Brittany/Wheat Concert Week

While Instagramming at the One Direction concert last Friday (do I sound like a crazy millennial or what?), I officially dubbed this week Brittany/Wheat concert week. Why? Because Wheat and I have attended three concerts within six days, which is a personal record for me.

Wheat was offered four free tickets to the John Mellencamp concert on Tuesday, which also happened to be my dad's 63rd birthday. Two birds, meet one stone. Despite having chemo that day and being strapped to her chemo machine, my mom also agreed to join us at Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the show. After a wonderful dinner at Bourbon Street, we made our way to the arena to find that our seats were somehow in the lower level. No complaints here.

Carlene Carter, the daughter of June Carter Cash (and stepdaughter of Johnny Cash), opened the show. It is truly eerie how much her voice sounds like her mother's and I was surprised by her skills on the guitar and the piano. I really enjoyed hearing her personal stories about growing up in such a musical family and was thrilled when she played the Carter family classic "Wildwood Flower." Reese Witherspoon even sings it in Walk the Line! At age 59, she was still an absolute spitfire and I thought her short set was the perfect way to start the night.

Oddly enough, this was the second time I've seen John Mellencamp in concert (the other was at Farm Aid 2009 in St. Louis). I'm not a huge fan of his and I don't know many of his songs, but it's always exciting to see artists perform their iconic songs live. Mellencamp is from Indiana, so he decided to close his 80-show American tour in Indianapolis. You could definitely hear the strain in his voice after so many nights on the road, but it was exciting to witness his homecoming and hear the immense support from his fellow Hoosiers.

Unsurprisingly, my favorite songs of the night were "Pink Houses" and his acoustic version of "Jack and Diane." For large portions of the latter song, Mellencamp stopped singing entirely, allowing the packed house to do it for him. I also really enjoyed "The Full Catastrophe," which took a very bluesy, Tom Waits-esque approach in the midst of a string of folksy ballads and '80s rock anthems. Carlene Carter joined him on stage for a couple songs that are featured in Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, the musical he co-wrote with Stephen King. I was super impressed with his band, especially the violinist, and found the show very entertaining, despite not being able to sing along with most of the songs. Seriously though, what kind of John Mellencamp setlist doesn't include "Hurts So Good?" Here was his eclectic setlist:

Lawless Times
Troubled Man
Minutes to Memories
Small Town
Stones in My Passway - Robert Johnson cover
Human Wheels
The Isolation of Mister
Check It Out
Longest Days
Jack and Diane (acoustic)
The Full Catastrophe
Away from This World (with Carlene Carter)
Tear This Cabin Down (with Carlene Carter)
New Hymn
Rain on the Scarecrow
Paper in Fire
If I Die Sudden
Crumblin' Down
The Authority Song
Pink Houses
Cherry Bomb

The next night, Wheat and I walked along the canal to White River State Park to enjoy The Beach Boys and The Temptations. We showed up right as The Temptations took the stage and didn't get the free lawn chairs (ugh!), but we found a nice spot on the lawn to set up shop. Each group only had one original member perform, but it made no difference to me because the music was goooood (although I'd love to see Brian Wilson, of course). The Temptations warmed us up nicely with hits like "Get Ready," "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "I Wish It Would Rain," and "Just My Imagination." I personally loved "Papa was a Rolling Stone," but since I'm a cliche girl, my favorite song from their set was "My Girl," which they lovingly refer to as 'The Temptations National Anthem.'

I should preface this next part with this: I have a serious soft spot for The Beach Boys. I grew up listening to their greatest hits and they remind me of my Grandpop and Mom. They also happen to be the first concert I remember attending - back in the day at King's Island. So, I was thrilled to experience them again, this time with Wheat. I was not disappointed in the least. The only original member, Mike Love, was charismatic (despite being 74!) and interacted with the crowd the entire night. The harmonies were precise and the music was the exact California, surf rock that I long to hear every summer. I practically melted into a puddle at the first notes of "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" and loved the touching tribute to late bandmate Carl Wilson on "God Only Knows."

Along with an awesome tribute to George Harrison, the band hit every aspect you'd expect with songs about cars, girls, and surfing. On "Be True to Your School," a slideshow displayed cheerleaders from local colleges as audience members shouted in support of their various alma maters. To close the show, the band showed Jimmy Fallon's recent parody of "Fun, Fun, Fun" with Kevin Bacon before launching into the actual song themselves. It was summer fun perfection.



Here was their jam-packed setlist:

California Girls
Dance, Dance, Dance
Then He Kissed Me - The Crystals cover
California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas cover
Sloop John B - Cover song
Wouldn't It Be Nice?
Surfer Girl
Farmer's Daughter
You're So Good to Me
Good to My Baby
Keep an Eye on Summer
Don't Worry Baby
Little Deuce Coupe
409
Shut Down
I Get Around
Ballad of Ole' Betsy
I Can Hear Music - The Ronettes cover
Why Do Fools Fall in Love? - Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers cover
When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)
Darlin'
Be True to Your School
Their Hearts were Full of Spring - The Four Freshmen cover
God Only Knows
Pisces Brothers - George Harrison tribute
Good Vibrations
Do It Again
All Summer Long
Help Me, Rhonda
Rock and Roll Music - Chuck Berry cover
Barbara Ann - The Regents cover
Catch a Wave
Surfin' Safari
Surfin' USA

Kokomo
Fun, Fun, Fun

...and as if that isn't enough live music for the week, I'm currently in the market for American Idol Live tickets for Sunday. Can't stop. Won't stop.