| Concert Review of John Mellencamp at Charter One Pav. @ Northerly Isl. on Tue Jul 22, 2008 |
| Event Date |
| Tue Jul 22, 2008 |
| Source |
| Chicago Sun-Times |
| Concert Review Preview |
| John Mellencamp still rocks, but ages gracefully CONCERT REVIEW | Classic rocker, Lucinda Williams both sing of redemption, reflection July 24, 2008 BY DAVE HOEKSTRA Staff Reporter It’s been said that by age 50 you get the face you deserve. So on Tuesday at Charter One Pavilion on Northerly Island, John Mellencamp and opening act Lucinda Williams graced the stage like that grim couple from the American Gothic painting — each of the accomplished singer-songwriters sticking a pitchfork into middle age. They sang of redemption, reflection and the open wounds of love. Mellencamp is on the road to promote “Life, Death, Love and Freedom,” his most critically acclaimed album in years. Performed live, the new songs lacked the rustic ambiance of the album’s producer, T-Bone Burnett (think “O Brother, Where Art John?”), but the trade-off was how deeply they cut to the bone. Mellencamp sounded as searching as a lost Louvin Brother in the new “A Ride Back Home,” singing over country-gospel melodies, “My time’s come and gone / It’s as simple as that.” Yet having grown up in the Midwest, Mellencamp knows the power of a concise pop hook. His new song “My Sweet Love” embellished a Buddy Holly sensibillity over a Bo Diddley beat. Lucinda Williams opens the show for John Mellencamp on Tuesday night at the Charter One Pavilion on Northerly Island. Mellencamp did not overlook his hits. He dusted off “Minutes to Memories” from the 1985 “Scarecrow” sessions, telling the sold-out crowd he was 34 when he wrote the ballad. “I thought I was getting older at the time,” he said. “It now has a whole different meaning to me.” With a measured nuance, he sang about how life sweeps away the dreams we have planned. . |
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