Last night, my wife and I traveled to Kettering , Ohio, just outside of Dayton, to see Mark Knopfler in concert. He played at the Fraze Pavilion, a small amphitheatre located in a beautiful park.
Knopfler tours with a band of excellent players. On this tour, the band consists of Richard Bennett on guitar, Guy Fletcher on keyboards and guitar , Danny Cummings on drums, Matt Rollings on keyboards and guitar, Glenn Worf on bass, and John McCusker on fiddle, cittern, whistle and violin (What It Is, Caprese!).
He played for about two hours, playing songs from his entire catalog, including some Dire Straits crowd pleasers like Sultans of Swing and Telegraph Road. Despite the fact that this tour is called the Kill To Get Crimson tour, he only played two songs from his latest CD, True Love Will Never Fade and The Fish And The Bird. Knopfler used his usual guitars, a red Strat, an old sunburst Strat, a sunburst Les Paul, a National steel and a Martin, along with a red Schecter Tele and a Pensa.
It was a great show, and I enthusiastically recommend that anyone who enjoys his music try to catch one of the remaining dates on the tour. Last night reaffirmed for me that I’d rather listen to Mark Knopfler play the guitar than anyone else I’ve heard.
I saw him last week here in Regina. Very good concert. My only complaint was that at times I couldn’t hear him singing over the music. Well, that and I’m getting old…the concert was too loud for me!
I’d give anything to be able to see Mark since, while I’ve always been a fan, the regard you and other accomplished guitarists here on the board have expressed for him lends a special credence. Sadly though, the map suggests this tour could almost be called the “Everywhere But South Central Tour.”
During the first song, which was Cannibals, I commented to my wife that the sound man needed to turn up the volume on Knopfler’s voice, and a few seconds later, he did! There were moments throughout the rest of the show when I wished for a bit more vocal volume, but the sound man failed to respond to my telepathy.
Damn - the deal I was working on in Atlanta just died; I coulda tried to figure something out! (lieu - Houston is still on the middle burner, but they don’t need me out there at this point and Crotalus, an opportunity in Cincy is moving from cool to warm…I’ll keep you posted)
I love his technique and would love to see him live. To my knowledge the guitars he’s playing that look vintage ARE vintage - he has a very well-regarded collection of vintage guitars that aren’t just trophies. And he plays through some of the best amps - Komets along with others.
Is there anything that stood out about his tone, Crotalus? I mean other than it was Knopfler-typical excellent? Did he rock the Quack-plus-chorus Strat tone as hard as his old 80’s recordings did or did he back off the bright n’ shimmery for a bit more live, vintage warmth?
(for non-guitarist Dopers, I am happy to explain what all of that gibberish means - I swear it is interesting from a player’s POV… )
First, the sign at the bottom of my street says “Cincinnati 90 miles”, so if you have business in Cincy, we need to meet for dinner or something.
His main guitars are a red Strat which I believe is his signature model and a sunburst Les Paul which I think is a '58. He played a sunburst Strat on one song. I believe it is the '54 that he has had since Dire Straits.
His Les Paul tone was the one I’ve come to know and love, pretty much what you hear on the recorded versions of the songs Brothers In Arms and Song For Sonny Liston, both of which he played last night. I would say that his Strat sound is quite a bit warmer than his recorded work with Dire Straits. On Sultans, he used the red Strat, and there was a hint of distortion, particularly on the double notes. Another DR tune which had fairly sparkly tone on the original is Telegraph Road. Last night he used his Pensa for that one, and it was warmer than the original.
The only song in which he played his old Strat was So Far Away From You, and that sounded pretty much like the record, brighter and cleaner than what he played on the red Strat and the Pensa.
His amp looked like a red Marshall, but I think it is actually a Reinhardt Storm, an EL34 boutique amp.
Sorry I can’t geek on tone any better. I’m trying to learn.
I’ve always enjoyed his playing (both with Dire Straits and his solo stuff) but I get the impression that his biggest fan base is made up of muscians who can appreciate his ability. Sort of like Leo Kotke (who I saw about a month ago and was phenomenal (if getting a little hampered by carpal tunnel). Any ideas on that?
Based on the conversations I heard around me, there were definitely some players like me who enjoy Knopfler at least partially because of our knowledge of what he’s doing technically. There were also quite a few non-musician fans around me. Despite his famed guitar prowess, he seems to have built an audience which appreciates his song-writing at least as much as his playing. One of the biggest ovations of the night was for Romeo and Juliet, which ends which some nice licks on a Strat, but which is for the most part a sad and beautiful love song finger-picked on a National steel.
**plnnr **- if what you are saying is that he is a guitarist’s guitarist, you will get no argument from me. The fact that Knopfler has transcended mere cult status to achieve huge commercial success shows that every now and then, the public at large actually demonstrates a bit of good taste. Sorry if that sounds snobby - but we all look at those decades-old Billboard Hot 100 charts and scratch our heads at the rankings of “Seasons in the Sun” and “Billy Don’t be a Hero” you know?
Kotke unfortunately remains a cult player.
**Crotalus ** - excellent report, thanks. You used “tone geek” jargon quite effectively, grasshopper! :smack: Haven’t played that Reinhardt and didn’t know MK wasn’t using Komets, but he is always evolving his sound - ya gotta respect that…
I saw him Sunday night in Chicago. Great show, as usual. I think it is his double-whammy as an outstanding guitarist and thoughtful songwriter that makes me such a fan. I can appreciate good guitar work as much as the next person (although I don’t play, myself), but if it’s not in the service of a good song, it’ll leave me flat.
We saw him last year when he was touring with Emmylou Harris (another great show), and during “Romeo & Juliet” I happened to look over at my wife, who had a tear running down her cheek. The fact that I was also choking back tears made it, perhaps, that much more poignant, but I think it showed the power of his songwriting. My wife is not a big guitar fan, but obviously the lyrics got to her. I don’t think she would realize it, but I think the fact that the guitar in that song has such a sad, forlorn sound to it just reinforces the lyrics.
At the risk of evoking laughter from non-fans, I would add that his voice is an important part of his power as an artist. R & J is an example of this for me. Another is Heart Full Of Holes on the new album. His guitar playing drew me in 30 years ago, but now it’s the songs and the overall performance.
I think he’s a guy who grew into his voice. It’s always sounded…well…a bit old, but now he’s got the years on him to make it work really, really well. I think on some of the older Dire Straits albums his voice sounds a bit older than the music does, if that makes sense.
And I agree - “Romeo & Juliet” is the perfect example of that. As great a song as it is in it’s original recording, Knopfler’s older, sadder, more world-weary voice just makes it that much more heart-breaking a song. It used to be a sad, wistful song; know it just punches me in the gut.
I saw Dire Straits during their “On Every Street” tour, and while I love the band and MK himself, I had to admit to being a little disappointed because the renditions of most of their standards were virtually note-by-note recreations from their “Alchemy” album. It was almost uncanny, but it left me feeling that there was no room for improvisation during their numbers and that they were going through the motions on some of their bigger Hits. That said, I still loved the show and being able to see so many great songs live (though, sadly, not “Industrial Disease”, perhaps my favorite).
I would’ve gone see his solo concert in a heartbeat but my wife hates “guitar rock” and I’m not all that crazy about going to that kind of thing on my own (especially for someone I’ve seen before). Still, I liked his last solo album a lot and am sorry he doesn’t write film music much anymore. I imagine one day I’ll go and see him again…
By the way, here’s his set list from Sunday night:
Cannibals
Why Aye Man
What It Is
Sailing To Philadelphia
True Love Will Never Fade
The Fish And The Bird
Hill Farmer’s Blues
Romeo & Juliet
Sultans Of Swing
Marbletown
Song For Sonny Liston
Speedway At Nazareth
Telegraph Road
Brothers In Arms
Our Shangri-La
So Far Away
Going Home [Theme of the Local Hero]
Apparently, earlier in the tour he was playin “Postcards from Paraguay” instead of “Speedway at Nazareth”.
carlb - I didn’t write down a song list, but that’s pretty much what we heard, although I don’t recall both songs from Kill To Get Crimson being consecutive, and I think telegraph Road may have been earlier in the show.
Your posts about his voice and his artistry could have come right out of my own heart.
Love the way he plays. Saw Dire Straights a couple of times, and I still have a cassette of the their Old Waldorf show that was broadcast on KSAN back in '79. Knopfler’s soundtrack for* Local Hero *is one of my all-time favorites.
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:smack: Haven’t played that Reinhardt and didn’t know MK wasn’t using Komets, but he is always evolving his sound - ya gotta respect that…
Have fun at Wolf trap. I haven’t been there for a long time.