#mellencamp

[metalcultbrigade]

John Mellencamp - The Lonesome Jubilee. 24/08/1987

[pepperclint]

[egoschwank]

al things considered — when i post my masterpiece #1306

first posted in facebook may 3, 2024

karl parboosingh -- "jamaican gothic" (1968)

"i had to go to france to appreciate iowa" … grant wood

"running down a dream on stephen king and kerouac children of the corn, pink house, pink cadillac it's not just any old patch of pitchfork dirt stop me if you've already heard the one about mellencamp, springsteen, marijuana, seventeen white frost, bean field, bonfire, kerosene red bic lighter in a blue jean pocket lost in the land of american gothic, yeah" … stephen wilson jr.

"parboo felt strongly that art should be functional…the viewer…must somehow be brought into the situation which the artist’s brush described and must find himself reacting to the message of the artist. and parboo insisted – there must be a message" … michael manley

"watching days of our lives on a second hand couch vicotine soaked wood panels of the house sugar coated wonder bread tastes like candy black lipstick, first kiss in a camry looks a little like looks a little like mellencamp, springsteen, marijuana, seventeen white frost, bean field, bonfire, kerosene red bic lighter in a blue jean pocket lost in the land of american gothic, yeah" … stephen wilson jr.

"i had to know jean hadley to appreciate indiana … it's real life living in a real life painting" … al janik

[davidyonke]

It's been a few days, so maybe this is old news, but people are still talking about the St. Paddy's Day meltdown by John Mellencamp in Toledo, so here are a few of my observations:

First off, I am a fan of John Mellencamp, otherwise I would not have bought two tickets at $120 apiece.

A lot of people have defended him for walking off the stage mid-concert after being "heckled." I don't think someone shouting "Authority Song" or yelling "Play some music" qualifies as heckling. Rude, definitely, but they weren't insulting him like hecklers do (e.g., "You suck," or "You're all washed up!"). They were Mellencamp fans who wanted to hear his music. I am NOT defending their rude interruptions, shouting while he was trying to tell a story about his 99-year-old grandmother pointing an arthritic finger at him and praying for him.

Any time a rock band quiets things down for an acoustic song, someone in the audience will yell something. It is inevitable. I've seen and heard it hundreds of times. Mr. Mellencamp is 72 and has been performing in public for at least 50 years and should not have been surprised.

Mr. Mellencamp was way out of line to call the fan a (expletive deleted - you can hear it yourself with the link below). There were a few kids in the crowd (although it was mostly gray haired fans like me).

Mr. Mellencamp was very wrong to stomp off the stage because two or three fans rudely yelled something. There were about 2,400 other people who were respectful and who paid good money to see him in concert. There are countless other better ways he could have responded to the interruptions.

I know John Mellencamp has done many great things to help people over the years. I was there at the Homeless Awareness Project's Tent City, held on a day that Mr. Mellencamp was giving a concert in Toledo. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer stopped in, gave a short talk on the podium, was presented with a key to the city, then met one-on-one behind closed doors with a number of unhoused people. He then told his staff to give free tickets to any of the homeless people who wanted to come to his show that night. They gave out 60 to 70 tickets. Mr. Mellencamp is truly a man with a big heart.

I also was privileged to attend a taping by Mr. Mellencamp of a public-service announcement to help homeless veterans. He genuinely cares about people and is generous with his time and money.

He was a co-founder of Farm Aid to help farmers and I'm sure Mr. Mellencamp has done myriad other good deeds that don't get mentioned in the media.

We all have bad days. I don't know what is going on in Mr. Mellencamp's head. Maybe he had some personal crises to deal with and the rude fans were the tipping point that led to his tirade. But in my opinion, all of those things don't excuse his cursing out a fan and storming off the stage in mid-concert.

I give him credit for coming back after about 5 minutes of chaos and consternation among the crowd, and finishing his concert. I don't know if he just calmed down and, after reflecting on the situation, decided on his own to come back, or if friends, bandmembers, managers, lawyers or someone else backstage persuaded him to get back in the spotlight, but I'm glad he did. He returned to sing 7 more songs, closing with "Hurts So Good." There was no encore.

I am not sure about this but I believe Mr. Mellencamp could have ended the show without having to give refunds because he had already performed for about 45 minutes, which would have fulfilled his legal obligation. I'd have to look at the contract or talk to the promoter to be sure.

I was extremely disappointed by John Mellencamp's behavior but I still am a fan of his music and admire all the good things he has done.

Despite the "meltdown," it was a pretty good show. The Mellencamp band was superb. However, I probably won't pay to go to another of his concerts. And I doubt he will return to Toledo anyway.

Mr. Mellencamp is a fine artist. His artwork was featured in several museum exhibits including the Mansfield Art Center in 2022, and a small number of giclee prints of his paintings were on sale in the Stranahan Theater lobby ($1,500 apiece, a fair price IMO).

Here's a live video with audio of his tirade. See and hear it for yourself:

Photos by David Yonke

[tuuneoftheday]

Hailey Whitters - Mellencamp

[stoneoferech]

Jennifer Love Hewitt

[mostlythemarsh]

Friday Records

[studentofetherium]

Nina: Momoka, I love you!

Momoka:

[cuzikan]

Take that mellencamp 😁

[oldmanpeace]

[reality-detective]

I'll leave this 👇 here

John Mellencamp Arrested ⛓️

Military Tribunal ⚖️... Executed ☠️

Black eye club = Vril

Crimes Against Humanity 🤔

[we-will-swallow-your-soul]

John Mellencamp - Authority Song

Ain’t this the truth? 

[loveboatinsanity]

[hottdoggblogg]

[musicmags]