John Mellencamp: Plain Spoken - From the Chicago Theatre Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

John Mellencamp: Plain Spoken - From the Chicago Theatre Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 9, 2018

There was a tradition during the Golden Age of Hollywood to try to find new “types” that might remind audiences of already famous performers, actors and actresses with different names but who could be (or attempted to be) stuffed into pre-existing templates. To cite just a couple of completely random examples (you can probably think of your own), “blonde bombshell” casting produced everyone from Jean Harlow to Lana Turner, while in the action adventure arena, actors like Patric Knowles were nurtured to become the “next” Errol Flynn (something that kind of comedically never happened for Knowles, who was consigned more than once to playing Flynn's brother). Maybe there’s something at least slightly similar in the music business, at least insofar as the general mien of certain performers. In the “working class rock hero” category, probably no one is ever going to supplant Bruce Springsteen as king of that particular hill, but if there were a challenger, one of the leading contenders might be John Mellencamp. That said, it might be a little hard to think of The Boss including the following epigram, one which Mellencamp recites with a kind of laid back intensity on the commentary included on this release:

Keep it small
Remember always keep it small but keep it going
Keep it small and keep it going
Try to keep as plain spoken as possible
Keep it vague
So people can include themselves in what you’re saying or what you’re staging or what you’re painting
And don’t hit it on the nose
Don’t be so specific
If you’re too specific it becomes exclusive only to you

Mellencamp's personal history is really rather amazing, as he gets into in the commentary and insert booklet transcription of it (see below). Most longtime fans will know about some personal health issues he overcame, and that may have somehow subliminally instilled in him the sort of gritty authenticity of a survivor that comes through quite winningly in many of his songs. There are some notable "MIAs" for this Chicago concert, at least in terms of Mellencamp's chart presence, but he leads a kind of stripped down, rootsy band that features some fantastic backup musicians, including Miriam Sturm on fiddle, Troy Kinnett on keyboards, accordion and harmonica, Mike Wanchic on guitars, Andy York on guitars, John Gunnell on bass and Dane Clark on drums.

John's setlist for this concert includes:

• Lawless Times
• Troubled Man
• Minutes to Memories
• Small Town
• Stones in My Passway
• Pop Singer
• Check It Out
• Longest Days
• The Full Catastrophe
• My Soul's Got Wings
• Overture
• Rain on the Scarecrow
• Paper in Fire
• Authority Song
• Pink Houses
• Cherry Bomb

John Mellencamp: Plain Spoken - From the Chicago Theatre Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Plain Spoken John Mellencamp: From the Chicago Theatre is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision, an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment, and Universal Music Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Perhaps due to the fact that relatively normal stage lighting is employed and/or the fact that this is a progressive presentation, this is one of the more nicely sharp and well detailed concert Blu-rays I've had the pleasure of watching lately. The scrim behind the band changes colors with some regularity (often to blue or red), but the overall stage lighting remains at least decently restrained most of the time, allowing a natural palette to be exhibited. There's good coverage of the band, with a number of angles that provide very good fine detail in close-ups. Things may be a bit "Arty" for some tastes (especially given Mellencamp's working class hero status), with elements like black and white sequences interwoven into things, but even in the black and white moments detail levels remain strong despite the use of midrange shots. There are some deficits in shadow definition along the very edges of the stage and throughout some of the longer shots of the venue (one stylistic conceit employed that I personally found annoying was the use of a camera in about the second or third row of the audience, with listeners' heads often poking up and filling most of the bottom of the frame, therefore blocking views of what's going on onstage — I guess you might jokingly call that "verité" for those wanting an apt recreation of actually being there).

John Mellencamp: Plain Spoken - From the Chicago Theatre Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Plain Spoken John Mellencamp: From the Chicago Theatre features two very nice sounding tracks, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround version and an LPCM 2.0 stereo version. Perhaps due at least in part to the somewhat "stripped down" ambience of this concert, along with its prevalence for acoustic instruments like the fiddle and accordion, even the stereo offering provides a rather boisterous accounting of the performances. That said, the surround track significantly opens things up and provides a really accurate sense of directionality in terms of where the instrumentalists are on stage. The sound is bright without ever sounding brittle and John's voice is well prioritized throughout.

John Mellencamp: Plain Spoken - From the Chicago Theatre Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features John Mellencamp in what I might term "Matthew McConaughey car commercial" mode, as evidenced by the above epigram.

Additionally, a Bonus CD of the concert is included. The insert booklet seems to have a transcript of either a lot of or the whole megillah of Mellencamp's commentary.

John Mellencamp: Plain Spoken - From the Chicago Theatre Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Plain Spoken John Mellencamp: From the Chicago Theatre is a wonderfully energetic but also surprisingly intimate concert from Mellencamp and his ace band. There's a really cool "jangly", "rootsy" sound permeating most of these arrangements, and John sounds as grittily authentic as ever. The presentational style here may be a little high-falutin', given John's general down to earth proclivities, but the music is fantastic and sounds great throughout. Technical merits are first rate and Plain Spoken John Mellencamp: From the Chicago Theatre comes Recommended.