Mellencamp tops star-studded performances at Colts' fan appreciation night

Thousands of Colts fans took to the Lucas Oil Stadium field Friday night for a launch to the season unlike any other — part museum exhibition, part fan appreciation night and part mega show for team owner Jim Irsay's namesake "garage band" of rock 'n' roll heavy hitters.

"This just hasn't been done," Irsay said at a news conference prior to the show. "You haven't seen a world-class museum meet a world-class show and integrate together."

The free event began with a showcase of the Jim Irsay Collection, a multimillion-dollar gathering of pop culture and historical artifacts, and finished with a nearly two-and-a-half hour concert featuring guest artists Buddy Guy, Ann Wilson and Broad Ripple's own John Hiatt.

But the evening's capstone moment came at 10:35 p.m., when Irsay's band launched into a prolonged intro for John Mellencamp's "Pink Houses." As Irsay had alluded to in news media events leading up to Friday, Mellencamp himself stepped on stage.

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The crowd, which consisted of a few thousand fans who arrived early to stand on the field and most of the stadium's lower seated sections, went ballistic as he arrived dressed in black and smoking a cigarette to finish the song off.

The Jim Irsay Band, which includes longtime Mellencamp drummer Kenny Aronoff, R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills and blues guitarist and singer Kenny Wayne Shepherd, then exited the stage, leaving Mellencamp to close the show with an acoustic rendition of “Jack & Diane."

At this point, the crowd committed a mortal sin in the state of Indiana.

It had thus far shown itself to be made up of Hoosiers. People were wearing all manner of Colts gear, including Colts-dipped lucha libre masks.

However, as Mellencamp yielded the microphone following the hit song's first verse, the crowd began singing the wrong part.

Mellencamp stopped playing and silenced the audience.

"You skipped a verse," he explained. "It's verse, verse, chorus. Let's start at the second verse. Suckin' on chili dog … "

The crowd rallied to finish the song. Mellencamp thanked everyone and left.

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"To have John Mellencamp join us tonight is extra special for the community," Irsay said at the news conference. "And for him. John's meant so much to this stage, this community, to the whole culture of this community … he's really represented the arts and music in this state for a long time."

Overall, the show was a fun smattering of cover songs performed by a roster filled with Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. The performances started as smaller acoustic affairs tied to the Irsay Collection's national tour (Friday marked the collection's seventh stop) and has since ballooned in size and scope.

"This is like a garage band when we were 16," Irsay said. "This is for fun. This is why you picked up a guitar or got a keyboard."

Irsay's namesake group backed Hiatt, who opened his set with a cover of Traffic's "Feelin' Alright?" before launching into several of his own songs.

Guy, the 86-year-old legend who headlined an Indianapolis show in July, put on a blues exhibition, with his trademark guitar licks and tricks mixed with humor.

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Wilson, of Heart fame, thrilled with three Led Zeppelin covers: "Rock and Roll," "Immigrant Song" and "Stairway to Heaven."

Irsay performed a few covers while seated with the band, including a version of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" — though in the Johnny Cash style. The original certainly would not have fit the night's carefree Boomer vibe.

The drama picked up near the end of the show when a man in a tuxedo and white gloves grabbed one of the Irsay Collection's prized items — the black Fender Stratocaster used by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour — and brought it to the stage.

Shepherd used the legendary instrument, which Irsay bought for nearly $4 million at a 2019 charity auction, for a cover of Floyd's "Comfortably Numb." The production value was considerable, as the stage lights even mimicked the green laser show often seen during Gilmour's performances of the song.

Also on display Friday night was the left-handed Fender Mustang used by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain in the iconic "Smells Like Teen Spirit" music video. It was reportedly purchased for $4.5 million earlier this year.

The collection included a variety of historical and sports artifacts, from Muhammad Ali's shoes to letters written by Abraham Lincoln to the original sprawling manuscript scroll of Jack Kerouac's "On The Road."

Prior to the concert, Colts quarterback Matt Ryan, running back Jonathan Taylor, linebacker Shaquille Leonard, defensive lineman DeForest Buckner and head coach Frank Reich fired up the crowd.

Former players Edgerrin James and Reggie Wayne, now a Colts coach, also appeared throughout the night — at one point throwing signed footballs into the crowd.

Colts legend Peyton Manning made a video address, which preceded the presentation of $500,000 checks from Irsay to Riley Children's Health and Peyton Manning Children's Hospital.

Filmmaker Peter Berg, director of "Friday Night Lights," "Lone Survivor" and others, could be seen around the stadium with a small crew on Friday. Irsay previously told reporters Berg is working on a documentary of the tour.

Asked during the news conference if the collection will one day rest in Indianapolis, Irsay said the plan is for it to stay on tour for a while, including planned stops in Europe and New Orleans.

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Rory Appleton is the pop culture reporter at IndyStar. Contact him at 317-552-9044 and rappleton@indystar.com, or follow him on Twitter at @RoryDoesPhonics. IndyStar staff writers Domenica Bongiovanni and Kayla Dwyer contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Irsay Collection concerts kick off Colts season in Indianapolis