Cougar got the claws out…
I’ve always been a fan of John Mellencamp… growing up in the Midwest, songs like “Jack and Diane,” “Pink Houses,” “Hurts So Good,” “Small Town” were a little before my time but still staples of my formative, musical exploration years. Every barbecue and birthday party, it was on the playlist. And even today, when you’re out on the boat or sitting on the patio with a cold beer in hand on a hot summer day… who doesn’t want to listen to a little Mellencamp? It’s timeless… takes you right back to a place in time. Pure nostalgia.
But lately John himself has been a bit of a… grumpy old man? And I’m not even talking about his clueless political commentary (like unironically telling Bill Maher to read the Communist Manifesto). I’m taking about him screaming at fans to shut up, and storming out like a whiny toddler because they paid to hear him sing, and not ramble on about politics and what not.
One particular incident went viral back in April of this year after a heckler told him to “just play some music.”
Still laughing about John Cougar Mellencamp rage quitting a concert after the crowd put a boo boo on his feelings because they didn’t pay to hear him preach about his woke politics.
All those poor people won’t get to hear that one song he’s known for.
— The Dank Knight 🦇 (@capeandcowell) April 16, 2024
Nevertheless, it happened again last week at Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival Tour stop in New York featuring Willie himself, along with Bob Dylan, John and others at Darien Lake Amphitheater in Buffalo,
John is playing “Longest Days” when he stops the band to unleash this rant on a fan who was apparently too loud? John says:
“Hey, you in the red hat, why don’t you shut the f*** up. You. I’m singing with a PA system and you’re louder than me. Yeah, I’m talking to you with the red beard. yeah, you… if you got something to say come on up here and f***ing say it, if not shut the f*** up.
I’ll start the song over before my buddy had something to tell that girl. what the f*** were you telling her anyways?”
Do you think the red hat triggered him?
I joke (well, not really) but it sounds like the fans says something to the effect of “I was singing along” based on John’s response:
“You we’re listening to me, you f***. Maybe you’ve had too many of those big things in your hand.”
@outlaw5857 #JohnMellencamp roasts loud audience member #2024 #outlawmusicfestival #country #rock #concert #roast ♬ original sound – Outlaw
It’s hard to know what the fan did, maybe it was just talking too loud during the show, but something tells me this isn’t the first fan to talk during a show, and probably won’t be the last. Is it rude? Yeah, maybe, but it happens every single day at every single concert in the world… get over it. If it’s truly a distraction, people around him would be telling him to shut up first.
Of course, this is coming from the guy who says he doesn’t do “concerts” anymore, he does “performances,” so maybe that tells you all you need to know about what the Cougar thinks about the situation.
After that April incident, he told the Washington Post:
“My shows are not really concerts anymore. They’re performances, and there’s a difference between a performance and a concert. Look, I’m not for everyone anymore. I’m just not. And if you want to come and scream and yell and get drunk, don’t come to my show.”
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