Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May

Subject: MARK KNOPFLER MEN ARENA MANCHESTER 26/05
From: s6k
Date: 24 May 05 - 06:14 PM

thats right people, i am going to see the man himself at manchester this thursday. i cant wait, i am sat at the first side block right near the stage.
excellent

and tomorrow im off to see star wars too. woohooo

Subject: RE: MARK KNOPFLER MEN ARENA MANCHESTER 26/05
From: s6k
Date: 25 May 05 - 03:07 AM

has anyone else seen him live recently?
i was going to go last year, but then he fell off his bike and had to cancel the tour.

Subject: RE: MARK KNOPFLER MEN ARENA MANCHESTER 26/05
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 25 May 05 - 03:19 AM

I'd go see Mark twice, and wait for DVD for Star Wars

:-)

Subject: RE: MARK KNOPFLER MEN ARENA MANCHESTER 26/05
From: s6k
Date: 25 May 05 - 07:29 AM

i just read there will be no interval - going to have to have a toilet break when he plays rudiger then ;) dont ask me why but that is the only song i just can't like.
apart from the truly awful Les Boys on dire straits' making movies album

anyway here is the expected set list near enough for the night

Why Aye Man
Walk of Life
What it is
Sailing to Philadelphia
Romeo & Juliet
Sultans of Swing
Done with Bonaparte
Back to Tupelo
Rudiger
Song for Sonny Liston
Boom, Like That
Speedway at Nazareth
Telegraph Road
Brothers in Arms
Money for Nothing
So Far Away
The Mist Covered Mountains/Wild Theme


that is from a gig earlier this month, istanbul or something if i remember correctly

brothers in arms is my favourite song of all time... ever.

Subject: RE: MARK KNOPFLER MEN ARENA MANCHESTER 26/05
From: Strollin' Johnny
Date: 25 May 05 - 08:11 AM

Sadist

Subject: RE: MARK KNOPFLER MEN ARENA MANCHESTER 26/05
From: gnu
Date: 25 May 05 - 09:30 AM

Prick.

Subject: RE: MARK KNOPFLER MEN ARENA MANCHESTER 26/05
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 25 May 05 - 03:47 PM

Bastard

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: Grab
Date: 26 May 05 - 07:59 AM

It's the day today - let us know how it goes! I'm going to see him at Birmingham NEC on 4th June (front row of second block back on right). Although I can't see it being a disappointment...

Yeah, Les Boys is definitely odd. Although it's kind of fun when you're in the right frame of mind.

Graham.

PS. Still tickets going on Ebay.

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: s6k
Date: 26 May 05 - 08:26 AM

yeah i got my tickets from eBay
ill let you know how it goes.... cant wait!
i will also be taking pictures so ill get them on my website and let you all have a gander.

enjoy your birmingham one mate

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: gnu
Date: 26 May 05 - 02:52 PM

May I ask how much regular (not eBay) tickets cost? Not that his eminence would ever grace a stage near this backwater. Just curious.

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: michaelr
Date: 26 May 05 - 03:15 PM

I bought tickets for his show in Berkeley, CA for $60 US each.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: gnu
Date: 26 May 05 - 06:02 PM

Thanks. I'd pay that, and I'm not a concert type. BTW, at $60, how big is the venue? type of venue?

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 26 May 05 - 06:04 PM

" brothers in arms is my favourite song of all time... ever."

I can't go that far myself, but it is WAY up on my list of possibilities

it makes a GREAT funeral song

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: Linda Kelly
Date: 26 May 05 - 06:15 PM

Men Arena? sounds interesting.....

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: GUEST,Hey.. it takes all sorts
Date: 26 May 05 - 06:44 PM

Men Arena..?


Les Boys..??


something you dire straits hero worshipping guys want to tell us !!???

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: GUEST,Bigfolker
Date: 26 May 05 - 09:19 PM

Just got back from the gig, the highlight for me was when mark sat on a chair at the front of the stage and was joined by the other guitarist who played lap steel while mark played acoustic, lovely song but i dont know it does anyone know what its called some of the lyrics were something like;
pretty little girl
pretty little boy
i think, can ayone id this song
Many thanks BF

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: GUEST,Bigfolker
Date: 26 May 05 - 09:37 PM

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: GUEST,Bigfolker
Date: 26 May 05 - 09:39 PM

Ooops my mistake ;o)
I found the song i like its "all that matters"
So call off the search lol
BF

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: gnu
Date: 27 May 05 - 05:36 AM

I had Romeo & Juliet playing when I proposed to my one and only true love twenty four years ago. It's not only a beautiful song; it was befitting as she was from a well-to-do English family and I was from poor Irish/French. She said yes and I was on cloud nine... absolutely and completely head over heels in true love. But, the song was truly befitting when her family found out that I was half Acadian French. I often wonder how she's doing now.

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 27 May 05 - 05:56 AM

Aaww, gnu, that's touching

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: gnu
Date: 27 May 05 - 06:58 AM

Nah, I'm touched (since the BS thread about proper English versus slang is on the go, I'll explain that, around these here parts, 'touched' can also be short for 'touched in the head', which means exactly what you think it means).

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: s6k
Date: 27 May 05 - 07:01 AM

hi!
the tickets were £35 or £30 each from the arena - and I got mine for £80 for 2 from eBay which was excellent, as the seats were amazing - first block at the right side of the stage, totally clear view and didnt even need binoculars! but i used them anyway and could easily see which pickup he was using on each song, etc.

where was you sat bigfolker?? (PS - did you see the loonies at the front row doing mad dances throughout the show that werent even in time with any of the songs??!!!!)

it was truly an excellent show - and the sound was crystal clear, we got some amazing pictures with a friends digital camera, notably one where he looked over at us with his arm in the air and a big smile - great photo! ill get it on my website and link you.

great support from richard bennett (bozouki!), guy fletcher, glen wolf, etc.

i loved it and will definately go to the next one.

i agree with you bigfolker - all that matters is a great song and the performance last night beat the studio version for me! its on the new album.

all in all - brilliant and im still smiling from it now. the mans a genius. i think my highlight was either romeo & juliet (huge applause at the opening arpeggio) or brothers in arms - just cos its my fave song. i gained a new love for "done with bonaparte" also - never really noticed it on golden heart album before, but when they played it last night i got very into it, and love it now.

Make no mistake Grab - you will love your birmingham show! id love to see him again.
i got a tshirt, 80 pictures, and a night i wont forget in a hurry

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: Grab
Date: 27 May 05 - 08:57 AM

Cheers s6k - seriously looking forward to it! I've always liked "Done with Bonaparte" - the Golden Heart album was a bit hit-and-miss, but that was one of the ones I liked best. And done his way, not the way that some Irish guy does to turn it into a dirge (don't get me started on that bugger).

BF, "All that matters" never really worked for me. In fact most of Shangri-La didn't do anything for me - too laid-back and a bit featureless. Shame really. Wish I'd been to see his tour for Ragpicker's Dream the other year though, cos I reckon that's the best album he's done since Brothers in Arms. Still, I can afford to see him now *and* eat that week, which is always good... ;-)

Gnu, official prices for Birmingham NEC on TicketMaster are £33 per ticket (£30 for the ticket, £3 for rip-off "booking fee"), plus £6 for car parking. I got two tickets plus parking for £76 off Ebay including postage (£71 before postage), which was very reasonable. (Someone else was selling a pair of tickets 4 rows from the stage, which eventually went for £102 - too rich for my blood!)

Graham.

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: GUEST,JP2
Date: 27 May 05 - 05:44 PM

With all due respect what the FUCK has this bloke got to do with FOLK MUSIC!!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 27 May 05 - 05:48 PM

He ain't no horse, so I guess that makes him a folk...

Ya aughta hear Garnet Rogers cover Romeo & Juliet on his National.. VERY sweet!

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: GUEST
Date: 27 May 05 - 06:52 PM

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: GUEST,JP2
Date: 27 May 05 - 06:59 PM

Who on earth is Garnet Rogers?
Some Yank,who the rest of world don't know and don't give a toss about,presumably.
Dire Straits are a brill band but they are not FOLK MUSIC!!!
What part of that statement don't you moronic YANKS understand!!!

JP2

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 27 May 05 - 08:25 PM

JP2...

What makes you think your definition of folk music matters a tinkers cuss to anyone else? Or your opinion on anything else for that matter...

Define 'Folk Music'... I DARE you....

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 27 May 05 - 08:43 PM

JP2 you're way off on both counts.

Mark Knopfler was a folkie before Dire Straits, and he is still writing folk songs. "Sailing to Phialdelphia" and "Prairie Wedding" are folk songs by any measure - not traditional, but folk all the same.

As for Garnet Rogers (brother of one of the greatest folk songwriters of the 20th century, Stan) is in his own right a very nifty folksinger and writer. And he's not a "Yank" anyway - he's Canadian.

I don't know where you live or how much you keep your ear to the ground for what's happening in folk; but you should investigate both Mark and Garnet as folkies and not be so immediately dismissive.

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: michaelr
Date: 28 May 05 - 12:47 AM

gnu -- it's the "Greek" Theater on the UC Berkeley campus. It's about a 5-7000 seater, I'd guess; a concrete-tiers amphitheater with surprisingly good sound and a wonderful view, if you're at the top, of San Francisco's skyline across the bay.

I'm looking forward to the show!

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: michaelr
Date: 28 May 05 - 01:45 AM

JP2 -- you may want to check out this thread .

Mark Knopfler IMO is one of the greatest guitarists and songwriters of the last 30 years -- in ANY genre. Calling him a folkie isn't an insult.

It's always been obvious that MK has been influenced and inspired by American roots music throughout his career, and if you listen to his recent solo work, like "Hill Farmer's Blues" or "Marbletown" (from "The Ragpicker's Dream", 2002), it's just about as close as a white boy from the banks of the Tyne could come to country blues.



Which certainly is folk music.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: s6k
Date: 28 May 05 - 07:35 AM

LOL nobody ever said dire straits was folk so what is this guy on about?
and knopflers solo material is all folk, and like said, not traditional, but a mixture of folk/country/blues

i dont get you people who come onto threads and start ranting about sod all, just bugger off and leave us to discuss the topic!

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: gnu
Date: 28 May 05 - 09:02 AM

Thanks michaelr.

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 28 May 05 - 10:02 AM

3 words...

Neck & Neck

(O.k... 2 words and a 'thing'...)

Ya done being proved an idiot JP2?

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: Brakn
Date: 28 May 05 - 09:05 PM

80 pictures..... I bet the people sat near you were pleased.

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: GUEST,Bigfolker
Date: 28 May 05 - 09:41 PM

I was sat in block 113 row f seat 16 if that means anything to you, looking at the stage i was sat right hand side bout half way back bout half way up. Had to put up with a running commentary from a loud mouth peter kay soundalike which kinda put a dampner on the show but hey its a free world. As i said earlier the highlight for me was "all that matters" what a lovely song and done with so much style on the night.
BF

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: s6k
Date: 28 May 05 - 09:53 PM

yeah i know where you mean. i was on the right too. block 115, row k seat 7, the first block at the side of the stage and about 10 rows from the front, great view.

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: GUEST,Bigfolker
Date: 28 May 05 - 10:16 PM

And i did see the "dancing" at the front lol
BF

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: Grab
Date: 29 May 05 - 02:41 PM

JP2, maybe you want to listen to anything MK did outside of Dire Straits. Which means anything in the last 10 years (plus some before that with Notting Hillbillies, etc). All these have been in the American-folk style. Not British trad folk, but then Woodie Guthrie wasn't much like British trad folk either, right? If you only know MK's work through Dire Straits and rock anthems like Money for Nothing, you don't know enough to pass judgement.

And maybe you even want to listen to a large amount of what he did in Dire Straits as well. For folk (or easily adapted to folk style by removing electric guitar), try: In the gallery, Lions, Romeo and Juliet, Les boys, Why worry, Ride across the river, Brothers in arms. For blues, try: In the gallery (again), Industrial disease, One world, Fade to black. For a leg to stand on, try: finding one, cos you ain't got one right now... ;-)

Graham.

PS. I'm from Lancashire...

Subject: RE: MARK KNOPFLER MEN ARENA MANCHESTER 26/05
From: GUEST,Mohammad-Hassan Daryaei
Date: 30 May 05 - 04:04 PM

Dunno how much lucky you guys are for takin' part in his excellent performance... I as Tom Hanks in " THE CASTAWAY " cannot seen him live on the stage, while I'm a GR8 fan of him. I'm OBSESSED with his voice 'n red Signatured Fender Stratocaster!

Meetin' him is really a WISH for me..
Wanna get acquinted will all his REAL supporters.

'ja can reach me at:
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: Grab
Date: 06 Jun 05 - 08:04 AM

OK, gig's been and gone. Time to report back...

I'm really glad I went to it. I think MK is slowing down a little from his Dire Straits days (tea break in the middle of the concert!), but he's still a fantastic musician. His guitar work was nothing short of amazing, and the songs were all performed brilliantly. His backing band were also very good, particularly the piano/keyboard/accordian player.

Song-wise, a particular highlight was "Telegraph Road" which was a stunning end to the set. "Sultans of Swing" solo sadly wasn't as smooth as some of the others (and certainly wasn't up to the amazing version on Alchemy), but that's just being picky. His live performance of all the songs was much better than the recordings though. On his recent CDs he's had a tendency to omit solos and fills where a song would really benefit from them - "Speedway at Nazareth" and "What it is" are the best two examples. Playing live though, he does put in that kind of stuff, and it really improves the songs.

The sound was well done - a credit to their sound techs (and the NEC equipment, which seems to be very good). Not too loud but loud enough, and very clear. The one sad thing is that MK's voice gave out about halfway through, so there were quite a few songs where you couldn't hear his vocals - "Speedway at Nazareth" in particular. The sound tech could maybe have done with turning him up slightly to compensate.

My friend in Edinburgh told me, "The rhythm guitarist was really annoying." "How?" "He just was!" I can say that yep, he certainly was! He seems to have watched too many videos of Pete Townsend and Brian May, so he was all rock-god poses with legs spread, and big arm movements. This would be tolerable in a serious rock performance, or if he was doing anything complex. Trouble was though that he wasn't doing anything except simple strumming 4-to-a-bar for 95% of the gig - the only time he did anything else was the bouzouki line in "Done with Bonaparte" and some nice lapsteel work on "All that Matters". And you're in no position to cop a rock-god attitude when you're sharing a stage with Mark Knopfler who's doing none of that! :-)

Anyway, a great gig. Looking forward to his next CD and next tour! Hopefully him and Eric Clapton will get themselves another date at the Albert Hall, since that fell through last tour when he bust his shoulder. If that ever happens, don't try ringing my phone before I've got the tickets booked!

Graham.

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: s6k
Date: 06 Jun 05 - 08:44 AM

the same goes for me!! if they play albert hall, i will camp outisde the ticket office!!!

i actually found an extended version of "What It Is" a little while ago, its about 1 minute longer, and has a nice solo in it, which was left off the studio version.

And yes, he had a tea break in the middle of our concert too! it was wheeled out on a particularly loud equipment case. but then again, there was no interval, so I'd probably need something too! luckily the seats at manchester are quite good, and i didnt have a numb backside by the end of it!

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: michaelr
Date: 26 Jul 05 - 01:25 AM

The Berkeley concert was last Saturday night, and it was excellent!

The Greek Theater on the UC campus has great sound and not a bad seat in the house, as you might expect fronm an amphitheater. William Topley and his band opened the show -- ho-hum, thankfully they were only on for half an hour.

MK played for 2 hrs 15 min. The set list was close to the one s6k posted above, except he finished with "Shangri-La"... it looked as if he wanted to keep playing but ran afoul of UC's 11 pm curfew. The sound was first rate, the band was tight (2 keyboards, bass, drums, 2nd guitarist/bouzoukist), and Mark's playing was as powerful and tasteful as ever.

The only complaint I might conceive -- and it takes a bit of conceiving, as I have no complaints about the performance -- would be that MK might have wailed a little more. We all know he can... and he hinted at it throughout the evening... but there was always that tasteful restraint. He only really cut loose on a couple of songs, namely "Sultans of Swing", the epic "Telegraph Road" and the amazing "Speedway at Nazareth".

All in all, a sublime night, and at a reasonable price. BTW, did you hear that top-tier Cream tickets at Madison Square Gardens are going for more that $3,200? Stick it up your input jack, Eric!!

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: Grab
Date: 27 Jul 05 - 10:39 AM

Maybe he was tired from the flight! ;-) It's a shame for you if he was having a not-quite-so-good night. Glad you still enjoyed it though!

I remember seeing one concert of the "On every street" Dire Straits tour on TV (92/93?) - I think it was Basel or somewhere else European - and that was sadly overtaken by MK soloing to the exclusion of just about everything else. It's good that he's reined it in since then, but I guess he does need to let it run free a bit more now, especially on the albums. I didn't feel short-changed at Birmingham though - he didn't go OTT on solos, but he did put them in where they were needed and left them out where they weren't.

Re the Cream tickets, forget that! If they had Elvis on vocals and Jesus on lead guitar, maybe I'd consider $3k a ticket...

Graham.

Subject: RE: Mark Knopfler Men Arena Manchester 26 May
From: michaelr
Date: 27 Jul 05 - 09:22 PM

Graham -- I did not mean to say that it was a "not-quite-so-good night", and MK didn' t seem tired at all. He sounded great, and everything about the show was top-notch. I just would have liked him to wail a little bit more, see?

But then you saw him soloing over the top... reminds me of the many Dead shows I've seen: Sometimes Jerry Garcia couldn't get out of the starting gate, sometimes he soloed right on through the intermission (;-) and a few times it was just perfect.

Speasking of the most tasteful guitarists ever: Have you heard of Steve Kimock? Brilliant and well worth checking out, he plays with Weather Report's bassist Alphonso Johnson and genius drummer Rodney Holmes, among others.

Cheers,
Michael