Mellencamp brings "different" kind of show to EKU Center for Arts

Mar. 21—Almost an hour into John Mellencamp's performance on Wednesday evening at the EKU Center for the Arts, violinist Lisa Germano stood on the stage, alone, and addressed the audience.

"This is a certainly a little different than your average rock show," she said. "John wanted to do something a little more intimate."

Different, indeed.

Mellencamp's "Live And In Person" 2024 Tour featured a performance filled with familiar favorites — such as "Pink Houses," "Small Town," "Crumblin' Down," a few deep cuts and some sentimental surprises — all delivered in a unique atmosphere.

"We are going to play some songs you know, some songs you don't know," Mellencamp told the crowd. "We are going to play some old songs and we are going to play some new songs. We are play some songs you can dance to and some songs you can sing along with."

Before the signing and the dancing started, though, the show kicked off with a 20-plus minute montage of clips from classic black and white films, including "Hud," featuring Paul Newman, "Street Car Named Desire," "The Grapes of Wraith," "Giant" and others.

As the lights came up, the stage not only featured Mellencamp and his band, but also mannequins dressed as the characters from those movies.

The 72-year-old opened the set with a rousing version of John Cockers, a bluesy cut from his 2008 album "Life, Death, Love and Freedom." With a strong, raspy voice, Mellencamp declared, "I don't care if I see tomorrow ... If I had a reason I'd pretend ... I know one thing for certain ... I ain't got no friends."

The singer reeled off hits like "Paper In Fire," "Human Wheels" and "Check It Out," before returning to the stage with just an acoustic guitar to play the only new song on the setlist.

"The Eyes of Portland," was inspired new reports of the homelessness in the Oregon city and also all across the country.

The crowd remained silent as Mellencamp performed a haunting version of "Longest Days," which the singer wrote based on the final conversation he had with his grandmother before her death.

"Sometimes you get sick and you don't get better," Mellencamp sang. "That's when life is short ... even in its longest days."

Before performing his biggest hit, Mellencamp had a message for the crowd.

"Don't look for reasons to be unhappy," he said. "Look for reasons to be happy. And try to be kind to one another."

An acoustic version of "Jack and Diane" broke the silence and had the crowd singing along at full voice.

Mellencamp then left the stage, setting up the most unexpected moment of the night.

Germano introduced a spoken-word version of the 1987 song "The Real Life," which was recorded several years ago by Joanne Woodward. Mellencamp was friends with the actress and her late husband — Paul Newman — for many decades.

Woodward is 94 and battling Alzheimer's Disease. She is no longer able to speak.

Germano and accordion player Troye Kinnett played the song as Woodward's (now sadly silenced) voice filled the venue.

The rest of the evening featured some of the most popular songs from the singer/songwriter's remarkable 50-plus year career.

Two songs of the Mellencamp's epic 1985 album "Scarecrow" — "Rain On The Scarecrow," and "Lonely Ol' Night" — got the capacity crowd back on it feet.

The singer announced he was closing out the show with a "Song about Ol' Times." "Cherry Bomb," though was followed by another fan favorite, "Hurts So Good," which got the crowd dancing, again.

Mellencamp will be on tour through April before joining the 2024 Outlaw Music Festival, which also features Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, this summer.