I see John in Paris and was great, and also in Vigevano, great too...without 3 song on the set...but was great too !!! I've waited him for a long long time,and just the moment when he came out on the stage was enough to think that I've spent my money well. I think that in Italy there was not enough person that waited for him like a lot that waited someone like Springsteen, ... I feel this,and I think He feel too...

Joe & Dave in Italy

yes it was open air. due to the thunderstorm it was quite "dark", so it was not a problem to show the movie.

It's true. And I bet that Swiss local promotion made a deal with the weather to get the movie correctly shown at 7.30 p.m.
What a pretty kind of organization they have!!!

you're right
forget this "artist"
last night great concert with a true artist for italian farmers with nose rings
JOE ELY
.... and a great guitar player ... probably the best .... David Grissom
do you remember???

Great Joe Ely.... I've seen him many years ago at Big Mama, in Rome, the Roman house of blues where I saw artists like Calvin Russel, Dave Alvin and many others (and where I too had the privilege to play).
Great artist and what to say about Dave Grissom? One of the best guitar players I've ever seen (I still remember the great session I did in London, during the Whenever we wanted tour). Hats off to them!!!

I heard that many italian angry fans will go to the last show in Switzerland to express their feelings "politely"
RS Gold
Buy RS Gold
Cheap RS Gold

I can talk about myself. I was there to enjoy another rockin' Mellencamp's show.
I didn't see angry Italian fans hanging baseball bats. 

Udine is not representative at all. the shows in germany, france, uk, denmark, switzerland all were great referring to reports and videos from fans who were there.
so italy surely does not represent europe here.

Nobody ever doubted about it. Many Italian fans like me has followed John in France, in Switzerland and other countries too, just like all the American people I 've seen in Rome at the show.
Today an Economist article reports that the eventual economic Italian crack would bring Euro to an end. I guess we have othere problems, here in Europe.

here's one of my picture taken on July 9th:

A very beautiful snapshot. I agree with you about your post but in Rome many fans expected at least 2 or 3 songs more.
A question: are you the famous "Little Steven" from the Loose Ends forum??
If yes, I'm Quinn Eskimo and I appreciate that that you are a JM's fan too.
 

without decent organisation no good concerts.

You're damn right.

I'd like to share with you my modest promotion review I posted on Amazon in 2010 at the release of "On The Rural Route 7609 - Special Edition [Box set, Special Edition]"
I don't know if it may result interesting (and if I'm posting it in the right section) but it came from my heart.
After seeing the documentary "It's about you" during the show in Rome I guess that John can agree with something I wrote.
With this movie He seems to tell us: "hey, kid, this movie talks about you, your roots, where you came from...
It has been my personal, modest way to promote John's music someway.   

"I started listening to John Mellencamp when I was 14.
They were the early 80s. He still was known as "the Cougar" and I still thought that life would have been peaches and cream.
I was aiming to become a rock'n'roll star and I started playing my guitar learning his tunes: pearls like "Jack & Diane", "Play Guitar", "Pink Houses" and many more.
It was another America, not the President Reagan's optimistic one. America I was listening to, in John Mellencamp's songs, was angry, faithless, betrayed but still breathing... maybe like a rebel kid like I was (and I still am).
Kenny Aronoff's drumming was dry, with his high tuned snare drum cutting the air and my kid's soul... Mellencamp's lyrics were making me discover myself, though I ain't American.
It was the essence of Rock'n'Roll (and it still is), in search of the American roots, coming to its very soul.
In my opinion, every Mellencamp's album go to the heart of America: the struggling, undefended one. He still can reach this heart and the "Rural Route" Anthology captures with a real intensity much more that an artist's career: it's a long, honest, cut-like-a-knife walk along the real America, not the one painted in the movies, but the other side of it, the farmers' one.
The one that was built by men with a dream of life, redemption, faith. The same country which was stealing everything they have worked for (Scarecrow).
I guess John  Mellencamp shows us that he’s still working on his dream: he really can stand beside Ideals he thinks are right, And He can stand beside The idea to stand and fight. "We are the people" he sings and I guess he’s honest when he writes “I do believe there's a dream for everyone”…
Rare outtakes, demo songs (among all the early acoustic sessions of "Authority Song" and "Jack & Diane": stunning).
"Rain on the scarecrow" (not the original take from “Scarecrow” but the acoustic version from "Rough Harvest", which results more intense to me, letting the lyrics breath) and many more (among all: the gospel “When Jesus left Birmingham”).
Pride, uprising… Sometimes it’s like listening to a Woody Guthrie’s song, recalling the strength this country has often shown in the worst moments:   “From the east coast to the west coast Down the Dixie Highway Back home This is our country”.
A coming back to the roots of America, its culture, its pride.
Are you sure that it’s only R’n’R?
“On the Rural Route Anthology” makes me think that’s somewhat more. And I like it!
A "must have" for all the fans and for anyone believing that “you gotta stand for something or you’re gonna fall for anything".

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B002GYHIWG/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

http://celebritybabyscoop.com/node/55994?fid=69996

Here you can see John's belly too, touring in Rome with his family.
http://www.mellencamp.com/forum/index.php?topic=1308.0

hope the italians learn their lesson how to organise a show.

Someday... Someday... But I don't know when!!!!

Personally I enjoyed the documentary so much and the show. By the photos I've posted I guess John too enjoyed my hometown

See you tonight in Zurich.

I love JM and nothing will ever change that.  He can sing whatever he wants as long as he keeps singing.  I just don't ever want those shows to end when I get an opportunity to actually see him perform live.     

I totally agree with you. I was one of the Roman fans and came to the show at 3 pm.
I saw the soundcheck and had a chance to meet the tour manager and the great Mike Wanchic who showed me one of his Gretsch guitars. I saw John performing when there was only his tour staff.
Though I was a little bit disappointed by the lenght of the show, what elese could I have deserve?
The location gave me the chance to see John at less than half a meter from him that I almost could have touch him.
After all, I'm a happy guy.

if you don't give them a solid show, you lost them. And Mr Mellencamp lost everything in Italy.  Game over.

Not me... but I'm an english speaking italian fan!!!!  

I guess the problem was the documentary which was too long compared to the live show.
Anyway I liked the concert.

Bizarre. Can anybody else see these photos?

Somebody did it. They've been viewed 9 times. Can't you see their preview in my posts?

I still don't see any photos.

I swear there are!!! I don't know what to say or suggest you. I just use my PC to make music, I'm sorry.

I've seen no billboards in the city, heard no radio advertising, the press simply ignored the concert.

BIG problem.

Yes indeed.
It's about 30 years that I go to rock live shows and the biggest problem, here in Italy, is the local promotion. Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Lynyrd Skynyrd etc.... every artist I quoted and more had the same problem with the local promotion.

Maybe I'm too severe but, in my opinion, it's a matter of fact. Rock music TV networks neither have reported the news about John's coming to Italy.
So just the first hour fans attended the italian shows.

After that, if you add the fact that your preferred artist ain't a "pop singer" (and doesn't write pop songs), that he never came to Italy, it's quietly understandable that Italian concert halls' seats remain empty.