Mellencamp touches all the bases
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=343723by Jon Fassnacht
Reading Eagle
Now in his fifth decade of music-making, John Mellencamp keeps pushing his career forward by moving backward.
Best known for his 1980s rock anthems, he spent much of the last decade mining the music - and the recording styles - of the first half of the 20th century. (His last album, 2010's "No Better Than This" was captured on tape on a portable 1950s recorder, with all the musicians playing into one microphone.)
While his 2006 performance at the Sovereign Center was all hits and arena-rock fist-pumping, Friday night's show at the Sovereign Performing Arts Center was more rustic and intimate, at least until the final third of the two-hour show.
Decked out in a sharp three-piece suit, Mellencamp, 60, looked good. His voice is showing some wear, however. He can still power through the rock songs just fine, but on some of the quieter numbers he sounded especially gruff.
He was backed by six gifted, versatile musicians. Their contributions were easy to appreciate due to a crisp, clear mix that allowed every nuance to shine through, even during the louder moments.
He also was aided by the especially feisty, loud crowd that packed the theater, which kept the energy level high even during the low-energy numbers.
The 23-song show was roughly divided into three.
The first third had a rockabilly vibe, mostly concerning the instrumentation.
Drummer Dane Clark played a sparse kit while standing up, bassist John Gunnell played upright bass, and guitarists Michael Wanchic and Andy York utilized clean, echoey amplification.
But that's not to say every song sounded like Buddy Holly or early Elvis Presley.
Show opener "Authority Song" was a loose-limbed rocker featuring a call-and-response with the crowd, and a cover of Son House's "Death Letter" was gutbucket funk.
The volume took a considerable dip during the second section of the show.
A few of the songs featured Mellencamp accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, including a reworked version of "Jack and Diane" that featured an a capella introduction and bridge.
Violinist Miriam Sturm joined Mellencamp for a powerful version of "Jackie Brown" - the lack of decibels sharpening the impact of the song's devastating lyrics about a dirt-poor family.
The band entered full-on-rock mode for the final third of the show, unleashing 40 nonstop minutes of energy, not even stopping for an encore. (They're silly things, anyway.)
Many of Mellencamp's best-known tunes were broken out in this section, including "Paper in Fire," "Pink Houses," "R.O.C.K. in the USA" and show closer "Cherry Bomb."
The evening featured an interesting opening act: a movie.
"It's About You," an hour-long documentary chronicling Mellencamp's 2009 tour and the recording of the "No Better Than This" album, was screened before the concert. It was directed by photographer Kurt Markus, a friend of Mellencamp's.
It was his first film - and it showed.
The herky-jerky camerawork in the 8mm film sometimes made it hard to watch, and Markus spent much of his voiceover simply talking about making the movie.
But judging from the amount of talking that was going on during the screening, many in the audience weren't even paying attention.
Contact Jon Fassnacht: 610-371-5017 or
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