Cherry Bomb”.
His touring band, which included an excellent violin player, were giving plenty of time to show. The spotlight may have been on Mellencamp but the performance came off as a collective band, not just an artist with backing musicians.
The “Plain Spoken” tour continues across the US for the better portion of 2015 – and with his lengthy breaks between tours there is no better time to see him than now.
