No, it won't be all acoustic. John will start out playing a "Sun Studios" set with a stripped down version of his band, he'll then go acoustic for a few songs and finish the show with the full band in full-on rock mode. You'll get to see three different sides of his music, covering 24 songs and over two hours, and the whole show kicks large amounts of ass. You'll love it, trust me.

I posted this in a different spot.....but....didn't anyone find it a bit awkward that he kept referring to Elaine as his wife?  When was this interview done?

But he certainly comes up with some good ones....."deafer than Job's turkey"?  

"-somedays I still don't know what to do-"

Mary in Michigan

This was taped on Dec. 7 and they've been physically separated since "on or about Sept. 1," according to the official divorce document.

As a fan who admires the man for both his music and as a human being (past failings notwithstanding), I'm hoping to God this isn't true. I really thought he'd turned the corner.

Mellencamp’s wife hurt so good

WITH BILL ZWECKER Jan 19, 2011 8:28PM

While the pending divorce between singer John Mellencamp and Elaine Irwin, his wife of 18 years, is said to be “amicable,” people who ran into Irwin at a couple of Golden Globe parties last weekend in Los Angeles tell a different story.

While Mellencamp has told folks his marriage to Irwin was over well before he started quietly dating Meg Ryan last year, a source close to Irwin claims the “face” of Almay cosmetics thinks otherwise.

“Yes, John and Elaine had been dealing with problems in their marriage for quite a while,” said the source. “But Elaine truly thought they had a shot at patching things up and getting back together. … Then along came Meg and played that good old-fashioned role she’s played before: homewrecker. Only this time, her affair ruined someone else’s marriage besides her own.”

That was a reference to Ryan’s well-publicized fling with her “Proof of Life” co-star Russell Crowe in 2000, which led to the end of her marriage to Dennis Quaid.

† Mellencamp officially filed for divorce in Brown County, Ind., last Friday, only two weeks after the musician and his third wife announced over the New Year’s weekend that they were splitting.

Indiana was “a good place to file, because this is very quiet and out of the way,” a lawyer familiar with the case told People magazine Wednesday.

While Irwin was escorted to those L.A. parties by Vivi Nevo, my source laughed off reports hinting that Irwin was romantically linked to the Israeli venture capitalist.

“Seriously, they are really just friends. Elaine is still too fragile emotionally to begin dating anyone.”

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/zwecker/3388963-452/irwin-mellencamp-elaine-film-golden.html

It airs this Sunday, January 23 at 9am Eastern/8 am Central on A&E.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/GgyR6PLkkuw?fs=1&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/GgyR6PLkkuw?fs=1&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

So I'm still checking out my Christmas Present...RR 7609......I notice no "Hurts So Good".  Did I miss the conversation on this?  (I do have a life outside of MellenLand).  I wonder what the reasoning behind this was?  

Anyone? Anyone?

"-somedays I still don't know what to do-"

Mary in Michigan

"On the Rural Route" isn't a greatest hits box set by any means, so it should come as no surprise that "Hurts So Good" isn't included. It's meant to showcase John's songwriting by highlighting great songs that weren't hits, like "Deep Blue Heart," "Sweet Evening Breeze," "Forgiveness," etc. "Hurts So Good" isn't the only hit not included here: there's no "Crumblin' Down," "Lonely 'Ol Night," "Small Town," "Paper in Fire," and many more. John doesn't particularly care for "Hurts So Good" and his other light-hearted songs these days, which is why they are rarely played in concert.  

[Disclaimer]

Disclaimer: I would advise anyone who reads this to not believe more than three percent of it, but I figured I would share for those who want a good laugh or who enjoy tabloid journalism.

From the January 17, 2011 edition of the National Enquirer:

John Mellencamp Photo With Meg Ryan Was Last Straw
Singer’s wife put up with his wandering eye for years – pals say

John Mellencamp’s 18-year marriage blew up over his relationship with Meg Ryan – but those close to the superstar rocker say his wife has been upset for years over his wandering eye.

Sources close to his family tell the ENQUIRER that the singer’s supermodel wife Elaine, 41, moved out of their Indiana home after John, 59, and Meg, 49, were photographed walking arm-in-arm in New York.

“Elaine has gone through hell,” said a close source. “I’m sure John has had intimate relationships with other women, but I think she turned a blind eye until it was publicly revealed that he’d become close to Meg.”

Mellencamp – popular as “John Cougar” in the ‘70s and ‘80s with hits such as “Jack & Diane,” “Pink Houses” and “Hurts So Good” – also has a nasty temper, said the source.

“John has had screaming matches with Elaine and their staff for years. He’s been known to hurl plates of food at the TV if he didn’t like what was being said,” the close source divulged.

WHEN THE ENQUIRER CONTACTED Mellencamp to ask for his side of the story regarding the split, he raged: “What the (bleep) is this! What are you doing calling my cell phone, man? You want me to whip your ass? I’ll come down there and whip your (bleeping) ass. Call my (bleeping) publicist.”

When we contacted Elaine, she said: “I can’t imagine discussing personal matters like these with a complete stranger.”

In a public statement announcing their split, the couple pledged to raise their sons – Hud, 16, and Speck Wildhorse, 15 – together. The source said the couple would file for divorce soon. 

Mellencamp’s spokesperson told the ENQUIRER that the split is amicable and that his friendship with Meg Ryan began months after he and Elaine decided to go their separate ways.

However, the insider revealed: “Elaine has simply had enough. When it looked as if John started flaunting his relationship with Meg, she walked out.”

Meg – whose marriage to actor Dennis Quaid ended after her affair with “Gladiator” hunk Russell Crowe – is working with Mellencamp on the musical “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County.” She’s also been spotted backstage on his current tour.

“It’s going to be a massively expensive divorce,” the insider said. “Elaine is going to take him to the cleaners, but, in my opinion, he deserves it.”

by John Blosser
[email protected]

It says:

LIFE IS SHORT
EVEN IN ITS
LONGEST DAYS
AD 1905-2003

It's in honor of his grandma, who spoke those words. She lived Nov. 25, 1905 - Feb. 3, 2003.

[Mellencamp preps rarities, covers for winter theater tour]

From the January 20, 2011 edition of Rolling Stone (with Jimmy Fallon on the cover):

Mellencamp preps rarities, covers for winter theater tour

Wild Nights: “If you’re coming to hear the greatest hits, don’t even come,” says John Mellencamp, who will kick off a 33-date run on February 3rd in Lowell, Massachusetts. For his first theater tour since 1997, Mellencamp is prepping a two-hour-plus show that includes a solo-acoustic miniset and a country-blues combo, before finishing with a full band.  “I have zero interest in walking into an arena and banging out those hits again,” he says. “I’m 59 years old, and I look fucking ridiculous.” Instead, he’s busting out rarities like 1989’s “Jackie Brown” and covering Son House. Even his biggest songs are getting reworked: “Authority Song” will get a rockabilly makeover, and “Jack and Diane” has become a country-swing tune.

Big Screen: Instead of bringing along a warm-up band, Mellencamp will be screening a documentary, It's About You, that was shot on the road during his tour with Bob Dylan in 2009. “I like the idea of people walking into the theater and a movie is playing,” he says. “It’ll be like those old Dick Clark Caravan of Stars revues.”

What’s Next: The singer’s decade-in-the-works musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County – a collaboration with Stephen King – will premier at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre in 2012. Liv Ullman is set to direct, Meg Ryan may star, and the soundtrack is nearly done. Produced by T Bone Burnett, the LP will include tracks written by Mellencamp and sung by Kris Kristofferson, Elvis Costello and Rosanne Cash. “For Americana music,” says Mellencamp, “it’s about as different as Sgt. Pepper was for rock music.”

–Patrick Doyle

I think it's 1903-2003 (remember, he always says she lived to be 100). He said in an interview with Howard Stern in 1996 that he hated all the tattoos he had and that he wished he never gotten them. Stern was thinking of getting one and John strongly advised him against it. So of course, John goes out and gets another tattoo sometime in the last few weeks. Not sure what's happening to John all of a sudden. Things got real weird seemingly overnight. 

here's more:

Huge photo gallery here, taken yesterday in NYC. They obviously aren't trying to hide it anymore.

http://x17online.com/gallery/view_gallery.php?gallery=mryan010611_X17&index=1

Taken today in New York:

OK, I stand corrected. After watching that video, it looks like they may be together. This is unbelievable.

[Has newly-single John Mellencamp found love with Meg Ryan?]

Here is a shining example of why tabloid journalism is so appalling. This is from one of the England rags, the Daily Mail, and if you look real close, you can see a lot of PhotoShopping going on with John's picture, to say nothing of the fact that he and Meg Ryan clearly aren't even together at the same time in these photos. Sadly, many people won't see through this and will think its all true.

Has newly-single John Mellencamp found love with Meg Ryan?

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:23 PM on 4th January 2011

Singer John Mellencamp only announced his split from wife Elaine just five days ago, but it looks like he may have already moved on.

The veteran rocker, 59, is fuelling speculation he is dating Hollywood actress Meg Ryan, 49, after the pair were photographed in New York together yesterday.

The couple were first seen walking hand-in-hand in Manhattan last October and Ryan had been spotted backstage at several of his recent concerts.

Dressed casually, the pair were seen buying groceries from a branch of Gourmet Garage before heading home yesterday.

Their appearance together comes just a few days after Mellencamp announced he was splitting from former model Elaine after 20 years of marriage.

On New Year's Eve, his publicist said: 'John and Elaine Mellencamp are proud of their 20 years together and are very happy with their accomplishments both as parents and as a family.

'They will continue to raise their two children in Indiana but have decided to call it a day as a couple.'

One report has claimed Ryan is voicing a character in a new musical adaptation of Stephen King story Ghost Brothers, which Mellencamp has written all the song for.

Former America's Sweetheart Ryan has been largely single since splitting from ex-boyfriend, Proof Of Life co-star Russell Crowe after a brief romance in 2000.

Their relationship started at the end of her marriage to Dennis Quaid, father of her 18-year-old son Jack.

Ryan and Quaid announced they had split in June 2000 following weeks of rumours surrounding her relationship with Crowe.

In an interview three years ago, Ryan alleged Quaid had also cheated on her during their 10 year marriage.

She told InStyle magazine: 'Dennis was not faithful to me for a long time, and that was very painful. I am not a victim. I was there. I was in that marriage for a really long time.'

Describing her brief romance with Crowe, she insisted: 'Russell didn't break up the marriage. I was a mess. I hurt him too at the end. I couldn't be in another long relationship. It wasn't the time for that. So I got out.'

Ryan has since adopted a daughter Daisy from China in 2006.

Mellencamp gained fame in the late 1970s and early 1980s under the stage name John Cougar.

His early rock hits include Hurts So Good and Jack and Diane and as his notoriety grew, he dropped the name Cougar and began performing as John Mellencamp.

While he has never regained the superstar status he enjoyed during the '80s, Mellencamp has kept a solid fan base and continued to put out albums and tour around the world.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1343940/Has-Meg-Ryan-love-newly-single-John-Mellencamp.html#ixzz1A52zIZ8c





New romance: Meg Ryan and John Mellencamp head home after buying groceries at a Manhattan branch of Gourmet Garage.

Please tell me its not true that he's dating Meg Ryan???

That was a pretty unfair story trying to connect two and two together. Meg is under consideration for one of the roles on the Ghost Brothers album recording, doing the dialogue. I never heard if she was chosen for sure.

John said in an interview that Meg and Matthew McConaughey were doing a table reading in November, so it sounds like she's in Ghost Brothers, unless "table reading" simply means an audition. If she really was backstage at some of the shows in November, then there may be some truth here. It wouldn't make sense for her to be at numerous shows if they were not seeing each other, but her presence at these shows could be a tabloid rumor and nothing more. It's gonna be an interesting next few months, that's for sure. Let's hope this doesn't devolve into a "rumor of the week" type of situation where every few days there's another tabloid reporting who John is with or who Elaine is now with. That would be really sad.