I Can’t Get Away From John Mellencamp

Twice in the past week, I have unexpectedly run into performances by John Mellencamp, a surprise that was nice the first time (when he performed “Pink Houses” at Shea Stadium, as seen above through someone’s T-shirt) and somewhat disorienting the second; yesterday morning Mellencamp played a free concert that aired during breaks in CBS’ The Early Show. The concert began soundchecking at 5:20 a.m.–gotta get ready for the few East Coast viewers that The Early Show still has, after all–and the sound quality was so pristine, I actually thought the music was coming from the hotel room next door to mine. (Which I suppose says something about the sort of equipment CBS can afford.) And his band sounded good! It just would have sounded a lot more pleasant if it hadn’t been, you know, six in the morning. Anyway, at this point I’m awaiting a knock at my door, one that will announce the former Johnny Cougar to show up on my doorstep and hand me a pamphlet about why authority always wins before breaking into song. [YouTube]