A Million Miles of Escalators To John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp at Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California on March 22, 2023


This was a dream come true for me! I have been listening to Mellencamp since I was a baby. Thank you for that, mommy. Pink Houses and Jack Diane and so many others that I can't even think of because I am still excited, have been staples in my playlists for as long as playlists were a thing. 

This was my first time shooting at Dolby Theater. That place is crazy! The parking garage is 867 levels below the surface of the Earth and you have to take 5,274 tiny escalators to the ground level. But, somehow, it felt like there was daylight in that garage. It was totally insanity. I felt like I was in some bizzaro world! Then, walking around the complex was overwhelming. Shops and restaurants and little holes in the wall where you can still your head in and ramen pops out. Then food trucks on the street and people just coming at you left and right. It was a lot for me. 

When the time came, I waited for the escort in the security room. I walked in and BAM! Lovely Alex was there. I always enjoy shooting with him. 

This show was everything that I wanted it to be. The band was extraordinary and John Mellencamp is as Americana as any one person can be. For one song, he brings his young grandchildren on stage to sing with him, and the second they leave the stage, he lights up a cigarette. There was nothing complicated or subtle about this show. He is unapologetically  John Mellencamp and that is exactly what you get. Nothing more, nothing less.