I am not a Mark Knopfler or a Dire Straits fan. It’s just not my thing. But, my husband is a big fan. So, when this show got announced, he declared we were going. I made him go see Squeeze the night before, so I couldn’t really argue, right?
While I might not be a Knopfler fan, as a fan of live music, I can definitely appreciate a music legend like him. Plus, the show was at The Met, which is quickly becoming a favorite venue of mine to see live music.
So, did I survive a night of music that wasn’t on my “favorites” list. Would Knopfler live up to my husband’s lofty expectations? Keep reading to find out!
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THE VENUE
The Met is Philadelphia’s newest live music venue. Located on North Broad Street, The Met has been open a little less than a year. It’s an amazing place to see live music. The inside is absolutely beautiful and the acoustics are incredible.
THE SHOW
MARK KNOPFLER
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Mark Knopfler is probably best known for being the lead singer, lead guitarist and songwriter for the legendary rock band Dire Straits. Knopfler founded the band with his younger brother – David Knopfler – in 1977.
Dire Straits broke up in 1995, and Knopfler went on to his solo career. As a solo artist, Knopfler has recorded nine albums. He has also composed and produced the scores for nine films including The Princess Bride and Wag The Dog.
Knopfler is a musical legend and has worked with many other legends including Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Sting and Emmylou Harris to name a few.
In 2018, Knopfler, along with the rest of Dire Straits, was inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Knopfler continues to tour as a solo artist, often having other legendary musicians join him on stage for his shows.
THE PERFORMANCE
Mark Knopfler took the stage with his huge band shortly after 8:00 p.m. The sold out crowd roared when Knopfler came on stage and the first notes of “Why Aye Man” were played.
Knopfler thrilled the crowd early on by playing “Sailing to Philadelphia” as the third song in his set.
As I said at the beginning of this post, I’m not a huge fan of Knopfler’s music. I am only familiar with a few Dire Straits songs that were more mainstream hits (I mean, I did watch a lot of MTV back in the day so I know “Money For Nothing”). But, I wasn’t familiar with the majority of the music Knopfler played during the night.
Having said that, I can appreciate amazing musicians playing great music. And there is no doubt that the Mark Knopfler fans in the crowd enjoyed every minute of the show.
Knopfler mostly played songs from his solo career catalog. He did throw a couple of Dire Straits songs in, including “Romeo and Juliet” and “Your Latest Trick”.
Knopfler’s band was quite impressive. There were horns, guitars, keyboards, and drums. When Knopfler introduced the band during the show, he talked about all the instruments that all of the musicians played. It’s pretty impressive that Knopfler was able to assemble so much talent on the stage.
For me, the highlight of the show was the first encore, when Knopfler played Dire Straits’ biggest hit – “Money For Nothing”. What a treat to hear it live. I want my MTV!!!!
As Knopfler started to wrap things up with his second encore, the sold out crowd was on their feet showing their appreciation. Knopfler clearly felt the love. You could see him conferring with the members of his band, and then deciding to give the crowd one more song. Knopfler wrapped up the show with “Going Home”.
Mark Knopfler just kicked off the North American portion of his tour. You can check out upcoming tour dates on his website.
Set List (click on any song to download on Amazon): Why Aye Man, Corned Beef City, Sailing To Philadelphia, Once Upon A Time In The West (Dire Straits cover), Romeo and Juliet (Dire Straits cover), My Bacon Roll, Matchstick Man, Done With Bonaparte, Heart Full of Holes, She’s Gone, Your Latest Trick (Dire Straits cover), Postcards From Paraguay, On Every Street (Dire Straits cover), Speedway at Nazareth Encore 1: Money For Nothing (Dire Straits cover) Encore 2: Piper To The End, Going Home
Are you a Mark Knopfler or Dire Straits fan? Have you seen him live? What did you think? Let us know! Please comment below or e-mail me at tips2livebywriter@gmail.com.
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