Concert Bucket List: John Mellencamp
Here is a review of this concert I posted on Facebook last month:
First, before going into any details, I must say it was an
excellent show, which met all my expectations and more. So even the small
negatives aren’t really negatives at all, just things I’d change if I was in
control. I honestly don’t know how these
guys do it day in and day out, and John is something like 63 years old, a
chronic smoker and former heart attack victim. But you would not know any of
that by the level of sheer energy that he and his terrific band put into the
show.
Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself. Carlene Carter opened the
show, which is not as strange as it might seem considering that a.) she
performed on the soundtrack to Mellencamp’s collaboration with Stephen King and
T-Bone Burnett, The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County; and b.) Mellencamp’s own
work in recent years has drifted a long way towards country, especially his
latest album, Plain Spoken. (Personally, I don’t much care for this
development, although his last two Burnett-produced American roots music albums
are very good.)
Not a fan of country, though, I wasn’t familiar with
Carter’s work. She performed solo with only an acoustic guitar and a piano. I
liked the fast guitar tracks, which are apparently from her 90’s heyday. The
other stuff was mostly a tribute to her famous Carter/Cash family, and there
was a lot of talking about being in that family, which just didn’t interest me.
Then she was off, and a half hour later, John and his band
came onstage. He opened with “Lawless Times”, which is the last song off the
new album, and the only one with a hint of rock-n-roll in it. Kind of an
offbeat surprise way to get started. He later did the 2 best tracks from the
record—“Troubled Man” and “Isolation of Mister”—and then left the new album
alone for the evening.
The set list was surprisingly diverse, covering ground that
I never expected him to with album tracks such as a wildly stripped down
version of “The Full Catastrophe” from 1996’s Mr. Happy Go Lucky. And later,
the biggest shocker of the night, the violinist and accordion player came
onstage alone to perform the sweeping “Overture” from that same album. Two
songs I never thought I would ever hear live. Another surprising moment was
when Carlene Carter returned to the stage to perform a couple of duets from
Ghost Brothers.
Others of my favorite albums were untouched. There was nothing
from his wonderful 1999 self-titled album, nothing from Big Daddy, Cuttin’
Heads, Whenever We Wanted, or Freedom’s Road. He even left out 2011’s folk
foray, No Better Than This. And the reason is obvious: the need to play all
those famous 80’s hits, at least one of which (“Crumblin’ Down”) I’ve actually
never liked. Some of these songs come with stories he’s told 100 times, and
that’s okay; some of them I was hearing for my first time. (Others I’d seen on
You Yube.) My favorites of these old songs were “Check it Out”, “Rain on the
Scarecrow”, and “Cherry Bomb”, which was the evening’s closer. Even though this
band has played these songs many, many times, there is no shortage of vigor and
enthusiasm in their delivery.
It really does seem like they are not tired of
these songs. Two notable exceptions might be “Jack & Diane” which he
basically admitted that he only plays because “I know you want to hear it” and
“Paper in Fire” which lost its fire by the removal of a chorus and a toned down
approach.
But honestly, there was so much to love about this show: his
tender reflection on mortality in “Human Wheels” which must seem that much more
poignant 22 years after its release…his impassioned plea to live life to your
fullest, and appreciate it in “The Longest Days”…and his affectionate tributes
to his family and band mates, who have seen him through over such a long and
brilliant career, a career that is still creative and thriving after these
years.
Well, it seems like there were a lot of naysayers when it comes to this season. And on one point, I may agree with them. The plot was incredibly and unnecessarily convoluted, and it was very difficult to keep track of everything that was going on. There were too many people, too many names and small details to remember. It may have worked better for a day-long binge watching session, but not week by week. A lot of things happen in a week, and you’re not thinking about the world of the show. To be expected to come back every Sunday night with perfect clarity about all the facets of the mystery that have so far been revealed is not reasonable at all.
Although the acting in season 1 was stellar (McConaughey and Harrelson giving some of their finest performances ever), I actually admired the acting in season 2 every bit as much—though some didn’t see what I saw, obviously—and the characters were much more likable and sympathetic, even Vince Vaughn’s criminal character, Frank. Here was someone you could both like and fear at the same time, which, to me, was refreshing, as I typically avoid gangster stories. The detectives Ray, Ani, and Paul were all deeply flawed—like those in season one—but all searching for redemption, a way to right the wrongs of the past and make peace. The greatest thing that got in their way was not the criminal element at play in the show, but rather their own demons, fueled mostly by anger and self-hate. You could clearly see the origins of this tangled mess in Frank, Ray, and Ani, and to a lesser extent in Paul. Paul Woodrugh is the one character who I think got shortchanged by the writers, not because he died an episode earlier, but because there was a lot of mystery in his background that was left unexplored, and it would have been interesting. Clearly he was a self-loathing homosexual who was trying to be an archetypal straight American male, complete with macho job, a woman, a kid. Obviously someone like me finds a character like that very compelling, and wanted more.
But Colin Ferrell almost makes up for it. He actually is usually cast in the type of role that the Taylor Kitsch character aspired to be in life. But Ferrell also has a sensitive side, as evident in movies like A Home at the End of the World, which is one of my favorite movies that most people have never seen. My heart broke for his alienation by his wife and estrangement from his son, even though his son was a WEIRDO of such proportions that his scenes almost played as comedy. One little tragic moment with Ray and his son that I would have changed is how the very last message that Ray tried to send, expressing love to his kid before he was killed, failed to go through. I would have had it successfully sent. One minor difference if Matt Russell had been the filmmaker.
I really wanted all the main characters to pull through and live happily ever after, but you know with a show like this that it won’t happen. I predicted that Ani would be the only one to live, but Jordan made it as well. As far as redemption, I think Ray came close. He had recently experienced a moment of true connection—perhaps even love—with a woman, which had the potential to be deeply healing after all he’d been through with his wife and kid. He had a moment where he was looking up at the sky through the trees, and I had the feeling that he may have been making peace with God. If not God, then at least with his life and choices. He was letting go of everything, and was able to embrace his destiny before actually facing it. Woodrugh unfortunately didn’t have time for that. He was killed execution style, and all he was able to say was “FUCK!”, angry to the very end. One of the last exchanges he had with his fiancé was him telling her that he was trying to be a good man, and her telling him that he wasn’t doing it very well. But worse by far was Frank, who made his own criminal bed, but it was very sad to see him succumb to his fate, trying to walk through the desert with a deep knife wound (which had to be excruciating) and haunted by the ghosts of his tortured past. Even when he sees the mirage of his one true love, it feels like cold comfort.
Worth mentioning is the Leonard Cohen song, “Nevermind”, at the beginning of the show. Of course everybody likes Leonard Cohen, and when the song came on at the start of each show, I would want everyone to be quiet to I could listen to it and get in the mood. The song is from the album, Popular Problems, and contains some beautiful female verse, sang in Arabic, that is not featured in the show version. It’s worth checking out.
True Detective, season 2 (spoilers for those who haven't watched yet and want to)
Well, it seems like there were a lot of naysayers when it comes to this season. And on one point, I may agree with them. The plot was incredibly and unnecessarily convoluted, and it was very difficult to keep track of everything that was going on. There were too many people, too many names and small details to remember. It may have worked better for a day-long binge watching session, but not week by week. A lot of things happen in a week, and you’re not thinking about the world of the show. To be expected to come back every Sunday night with perfect clarity about all the facets of the mystery that have so far been revealed is not reasonable at all.
Although the acting in season 1 was stellar (McConaughey and Harrelson giving some of their finest performances ever), I actually admired the acting in season 2 every bit as much—though some didn’t see what I saw, obviously—and the characters were much more likable and sympathetic, even Vince Vaughn’s criminal character, Frank. Here was someone you could both like and fear at the same time, which, to me, was refreshing, as I typically avoid gangster stories. The detectives Ray, Ani, and Paul were all deeply flawed—like those in season one—but all searching for redemption, a way to right the wrongs of the past and make peace. The greatest thing that got in their way was not the criminal element at play in the show, but rather their own demons, fueled mostly by anger and self-hate. You could clearly see the origins of this tangled mess in Frank, Ray, and Ani, and to a lesser extent in Paul. Paul Woodrugh is the one character who I think got shortchanged by the writers, not because he died an episode earlier, but because there was a lot of mystery in his background that was left unexplored, and it would have been interesting. Clearly he was a self-loathing homosexual who was trying to be an archetypal straight American male, complete with macho job, a woman, a kid. Obviously someone like me finds a character like that very compelling, and wanted more.
But Colin Ferrell almost makes up for it. He actually is usually cast in the type of role that the Taylor Kitsch character aspired to be in life. But Ferrell also has a sensitive side, as evident in movies like A Home at the End of the World, which is one of my favorite movies that most people have never seen. My heart broke for his alienation by his wife and estrangement from his son, even though his son was a WEIRDO of such proportions that his scenes almost played as comedy. One little tragic moment with Ray and his son that I would have changed is how the very last message that Ray tried to send, expressing love to his kid before he was killed, failed to go through. I would have had it successfully sent. One minor difference if Matt Russell had been the filmmaker.
I really wanted all the main characters to pull through and live happily ever after, but you know with a show like this that it won’t happen. I predicted that Ani would be the only one to live, but Jordan made it as well. As far as redemption, I think Ray came close. He had recently experienced a moment of true connection—perhaps even love—with a woman, which had the potential to be deeply healing after all he’d been through with his wife and kid. He had a moment where he was looking up at the sky through the trees, and I had the feeling that he may have been making peace with God. If not God, then at least with his life and choices. He was letting go of everything, and was able to embrace his destiny before actually facing it. Woodrugh unfortunately didn’t have time for that. He was killed execution style, and all he was able to say was “FUCK!”, angry to the very end. One of the last exchanges he had with his fiancé was him telling her that he was trying to be a good man, and her telling him that he wasn’t doing it very well. But worse by far was Frank, who made his own criminal bed, but it was very sad to see him succumb to his fate, trying to walk through the desert with a deep knife wound (which had to be excruciating) and haunted by the ghosts of his tortured past. Even when he sees the mirage of his one true love, it feels like cold comfort.
Worth mentioning is the Leonard Cohen song, “Nevermind”, at the beginning of the show. Of course everybody likes Leonard Cohen, and when the song came on at the start of each show, I would want everyone to be quiet to I could listen to it and get in the mood. The song is from the album, Popular Problems, and contains some beautiful female verse, sang in Arabic, that is not featured in the show version. It’s worth checking out.
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