Review: Exuberant Mellencamp hits and runs at Aladdin

Monday, Aug. 5, 2002 | 8:14 a.m.

The venue was the plush Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, a showcase for established -- and often legendary -- performers.

But John Mellencamp acted more the desperate up-and-comer Saturday night, rambling through a 90-minute set as if he were trying to win a talent contest at the Clampett County Fair.

Scampering tirelessly, gnawing on gum and occasionally littering the stage with loogies (the singer hawked at least a half-dozen during the rambunctious performance), Mellencamp bombarded a near-capacity crowd with a forceful display of precision, volume and energy that kept the faithful standing throughout.

Packed neatly into blue jeans, an embroidered black button-down shirt and a three-to-a-pack T-shirt, Mellencamp kept chitchat to a minimum and picked clean his vault of middle-America anthems. The free-wheeling set included "Jack and Diane," "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)," "Paper in Fire," "Lonely Ol' Night," "Crumblin' Down," "Pop Singer," "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.," "Hurts So Good," "Pink Houses" and "Check it Out."

His voice still carrying its raspy resonance, Mellencamp still maintains his cocky-young-punk appearance of the early-1980s. Impressively, Mellencamp seems as physically fit as any 50-year-old, longtime chain smoker can hope to be; the guy never breathes hard and seems blessed with rubber lungs.

The primary purpose of Mellencamp's nationwide tour is to support the acclaimed "Cuttin' Heads," his most recent studio album, which was released last fall. The show's pounding tenor was set early with two newer songs, "Love and Happiness" and "Peaceful World," the former a call to return to firm moral values and the latter (a duet with India.Arie) an idyllic message of hope that runs counter to Mellencamp's frequently sobering songwriting.

Mellencamp then charged into the classics with "Jack and Diane," invoking the inevitable singalong, which became a staple of the evening. Mellencamp's band -- a trio of guitars, fiddle, keyboards, percussion and two backup singers -- thundered through the singer's recognizable hits.

None of the sound escaped the seemingly hermetically sealed arena, which effectively garnered the show's power, but lost were some of the more subtle nuances. Much of Miriam Sturm's work on the fiddle (particularly in "Paper in Fire") was simply overpowered by percussive force, and why bother having a backup singer hammer away on a cowbell if it can't be heard?

Mellencamp did tone down the proceedings for stripped-down versions of "Small Town" and Woody Guthrie's "This Train Was Bound for Glory," which Mellencamp dedicated to Billboard executive Timothy White, a longtime friend of the singer's who died of a heart attack several weeks ago.

During the mellowed two-song segment a quote by Albert Einstein -- "You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war" -- reminded the audience that Mellencamp does indeed carry a pointed political perspective.

But the evening was a celebration of Mellencamp's musical legacy, which still resonates with the masses. He seemed as lost in the exuberance as the crowd, fairly climbing over his bandmates, and at one point he hoisted Sturm off the ground with one arm as she attempted to negotiate her instrument.

Mellencamp appeared particularly defiant during "Pop Singer," coloring the lyrics with the f-word when saying "Never wanted to write no ... pop songs."

By the time Mellencamp was ready to close the show and asked the question, "Do you want to hear a new song or an old song?" the answer was obvious. Give us the old stuff.

Or, as Mellencamp himself intoned during "Jack and Diane":

"Hold onto 16 as long as you can."

Absolutely.