by Pa Rock
Road Warrior
A major focus of my trip to Kansas City this past week was to see John Mellencamp in concert at that historic Midland Theatre in downtown Kansas City’s “Power and Light District.” He was there Monday and Tuesday, and my signleton ticket was for the Tuesday night show.
My son drove me into the city at about the time the theatre doors were preparing to open, and there was already a big line of people waiting in line to get in. Many appeared to be in the same age range as the singer (71) and myself (75), though some were quite a bit younger. More than a few were also sporting red necks and tattoos.
Paper tickets seem to be a thing of the past, so Tim looked for a place to park so that he could accompany me to the door and show the ticket on his phone. I had what should have been a choice seat – an aisle seat on the sixth row. But it was on the outer edge of the audience about three feet in front of a large bank of speakers with an oblique view of center stage. Still, it would have worked if everyone remained sitting – which, of course, most did not.
The doors opened at 7:00 p.m. and the show was supposed to start at 8:00 p.m. Before the show there was a large white screen hanging down in the center of the stage and about 7:45 the lights went down and a video began showing Mellencamp providing commentary on six or eight classic movies. One of the performance’s sponsors was Turner Classic Movies, and while I could not hear much of the dialogue from the video, it seemed to be one that the singer had recorded for TCM a decade or so earlier.
The movies highlighted in the video included several with Brando (“On the Waterfront,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” and “The Men”), as well as others like “The Misfits,” “Raintree County,” and “Hud.” They were all obviously some of the singer’s favorite movies, and he seemed to be talking about the realistic attribues of the characters in those films. (Even though I was sitting right in front of the main speakers, it was difficult to hear the soundtrack of the video because everyone else in the theatre seemed to think if the star was not yet performing in person it was just fine to talk, scream, yell, whistle, and slosh their beer everywhere within reach!)
Mellencamp is a Renaissance Man who sings, plays multiple instruments, acts, and even paints. Some of his art work, which is quite good, was displayed in the film – and sadly, I am probably one of the few people there who even was aware of that.
The actual musical performance started twenty-five minutes late – shame on the star for that – and the first few songs weren’t well known – at least to me. A few people down in front of the stage decided that they needed to be standing in order to display their energy and enthusiasm, and that, of course, forced others who also had expensive tickets, to stand if they really wanted to see the show – and by about the end of the third number most of the main floor was standing – many out of necessity.
It was at about that point as I was on the verge of walking out, Mellencamp began to assert control over the raucous crowd. He calmed them down with what he called a “public service” announcement. The singer said, rather quietly into his microphone, that the “quiet part” was coming up and that “any of you (strong expletive deleted) who feel you need to scream and yell during the quiet part need to head out to the lobby now.” He discussed the music that he and the band would be performing for the rest of the evening, some new songs and some that the audience would know well, and he predicted that the people in the theatre would be formed into a community by the end of the performance.
At that point the singer told a very poignant story about having a meal at a nice restaurant a few years back in Portland, Oregon. As he was eating, he observed a young, homeless woman walking up and down the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. The woman was barefoot and talking to herself, and very agitated. Mellencamp finally made a decision to go outside and see if he could help her.
When he approached the woman (whom he kept referring to as a “kid” who was about twenty-five), he asked her what was the matter. She told him that she was living on the streets and wanted to go home. He replied that he would buy her a meal and a bus ticket if that would help, but she said that even though she wanted to go home, she couldn’t because her parents didn’t want her. Then he asked her if he could give her money for a meal, and she replied by asking him if she would have to have sex with him if he gave her money. He assured her that she did not and that there were no strings attached to the gift. He said that he pulled some bills out of his wallet and held tto money out to her. She grabbed the cash and headed down the sidewalk at a rapid pace, and then turned and said that she couldn’t believe that she was going to get meal without having to provide sex to the man who gave her the money.
He wrote the song, “The Eyes of Portland" based on that encounter, as well as on his observations of the massive numbers of homeless people on the streets of Portland. He picked up his acoustic guitar and sang that song to the audience as it finally began to calm.
In that same “quiet” segment Mellencamp talked about his long-term friendship with Academy Award-winning actress, Joanne Woodward, the widow of Paul Newman. He had asked her at one point if he could tape her reading some of his songs. He finished the quiet segment off by playing a tape of Joanne Woodward reading “Real Life” and accompanied by two members of his band (fiddle and guitar player).
After the quiet part as over, the entire house sang “Jack and Diane” and several other classics from forty or so years ago. In fact, the only major work of John Mellencamp that I did not hear on Tuesday night was “I Want a Lover Who Won’t Drive Me Crazy,” and, on reflection, I suspect that it may now be regarded as politically incorrect.
The show ended about two hours after it had begun with no encores, though the whole house, and even myself, was standing and cheering. I hadn't developed a strong community vibe with the audience, but I did leave the theatre with a heightened appreciation of the talent and values of the singer - and I was glad that I had stayed for the entire performance.
My son drove me into the city at about the time the theatre doors were preparing to open, and there was already a big line of people waiting in line to get in. Many appeared to be in the same age range as the singer (71) and myself (75), though some were quite a bit younger. More than a few were also sporting red necks and tattoos.
Paper tickets seem to be a thing of the past, so Tim looked for a place to park so that he could accompany me to the door and show the ticket on his phone. I had what should have been a choice seat – an aisle seat on the sixth row. But it was on the outer edge of the audience about three feet in front of a large bank of speakers with an oblique view of center stage. Still, it would have worked if everyone remained sitting – which, of course, most did not.
The doors opened at 7:00 p.m. and the show was supposed to start at 8:00 p.m. Before the show there was a large white screen hanging down in the center of the stage and about 7:45 the lights went down and a video began showing Mellencamp providing commentary on six or eight classic movies. One of the performance’s sponsors was Turner Classic Movies, and while I could not hear much of the dialogue from the video, it seemed to be one that the singer had recorded for TCM a decade or so earlier.
The movies highlighted in the video included several with Brando (“On the Waterfront,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” and “The Men”), as well as others like “The Misfits,” “Raintree County,” and “Hud.” They were all obviously some of the singer’s favorite movies, and he seemed to be talking about the realistic attribues of the characters in those films. (Even though I was sitting right in front of the main speakers, it was difficult to hear the soundtrack of the video because everyone else in the theatre seemed to think if the star was not yet performing in person it was just fine to talk, scream, yell, whistle, and slosh their beer everywhere within reach!)
Mellencamp is a Renaissance Man who sings, plays multiple instruments, acts, and even paints. Some of his art work, which is quite good, was displayed in the film – and sadly, I am probably one of the few people there who even was aware of that.
The actual musical performance started twenty-five minutes late – shame on the star for that – and the first few songs weren’t well known – at least to me. A few people down in front of the stage decided that they needed to be standing in order to display their energy and enthusiasm, and that, of course, forced others who also had expensive tickets, to stand if they really wanted to see the show – and by about the end of the third number most of the main floor was standing – many out of necessity.
It was at about that point as I was on the verge of walking out, Mellencamp began to assert control over the raucous crowd. He calmed them down with what he called a “public service” announcement. The singer said, rather quietly into his microphone, that the “quiet part” was coming up and that “any of you (strong expletive deleted) who feel you need to scream and yell during the quiet part need to head out to the lobby now.” He discussed the music that he and the band would be performing for the rest of the evening, some new songs and some that the audience would know well, and he predicted that the people in the theatre would be formed into a community by the end of the performance.
At that point the singer told a very poignant story about having a meal at a nice restaurant a few years back in Portland, Oregon. As he was eating, he observed a young, homeless woman walking up and down the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. The woman was barefoot and talking to herself, and very agitated. Mellencamp finally made a decision to go outside and see if he could help her.
When he approached the woman (whom he kept referring to as a “kid” who was about twenty-five), he asked her what was the matter. She told him that she was living on the streets and wanted to go home. He replied that he would buy her a meal and a bus ticket if that would help, but she said that even though she wanted to go home, she couldn’t because her parents didn’t want her. Then he asked her if he could give her money for a meal, and she replied by asking him if she would have to have sex with him if he gave her money. He assured her that she did not and that there were no strings attached to the gift. He said that he pulled some bills out of his wallet and held tto money out to her. She grabbed the cash and headed down the sidewalk at a rapid pace, and then turned and said that she couldn’t believe that she was going to get meal without having to provide sex to the man who gave her the money.
He wrote the song, “The Eyes of Portland" based on that encounter, as well as on his observations of the massive numbers of homeless people on the streets of Portland. He picked up his acoustic guitar and sang that song to the audience as it finally began to calm.
In that same “quiet” segment Mellencamp talked about his long-term friendship with Academy Award-winning actress, Joanne Woodward, the widow of Paul Newman. He had asked her at one point if he could tape her reading some of his songs. He finished the quiet segment off by playing a tape of Joanne Woodward reading “Real Life” and accompanied by two members of his band (fiddle and guitar player).
After the quiet part as over, the entire house sang “Jack and Diane” and several other classics from forty or so years ago. In fact, the only major work of John Mellencamp that I did not hear on Tuesday night was “I Want a Lover Who Won’t Drive Me Crazy,” and, on reflection, I suspect that it may now be regarded as politically incorrect.
The show ended about two hours after it had begun with no encores, though the whole house, and even myself, was standing and cheering. I hadn't developed a strong community vibe with the audience, but I did leave the theatre with a heightened appreciation of the talent and values of the singer - and I was glad that I had stayed for the entire performance.
No comments:
Post a Comment