Mellencamp's "No Better Than This" Couldn't Have Been Any Better! Photo by: Miles Overn copyright (c) 21012 John Mellencamp brought his “No Better Than This” tour to Penticton’s SOEC last night and gave a performance that more than lived up the name of the tour. This was one of those shows that simply approached perfection on virtually every level. The sound was pristine, and the lighting masterfully understated while simultaneously creating evocative atmospheres for each song in the near 2 hour set. His band owns the heartland rock sound and vibe and delivered from that place just the right support for Mellancamp across both new and older tunes spanning much of his career. Mellencamp opened with his massively popular “Authority Song” and from that moment on he held his audience in the palm of his hand and close to his soul. Mellencamp’s basic roots rock musical approach combined with his direct and often profound lyrical insights resonate with his fans, and they did so again on this night. The crowd was right there, right now, sharing the same moment that this entertainer and his band were creating. Having pulled the assembled masses in with one of his classic, Mellencamp immediately went to “No One Cares About Me” from his latest CD. Both of these tunes, in fact the first 6 songs or so, were delivered with attitude coming from not just the singer/songwriter himself but from his whole band. This part of the set concluded with “Check It Out,” which allowed for a seemless shift to just Mellencamp on acoustic singing “Jack And Diane.” The middle section continued, with various musicians joining Mellencamp on stage and then disappearing into the wings, for “Jackie Brown,” “The Longest Day” and then “Small Town,” which was followed by improvised hymn playing from his violin and accordion players. The lighting and sound excellence really shone through during this acoustic part of the concert; superbly executed. The final portion of the show brought back the full band and cranked the energy level way back up again as they ran through “Scarecrow,” “Ghost Towns,” “Paper In Fire,” “If I Die Sudden” and others, culminating in perhaps his biggest hit of all time, “Pink Houses.” Even before his encore performance of “Cherry Bomb” this concert was closing in on 2 hours of all that is Mellencamp. Cowboy Junkies gave an impressive, 9 song opening set that served as a great preamble to what was to come. Their artsy, down low, subdued physically but constantly percolating just under the surface brand of roots rock Canadiana blues rock alt everything musical genius served as the perfect foil for Mellencamp’s directness. A great performance from an American legend and icon who expresses life’s complexities through profound insights presented with simplicity, heart and soul. Authentic authenticity and powerfully shared human spirit. A performance really couldn’t get no better than this.