The Minnesota Star Tribune: Review: Mellencamp vs. Dylan, Comparing Heartland heroes’ Recent Minnesota Concerts
Minnesota Star Tribune by Jon Bream
Probably the only times John Mellencamp and Bob Dylan have been mentioned in the same sentences were when they toured together, in 2009-10 in minor-league ballparks and in 2024-25 with Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival. Oh, they’ve both been involved with Farm Aid, too.
To be sure, these veteran rockers occasionally inject social commentary into their songs. They are both exhibited visual artists. To some people’s way of thinking, they’re both contrarians, creatives who dance to the beat of their own drum.
Other than that, these two sons of the Heartland probably couldn’t be more different. That was apparent when they performed eight days apart this month at the new Mystic Lake Amphitheater in Shakopee.
In the eyes of their fans, each Rock & Roll Hall of Famer gave a rewarding performance. But the faithful have disparate criteria for their hero. Here is a comparison of Mellencamp’s gig on Tuesday and Dylan’s on July 6.
Tour title
Taking a break from his no-opening-act Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour that started in 2021, Dylan has undertaken the Long Hot Summer ’26 Tour, with two opening acts. He got that right. Mellencamp was a tad more artful yet straightforward with the moniker of Dancing Words Tour — the Greatest Hits.
Conversation
Not surprisingly, Dylan uttered not a single word. He very rarely does.
On Tuesday after Mellencamp put out his cigarette, he commented about the hot weather before singing a note. Then in the middle of opening protest piece, “Lawless Times,” (updated with an ICE reference) he got on his soapbox to explain himself.
“I’m not for everyone. Just like you guys are not for everybody. You guys are probably the outliers of the world who don’t play by the rules.”
Neither does he.
Songs
After recent solo tours that emphasized artful Americana music and ignored many hits, Mellencamp turned into the true pro he can be if he wants to. He was engaged and occasionally impassioned and often demonstrative on Tuesday, offering a supergenerous 26 selections of mostly songs played on the radio at one time or another.
He dusted off tunes he hadn’t performed live in a decade like “I Need a Lover” and “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” How could fans complain on Tuesday?
By contrast, Dylan, who has a vast canon of 40 studio albums, performed 16 songs in Shakopee, of which maybe only three — “It Ain’t Me, Babe,” “When I Paint My Masterpiece” and “I Shall be Released” — would be considered classics, though “Masterpiece” was dramatically reimagined as a rhumba. However, noncasual fans know by now that Dylan is a jazz man in concert, reinterpreting his songs, not being faithful to the recorded versions.
For those keeping score, the 85-year-old Minnesotan was onstage for 85 minutes in front of 7,000 folks; the 74-year-old Hoosier did two 75-minute sets for 10,000 fans, with an intermission.
Voice
Back in the ‘90s and ‘00s, concertgoers kvetched about Dylan sounding croaky with a propensity for mumbling. Not today. His voice was clear and assertive, his phrasing at times flowing and at times measured.
Similarly, fans carped about Mellencamp’s nicotine-curated voice, which was hoarse and harsh in some of his Minneapolis theater shows in this century. Not this time. The Indiana rocker had that distinctive rasp that gave his hits character in the ‘80s and ‘90s. This was probably about as good as it gets at this point for a lifelong chain smoker.
Highlights
For Dylan, it was the classics, the strikingly true-to-the-original sounding “It Ain’t Me, Babe,” a fervent “I Shall Be Released” and the rhumba recasting of “When I Paint My Masterpiece.”
The high points of Mellencamp’s concerts were the invigorating anthem “Pink Houses” and “Wild Night,” the Van Morrison tune that he worked up as a lively duet with Crystal Taliefero.
Band
Each has a longtime member, with bassist Tony Garnier signing on with Dylan in 1989. Guitarist Mike Wanchic has been playing with Mellencamp since his “Johnny Cougar” days in 1976. Most of Mellencamp’s other players are long-timers, with percussionist/saxophonist/singer Taliefero rejoining the lineup this summer.
Dylan’s band has been in flux this summer, with new guitarists Julian Lage and Joel Paterson showing up in June.
Both bands were solid in Shakopee, though it was obvious Mellencamp’s eight-person crew was well-rehearsed while Dylan’s quartet was free-wheeling, following spontaneous cues from its bandleader.
Visuals
It was no-frills with Dylan on a dimly lit stage with one stationary camera providing un-animated live video. There were no close-ups. Peeking out from his white hoodie, Dylan stood maybe 10 yards from the front of the stage.
There wasn’t much to see without binoculars. With Dylan, it’s all about the music.
As for Mellencamp, his production had an artfully conceived approach for the big, curved screen behind him. In the first set, there were mostly black-and-white live video shots, sometimes framed by aspects of a vintage proscenium stage. During the second set, the live video closeups were mostly in color, with some of Mellencamp’s paintings also shown.
Attitude toward audience
Dylan pretty much ignored the audience, never making eye contact, never really acknowledging them until the very end when, uncharacteristically, he clapped a couple times to show his appreciation and waved.
Crowd-pleaser Mellencamp made occasional eye contact, implored the fans to sing along on the choruses of his biggest hits, clapped for the crowd after several songs and offered a hearty round of applause at the show’s end. And he waved both of his hands.
Best lyric in concert
Mellencamp isn’t likely to earn a Nobel Prize for literature, but he often turns a good phrase.
“Oh yeah, life goes on,” he sang in “Jack & Diane.” “Long after the thrill of livin’ is gone.”
Dylan is a wordsmith nonpareil. My favorite lyric from last week was in “I Shall Be Released”:
“They say ev’ry man needs protection/ They say ev’ry man must fall/ Yet I swear I see my reflection/ Some place so high above this wall.”