What The Fans Are Saying... No Better Than This Tour 2010
IU Auditorium Bloomington, IN 10-31-2010
My wife and I attended the October 31 show at IU. We saw the band live once before about 15 or so years ago in Indianapolis. THIS SHOW IS MUCH BETTER. I love the new tunes, the acoustic set performed live, and the rearranged classics in acoustic format. Cherry Bomb in a cappella was a nice touch. John is the real deal. If you really love music you must see this show. The live full band playing "No Better Than This" is a great version - you could release it a a single for radio play. Thanks for a great show.
Bruce
Mooresville, IN
The Music Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio 11-01-2010
The show was awesome and the seats we had were really good. John spoke many times to the crowd as if they were his friends. That makes for a more intimate setting when an artist like John humbles themselves and relates to their fans. It was great.
John put on a hell of a show with music as his props. (The sign of a great musician....) The sound in the Music Hall was really, really good.
Toward the end of the show, John helped a hot young lady on stage to dance with him and during their dance, the lady fell on her butt and almost knocked over John's guitar in the stand... too funny...then a couple other girls jumped on stage after the first chick left and as John and the huge bouncer escorted the ladies off stage, one girl turned around and it looked like she laid a big kiss smack on John's lips before leaving the stage...it was too awesome... you had to be their and I am fortunate and glad I was...
I have only been able to see John play three times in my life and I loved every show. I am from the Mid-West too and I love ya John...You are great!!!!!
Regards,
Rick
Clowes Hall, Indianapolis, IN 11-08-2010
At Clowes Hall, Indianapolis, I heard the art (and I do mean that word) of rock singing, playing, and play list structuring at its finest. At the end, I thought, "John Mellencamp is a genuine troubadour of the people of the heartland, no, of this country as a whole, and I love him for that because we need him so much to be that. Better service than being a senator.
One example of a concert moment that deepened this conviction: John introduced a song from his "Life, Death, Love, and Freedom" album by telling the "young guys" in the audience,: "you think that you're dangerous. You're not nearly as dangerous as us older guys, and this song" ("Don't Need this Body") is for my generation"--the fifty-somethings. It begins: "This getting older; ain't for cowards. This getting older, is a lot to go through . . . ." What he didn't say, and maybe didn't realize is that he is also signing it for MY early seventy something generation. I have played the "Life, Death . . ." and the "Good as It Gets" albums scores of times since their release, and said in a memoir that I'm writing, "Mellencamp seems to be singing exactly what have been my deepest thoughts and feelings during the first couple of years of the decade of my seventies."
Great artists can say in poetry and song what millions of us think and feel, especially feel to the depth of our souls. Mellencamp is that kind of artist, as I have long thought, but I could not really know how true that was of him until this concert, which was a perfect display of that ultimate artist's genius.
This aspect of what Mellencamp does with his art became most evident as he sang
the first song on the "No Better Than This" album, "Save Some Time to Dream." I
think that every time he sang the lines, "Save some time to dream, Cause your
dreams could save us all," words and non-verbal emotional expressions rose
throughout the hall;" and I knew that we all were singing in our hearts with
him: "amen, John. Keep singing your heart out, because you're singing ours out
too, and we need the dreams and the hope they give us."
The concert lives up to its name: No Better than This!
John
Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN 11-11-2010
I am not really sure what I expected to see last night, but regardless, the
experience blew me away.
After watching the film and hearing the new material live, I felt John's passion
for the music and deep rooted beliefs. The songs truly spoke to me in a simple
and thought provoking style.
You could tell John has remained "plugged in" to the world, when it would
have been much easier for him to live above it.
For the first time in years, I left the show thinking about what I had heard,
and not reeling from the volume and smoke.
This Mellencamp show could
very well redefine how adults listen to live original music. Simple, intimate
and accessible.
Two thumbs up for John and the band! Great performance/Great New songs!
Kyle
Hagerstown, Indiana
IU Auditorium Bloomington, IN - 10-29-2010
"AMAZING" doesn't even sum up the show I saw in Bloomington Friday night!! My
two fave LIVE songs were played ("Rain on the Scarecrow" & "If I Die Sudden")
and I can now add "Right Behind Me" to that list. As long as I can hear one (or
any) of those three songs at every concert I go to, I will be satisfied!
Needless to say, once I had heard those three songs last night, my night had
been made....and then I was pulled up on stage by Mellencamp and my wildest
dream had come true!! Can't be more thankful for the ULTIMATE concert experience
Mellencamp.com Community Member
zaria513
IU Auditorium Bloomington IN 10-29-2010
Last night was the first time I had seen Mellencamp in concert. It was an
incredible performance! The set list was an eclectic mix of all of his music. I
love the old stuff but love the new more introspective songs just as much. John
is one talented writer & musician and his talent continues to evolve over time.
His choice of venue for the opening night of the tour was an exceptional choice.
The IU Auditorium in Bloomington, Indiana had an intimate feel to it, both in
size and nostalgia since that is where his career first started. It truly gets
"No Better Than This"!
Mellencamp.com Community Member
adaughtry
IU Auditorium Bloomington IN 10-29-2010
I Loved Loved Loved this concert!! Opening night of his tour and I am lucky
enough to be there!!
I loved how he has evolved and his music has changed. It was great to see how he
has put a new spin on some old classics, like "Jack and Diane".
The story about his grandma was sweet and beautiful. He allowed us to have a
look inside heart and soul! Very touching.
John........Thank you for evolving as a person and artist and still giving us
ROCK in the USA and beyond!!
Super MellenHead,
Letha
Music Hall Cincinnati, OH 11-01-2010
I just had the honor of attending Mr. Mellencamp's show here in Cincinnati,
Ohio. I can honestly say that this performance was one
of the most heartfelt and beautiful concerts to be presented at this prestigious
venue, usually reserved for the Cincinnati Symphony, Opera and Ballet. In a time
of great social hardship and unrest, Mr. Mellencamp proved to all that we have
to take time to dream and that those silent moments can change the fortunes of
us all!
Mr. Mellencamp has taken his rightful place and lives up to a rare
iconic status which he shares with John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. I
found his voice true to the meaning found in his songs. A voice of hope,
happiness, a little sadness and most of all, love!
I wanted to post this note
just to take the time to thank Mr. Mellencamp for his lifelong work, attention
to the common man and the bravery he displays with every nuance of his
performance! I believe Mr. Mellencamp to be a true AMERICAN HERO and hope that
his leadership will inspire others the way it has inspired me. To continue to
fight the good fight and never forget that we are all in this together! Stay
strong John and I pray that God will bless you now and in all your endeavors!
PS... YOU ROCK!
Mellencamp.com Community Member
djsa
IU Auditorium Bloomington IN 10-29-2010
It was a beautiful stage, the
backdrop, the pretty lights draped across, the spotlights on him. It was
gorgeous. So fitting to the beautiful IU Auditorium.
Loved hearing "The Real Life" and "If I Die Sudden" and "Paper In Fire" 3 of my
favorites. "ROCK In The USA", "Rain On The Scarecrow" and of course "Pink
Houses"-- it wouldn't
be right if he didn't play those.
I have talked to a lot of Bloomington people that went to the concert, some that
have never been before and they were all really impressed with the show.
I would love to go again!
Mellencamp.com Community Member
littlesusie39
Fabulous Fox Theater - St. Louis, MO 11-06-2010
Great show at the beautiful Fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis tonight. John was
in good spirits and put on an energetic and entertaining performance. There were
some very funny moments. Before "Right Behind Me" he told a long story about how
he had the devil trapped in an apple tree in his backyard when he was 14 and the
devil told him if he could keep him up in the tree for a week he wouldn't take
John's soul. John said a pretty girl walked by after two days and he went after
her and if he hadn't, we would all be saved from the devil right now. He also
said the devil doesn't have horns and a tail, he dresses nice and is very
intelligent.
During "Small Town" somebody yelled something out (I was told later a guy yelled
"Seymour, Indiana," but I can't be sure) and John started laughing and said "you
f**ked me up. I've sung this song how many times? And because of you I f**ked
up." He said it in a jovial, light-hearted way, but that was a first for me,
hearing a fan rattle John. He didn't start the song over, he picked it up from
where he messed up.
The new rockabilly version of "Walk Tall" continues to be the highlight of the
set for me, along with "Deep Blue Heart" and "The Real Life." "Death Letter"
also sounds great live. John sings it with a lot of passion. I also really like
the acoustic version of "Jackie Brown" and the barroom brawl story in "Easter
Eve" really comes across well live and keeps the fans interested. John does a
fantastic job of delivering it in a fashion so that everyone, whether they've
heard the song before or not, hangs on every verse.
John is consistently playing for over two hours and delivering 24 songs, which
is the same length and same number of songs he did during his heyday on the
Scarecrow, Lonesome Jubilee and Whenever We Wanted tours. On those tours he took
a 15-20 minute intermission halfway through the set, and this time he's playing
straight through. Throw in the fantastic movie that opens each show and you
could make a strong case that this is the best Mellencamp tour ever. It's heavy
on album tracks (even if most are from recent albums instead of classic albums)
and moderate on hits, and many of those that are played are completely
rearranged. In short, the St. Louis show was fantastic.
Mellencamp.com Community Member
WalkTall2010
Clowes Hall, Indianapolis, IN 11-08-2010
The show last night was AWESOME!
It started at 7:00pm with an hour long film/about the making of the No Better
Than This album made on "the off" days of the '07 tour. The lights go out, it was completely dark-and
the P.A. blasted Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down" from Rick Rubin
sessions.
Every song was changed, rearranged, and sounding bluesy-old timey, starting
with "Authority Song" that was like a new song! I was thinking in the first couple of
songs that they looked like an early rockabilly band on a high school gym stage
playing a dance-especially cause they all wore suits, and the stand up bass made
it look like a scene from Walk The Line.
The whole show was so great sounding, the drummer didn't even use his full drum kit until about 18 songs in, and Mellencamp did a hand full of solo acoustic songs spread out nicely in the set. even doing a sing along of half version of "Cherry Bomb," where he didn't strum a chord with all of our voices singing it together out loud!.
I got teary eyed on "Save Some time To Dream" solo, from his new
album. And he told some really neat stories about his grandparents and family
through out. Even "Jack and Diane" was amazingly different, like he
had re-written the music. Thanks for a great show John and Band! P.S. Dane
Clark the drummer kicked ass non stop, beating the hell out of those drums!,
nice to see in a world of drum loops.
Sincerely
Dave
Fabulous Fox Theater - St. Louis, MO 11-06-2010
Best show I
feel I have ever been to!! I feel John is expressing himself through his music
the way he has always wanted to. He is so awesome and he will always be my most
favorite artist ever!! The man next to me ask me if there was any John Mellencamp song that I didn't know all the words to! I told him he wasn't a true
fan if he didn't know all the words to all his songs old and new! Can't wait to
see him again!
Mellencamp.com Community Member
baloo_115