John Mellencamp with Carlene Carter
Seneca Niagara Events Center
Seneca Niagara Casino
Niagara Falls, NY
October 22, 2016
John Mellencamp brought his Plain Spoken tour to Niagara Falls, NY on October 22 at the Seneca Niagara Casino Events Center. This was Mellencamp’s first time back to this venue since 2014.
Opening the show was Carlene Carter, daughter of June Carter Cash and stepdaughter of Johnny Cash. Carter came on stage just after 8 p.m. Picking up her guitar she started her set with Every Little Thing off the Little Love Letters album from 1993. Carter performed for about 30 minutes with a set list of seven songs including tracks off her latest album Carter Girl (2014). Also included in the set was Ring of Fire – a song written by her mother and Merle Kilgore and was a number 1 hit for Johnny Cash on the Country music charts. Carter switched between her acoustic guitar and piano and told stories throughout her set.
At one point Carter apologized for not wearing a skirt and said she was now 61 years old with nine grandchildren, which got a big cheer from the crowd. Carlene Carter was a great warm up to Mellencamp but could have easily played a longer set. It would have been nice to have heard more from this music legend!
After a short break John Mellencamp began his set with Lawless Times off of 2014’s Plain Spoken, his latest studio album. Mellencamp cut the song short halfway through when he went off in a bit of a tirade over people taking photos. He said they were asked nicely prior to the show to not take photos but many chose to ignore that request. He said he would walk off stage if cameras and cell phones were not put away.
Once he settled down and was satisfied fans were not going to take anymore photos, Mellencamp continued on with Small Town and Pop Singer (fans cheered when Mellencamp sang the line, “Never wanted to have my picture taken”). Later in the show Mellencamp apologized about getting upset earlier stating he has the flu and was thinking about canceling the show but chose not to and that old people “get cranky”.
Mellencamp played a string of hits including an acoustic version of Jack & Diane (just him and his guitar), Check It Out, Rain on the Scarecrow, Crumblin’ Down, Authority Song, Paper In Fire, Pink Houses and Hurts So Good.
Mellencamp ended the night with Cherry Bomb off The Lonesome Jubilee (1987). Prior to Cherry Bomb, Mellencamp introduced his band which includes long-time member and guitarist Mike Wanchic (who has been with Mellencamp since the beginning in 1976). The current lineup also includes guitarist Andy York, violinist Miriam Sturm, drummer Dane Clark, bassist John Gunnell and keyboardist and accordion player Troye Kinnett.
A big disappointment of the night, for me, was the number of songs Mellencamp could have played but didn’t. With a career that now spans over 40 years and over 20 studio albums, there were many songs that were not played and could of easily added another one or two hours to his short set of about 70 minutes. And to top it off, there was no encore.
All in all, it was a great night of music. Mellencamp and his band failed to disappoint with what they did play and Mellencamp did play a nice mix of his older hits, the songs I grew up with when I first got into Mellencamp back in the early 80s. I hope it’s not another 20+ years until I see John Mellencamp again!
Special thanks to Nadine DiStefano at Seneca Niagara Casino for setting this up for me!
To see who’s coming to Seneca Niagara Casino click here.
Connect with Carlene Carter online: Website Facebook Twitter
Connect with John Mellencamp online: Website Facebook Twitter
Carlene Carter Setlist:
Every Little Thing
Little Black Train
Black Jack David
Lonesome Valley 2003
The Bitter End
Ring of Fire
Change
John Mellencamp Setlist:
Lawless Times
Small Town
Pop Singer
Check It Out
Jack & Diane (Acoustic, John only)
Overture
Rain on the Scarecrow
Paper in Fire
Crumblin’ Down
Authority Song / Land of 1000 Dances
Pink Houses
Hurts So Good
Cherry Bomb
All photos by Joel Naphin
©2016. Please DO NOT copy or use without permission.
Carlene Carter:
John Mellencamp:
