John Mellencamp
London Hammersmith Apollo
2nd July, 2011

Wearing a Cowell-high belt, JM and his four-piece revisited many of his standards in Americana fashion, slipping more recent material seamlessly into the mix, before rocking out in the latter third of their two-hour, 21-song tryst. Authority Song twanged along with its rock’n’roll vibe and sweet call and response, while No One Cares About Me went rockabilly. Violin and accordion shook up Death Letter, while Walk Tall added tap-room piano and West End was hypnotic with its sitar strains. JM took to solo acoustic for Save Some Time To Dream, and Don’t Need This Body was outsider country, before the Victorian bar-ballad banjo of Easter Eve and uptempo Jack & Diane and Jackie Brown. Other ditties that got the masses moving included the perky Small Town, electric (as opposed to double) bass of Rain On The Scarecrow, and thumping Paper In Fire. Pink Houses could’ve stirred The Boss into song and a closing (no encore) Rockin’ In The USA sealed the deal in epic style.