John Mellencamp Brought Heartland Rock to Little Rock

by Julian Spivey

Aprille Hanson-Spivey Photo

John Mellencamp brought his heartland rock & roll music to the Robinson Center in Little Rock, Ark. on Wednesday, April 10.

The Rock Hall of Famer performed as he likes to say: “Some songs you know, some songs you don’t, some you can sing along to and some you can dance to.” And, his 90-minute, 19-song set was hard to argue with when it comes to that statement. There were classics, some newer stuff, some that everybody in the crowd knew all the words to and some that got people out of their seats, even at the usually stuffy venue, to groove with.

The evening didn’t get off on a high note though as it began with an almost 30-minute film consisting of classic black & white film clips that seemingly mean something to Mellencamp and I could tell were meant to add an aesthetic and some nostalgia to the overall performance but much of the crowd just was not into it at all. You would hear groans permeating through the venue with each ensuing clip.

This had me a slight bit nervous as if the crowd might piss off the cantankerous rocker, who had given an Ohio audience member an earful last month after they rudely interrupted an emotional monologue before a song. Mellencamp had threatened to end his concert then and there before walking off stage and returning a while later (probably after being encouraged to do so).

When the music did begin, with a performance of “John Cockers” off his 2008 album Life, Death, Love and Freedom, it never disappointed – though I will admit on those “songs you don’t know” it was a little harder to follow along with the lyrics. I’m unsure whether this was a venue issue or the band’s setup.

Among my favorite performances of songs, I wasn’t familiar with on Wednesday night were “What If I Came Knocking,” off 1993’s Human Wheels (of which he also performed the title track), and “The Eyes of Portland,” off his most recent album Orpheus Descending from last year. The track about the issue of homelessness and the apathy when it comes to figuring out the problem was a touching moment of activism from an artist no stranger to such things.

The Little Rock crowd was mostly pumped for the “songs you know and can sing along to” portion of Mellencamp’s set, which included about nine of what I’d refer to as his “greatest hits,” most of which were packed in the last third of the set.

“Paper in Fire,” a No. 9 hit from 1987’s The Lonesome Jubilee, and “Small Town,” a No. 6 hit from 1985’s Scarecrow, were the two earliest “hits” during the set that got things going. Over the years “Small Town” has climbed the list of my Mellencamp favorites to the point where it’s probably my favorite song of his to see live since he never does 1981’s “Ain’t Even Done with the Night” it seems.    

During the middle of his set, Mellencamp slows things down a bit with less accompaniment from his talented rock band. This is when he performed “The Eyes of Portland,” gave his touching monologue about his grandmother that he always gives before performing “Longest Days” and then performed his usual stripped-down version of “Jack & Diane,” probably his most famous song which went to No. 1 (his only of his career) in 1982. Some fans could be heard grumbling about it being the stripped-down version but Mellencamp is 72 years old and going to do whatever he wants to do. He is and seemingly has always been the walking definition of the term “no fucks given.”

The final seven songs of Mellencamp’s set could be put up against just about any artist of his era. Starting with the downtrodden farmer anthem “Rain on the Scarecrow” came one fantastic performance after another including “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “What If I Came Knocking,” “Crumblin’ Down,” “Pink Houses,” “Cherry Bomb” and “Hurts So Good.” Seriously, try topping that. I’ve seen a good many legends in my time and that finish has probably only been topped by a few.