I see Mr Knopfler has some European & US Tour dates.

Look forward to seeing and hearing him live again.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-03-20 21:01 by bv.

Great guitarist
Seen Dire Straits once around 91 I think and I watched Knopfler support Dylan in London a few years ago.
Hope to catch him this time around.

Nate

I guess there aren't any talk about whether Mark still can play the guitar or not. Like the one we had here about a certain guitarist.
By the way, Knopfler or Taylor? That would be subject to discuss...

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Nate
Great guitarist
Seen Dire Straits once around 91 I think and I watched Knopfler support Dylan in London a few years ago.
Hope to catch him this time around.

Nate

Yes one of the greatest guitarists.
I also saw him open for Dylan several years ago, but thought alot of it was rather one dimensional, mundane, and even monotonous.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Hairball

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Nate
Great guitarist
Seen Dire Straits once around 91 I think and I watched Knopfler support Dylan in London a few years ago.
Hope to catch him this time around.

Nate

Yes one of the greatest guitarists.
I also saw him open for Dylan several years ago, but thought alot of it was rather one dimensional, mundane, and even monotonous.

Exactly the reason I can't really bring myself to see him solo. Love Dire Straits, I enjoy a lot of his solo material, but I just think in general the concert is gonna be too boring. That Dylan tour was the time I really wanted to try and catch him (two birds with one stone) but just didn't work out. I think the Who was like 2 days earlier and I couldn't swing both.

Seen Knopfler with Dire Straits many many times.
Seen him solo only once, and that was enough.
Beautiful, but very boring.

His solo albums are great, agreed. except the one released this year.
nothing new, and boring.

But a great guitarist, he is.

Jeroen

great guitarist and singer songwriter - love when he writes about the European landscape and the working man. Mark plays without a pick and has great thumb finger style - similar to Mick Taylor.

you can not get that tone by playing Brothers In Arms with a pick need to use thumb which I can never get used to.

saw him some 15 times opening for Bob Dylan in 2011 (UK+Germany) and 2012 (US) and it was hard for me not to fall asleep during his set. He mostly played songs that sounded like River Dance or some kind of Irish folk pop

Thank God that the Stones aren't playing almost the same songs on every tour ;-)

Bring back the old ORIGINAL Dire Straits (two guitars, bass, drums - NO keyboards!) and I will go. Otherwise - no, thanks, I already sleep well enough, don't need Knopfler's solo stuff.

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Stoneage
I guess there aren't any talk about whether Mark still can play the guitar or not. Like the one we had here about a certain guitarist.
By the way, Knopfler or Taylor? That would be subject to discuss...

Both together just like in the Infidels-Sessions with Dylan! Great stuff

In interview he comes across as a
really nice guy ....He owns British Grove
where Stones recorded Blue & Lonesome...
He's a close friend of Bill Wyman but given
all that I've never let any of his or Dire stuff on me stereo ….



ROCKMAN

he still has the muse for music

Another act not playing Finland!

I will never go see him again. Saw him open for Dylan a few years back. He must have no respect for his audience. It was all slow dirges off his new album, or slower cuts from the past, and not even famous ones. He didn't play Money For Nothing, Sultans of Swing, not even the corny Walk of Life. Knopfler did nothing to show off his guitar skills. There's not a lot of artists that I want my money back from, but Knopfler is one.

He plays what he wants to play. That's how it should be.

I don't love every single song he plays but I rate him among the very best living guitarists.

And was gracious to play at Bill's 80th birthday.

Love the Dire Straights but have no compulsion to see Mark Knopfler, why on earth he turned his back on that band is beyond me, i mean he could have replaced them if he didn't like them, but he was just determined to be boring for the rest of his career.
This guy could give Clapton a run for his money, such emotion in his playing and an incredible writer, i just don't understand him, mind you he was a school teacher, explains everything, corduroy trousers the lot

The last time he shone bright was at the Mandela gig, he was on fire with intensity as were the band, amazing, he carried on a little longer with the Straights and then he just walks off into the sunset and just pondered.

I remember playing Alchemy until i wore it out twice, brilliant album, i put Mark Knopfler up there with the best of them.

Brothers In Arms
[www.youtube.com]
Romeo And Juliet.
[www.youtube.com]



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2019-03-21 16:06 by keithsman.

I love his guitar playing,vox and songwriting but agree with Retired Dog...bring back the core Dire Straits band!!! ...Please.

Live at the BBC ... at least the fisrt 5 or tracks. unreal.

I agree with others that Dire Straits was great but Nopfler solo is boring. He has a few good solo tunes and that is it.

Mark Knopfler is I believe, in one respect, a bit like Keith has become.

A guitar hero who now really wants to be a torch singer.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-03-22 14:18 by Spud.

There are some similarities between Taylor and Knopfler though. They both used to be in successful groups. They both were brilliant guitarists (and still are when they want to. At least Knopfler...).
Now they have become boring solo acts with no stage presence whatsoever. Glad to hear about Knopfler performing on Wyman's birthday though. Wyman has always been a Dire Straits/Knopfler fan.
He has said more positive things about Knopfler than he ever did about Richards...

I really like Mark Knopfler's latter day solo work.

He's a great lyricist and can conjure up real atmosphere with a song.

[..It's just not Sultans of Swing or Carousel Waltz .That was a different time and space.]


I also loved him and MT on Bob's Infidels...an album that guitar players ought seek out if they haven't heard it .

I respect that Mark has moved on from Dire Straits. I don't begrudge him at all for it, and honestly think its healthy. Don't hold it against him the same way I don't towards Robert Plant for Led Zeppelin. Like you said, that was a time and place and that is over now. Just knowing it was there at all is mostly enough for me. I respect bands like them and Talking Heads that just call it quits, even if it mainly is just one person controlling it, than letting it progressively get worse.

Having said that, the idea of SOME closure years later I always think is nice. Just a chance for a different generation to see it in some incarnation is a relatively easy and nice reward for fans. I'm very happy Zeppelin gave a concert so many years later just to close the book. I'm happy David Byrne showed up at the Hall Of Fame induction and played with people he despises. If I could criticize Mark for anything its that he's NEVER given an inch on that front. I didn't need the Hall Of Fame to have that moment, but it was almost stupid to induct them if he's not gonna show. He's the band! If he had gotten those guys together and even played 5 songs in a small club or something I think that would have been nice. He just seems very uncompromising in throwing a bone to fans of a band that really love these guys. Or if he did ONE tour where he played exclusively Straits. That would also be enough. But just to really relishes in that just one more time. I'm slightly annoyed he actively seems to avoid doing that, while everyone is still alive.

I get that. It wouldn't hurt him would it ?

[In fact he'd make a nice bob or two ]

I see he apparently sold out 2 nights at the Beacon so somebody wants to see him! I saw him there a few years ago and he put me to sleep.

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bleedingman
I see he apparently sold out 2 nights at the Beacon so somebody wants to see him! I saw him there a few years ago and he put me to sleep.

i saw him open for bob dylan. zzzzzz. i loved the first 4 dire straits records especially "making movies". after that very hit & miss for me.

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24FPS
I will never go see him again. Saw him open for Dylan a few years back. He must have no respect for his audience. It was all slow dirges off his new album, or slower cuts from the past, and not even famous ones. He didn't play Money For Nothing, Sultans of Swing, not even the corny Walk of Life. Knopfler did nothing to show off his guitar skills. There's not a lot of artists that I want my money back from, but Knopfler is one.

He plays what he wants. If you don't like it you don't need to go.