John Mellencamp Avoids Recent Issues in Rocking Fayetteville Performance

John Mellencamp has had his share of live performance issues lately, but thankfully he managed to avoid those Wednesday night during his Fayetteville performance at the Crown Theatre.

The Fayetteville crowd seemed to be a breath of fresh air for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member. Recently, Mellencamp has experienced heckling during his performances and has even walked off stage due to arguments with attendees. This was not the case Wednesday night as the audience doted over Mellencamp during his performance.

One audience member did try to start a chant during the performance but he was ignored by all guests and due to the lack of attention, he faded back into the crowd.

This was not a textbook rock concert. Fiddler player Lisa Germano explained that John wanted his show to be "more of a performance than a rock concert." This explains the short, black and white film clips from movies such as "Hud," "The Grapes of Wrath," and "A Street Car Named Desire" which played for the first twenty minutes of the night.

Germano went on to tell a story about Mellencamp’s lifelong friend, Joanne Woodward, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and has not spoken in years. Audio of Joanne Woodward played over the theatre speakers while Germano and the band played soft music. It was a beautiful tribute to Woodward.

John Mellencamp performed songs from his earliest days that made the crowd feel nostalgic such as "Jack and Diane," "Small Town" and "Jackie Brown."

He got political but without protest from fans when introducing "Eyes of Portland." He gave a short but passionate speech about there being a homeless problem in America and how we need to take care of the people around us.

The American icon ended the night with two top hits, "Pink Houses" and "Cherry Bomb." With the crowd already on their feet, they cheered and clapped with arms raised high in the air. While Mellencamp took in the crowd, waving, he promised one more song. He closed the night with an energizing performance of "Hurts So Good" which kept fans cheering until the house lights came on.

Future stops on the John Mellencamp "Live and in Person" tour include: Washington D.C., South Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia.

Fayetteville has landed a dubious spot among the unhealthiest cities in America.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be difficult. There are a plethora of factors that can influence a person's health habits, including where they live. Some cities in America have a less-than-stellar track record when it comes to fostering physical health and wellness. Unfortunately, one of the worst offenders is the city of Fayetteville, North Carolina.

WalletHub recently released a new study listing the healthiest and unhealthiest cities in America. Health experts analyzed 182 US cities while focusing on four key dimensions: Health Care, Food, Fitness, and Green Space.

Each dimension then contained different subcategories, each with different point distributions relative to their importance. For instance, the subcategory under Health Care with the highest priority was each city's premature death rate. For the Food dimension, most attention was paid to inadequate food and vegetable consumption. Under the dimension of Fitness experts most heavily analyzed each city's share of adults who engage in any physical activity. Finally, the Green Space dimension included factors like parkland acres per capita, along with the quality of the parks.

Out of all 182 cities included in the city, Fayetteville was ranked among the bottom ten, sucking it in to fit at #176. Out of a possible 100 points once all four dimensions are added up, Fayetteville only scored a pitiful 32.8 overall. The city scored the worst in the Food dimension, which I think is to be expected in a town with a Krispy Kreme AND Cold Stone Creamery.

In addition to conducting the study, WalletHub also reached out to health analysts across the country to get their insights on how people can practice healthier lifestyle habits. Columbia University professor Peter A. Muennig suggests forming bonds with other likeminded individuals. "As with choosing a healthy city, it is really a matter of surrounding yourself with people who have shared values of eating well and exercising," says Muennig.

Here are some key takeaways from the study about the unhealthiest cities in America:

San Francisco was named the healthiest city in America. The city scored number 1 in the Food and Green Spaces dimensions, which makes up for its less impressive Healthcare ranking.

The beautiful city of Honolulu comes in at number two on the list, citing luscious greenery for residents to explore as well as an abundance of healthy fish-based cuisine.

The eccentric city of Seattle is the third healthiest city in the US. It ranks in the top 30 for Healthcare, top 10 in both Food and Fitness, and ranks 11th in Green Spaces.

Brownsville was named the unhealthiest city in America. The Texas city has the worst Food and Fitness scores in the entire list, and is just a hair off from the worst in Healthcare and Green Spaces.

Gulfport ranked consistently low across all four key dimensions, making it the 2nd unhealthiest city in the country.

Yes, Texas holds two of the bottom three spots on the list. Not only is the physical health of Laredo residents one of the worst in the country, but the city's mental health scores are abysmal as well. Laredo has the fewest mental health counselors per capita, which takes a heavy toll on its overall score.

Raleigh was named the healthiest city in North Carolina, coming in at number 31. The capital city has the third best score for the Fitness dimension, due to its abundance of gyms and fitness groups.

Further down the list is the Queen City of Charlotte, which ranks 67th in overall health.

96 - Durham

161 - Greensboro

171 - Winston-Salem

176 - Fayetteville