Ok, been struggling to get one sooner but here goes. I can see where Seb is coming from but Shangria La is by no means weak and it my opinion it's his best solo work since Sailing To Philadelphia.


That said the gig was really good. I was sat in the top tier to one side. I could see what was going on pretty well, but to watch Mark closely I had to use my binoculars. The crowd were great and in some of the more famous Dire Straits songs the security didn't mind if people left their seats and stood at the front. It's just a shame I couldn't have been one of them. The band put in a great performance, although Mark's voice was a bit patchy. In places it was very good but in others a little gruff. I suppose you can sympathise with Mark though with it being his seventh gig in a row. The band line up was as follows:

Mark Knopfler (Guitar / Vocals)
Guy Fletcher (Keyboards / Musical Director) - Old Straits member, very talented
Danny Cummings (Drums)
Glenn Worf (Bass)
Matt Rollings (Piano / Organ / Accordion) - This guy is amazing!!
Richard Bennett (Guitar)

First of all I noticed that there was no saxophone or pedal steel guitar. These are two of the instruments added into the latter Dire Straits stuff and in my opinion made the live performances sound much better. That was a downside, although the band managed to pull off a lot of the correct sounds using keyboards and an accordion.

The setlist was:

1. Why Aye Man - Sounded good live, better than the studio version.

2. Walk Of Life - It was a little slower, but they keyboard was near perfect and Mark's fast finger picking rhythm was just as good as ever. The vocals weren't up to scratch really, but Mark added a solo at the end, which is rather rare for this song, but sounded good.

3. What It Is - One huge highlight! This song has a great riff and live it sounded awesome. Mark sung it really well too!

4. Sailing To Philadelphia - Well performed, but without Van Morrison it lost some of the feel to it.

5. Romeo & Juliet - Great version. It had a new intro that I've never heard before, using a piano/keyboard. They seem to change the intro to this song on every tour, and the combination of the intro into Mark's acoustic riff on the steel national guitar sent shivers down my spine. I've always thought Romeo & Julliet sounded better live than the studio version ever did, and this version was as good as any. Another great highlight.

6. Sultans Of Swing - Oh my word!!!! This guy can f**kin' play! The vocals were very good for starters but the guitar was second to none. The second solo is what really gets me, and it blew me away like it always does. MK has definately not lost it! Amazing!

After Sultans of Swing the band all closed in and started to do some acoustic stuff. Mark sat down, and roadie wheeled out a cup of tea to him saying "Here's ya tea boss!". Mark said something like, "Have we no Newcie Brown?", and was cracking a few more jokes with the crowd, which were quite funny. The drummer got a small kit out and started playing with brushes creating a much softer percussion sound that sounded quite good.

7. Done With Bonaparte - I always looked at this as a kinda weak song, but live it seemed a whole lot better. The Irish rhythm played with the accordion sounded great, with guy Fletcher playing slide guitar on his lap rather like you would a pedal steel.

8. Rüdiger - Very weak live. Not one of my favourates at all.

9. Song For Sonny Liston - About the hard life of the boxer Sonny Liston. This is one of my favourate Shangri La songs as it's really well written and sounds good also, but live it lacked feel due to lack of instruments and Mark's voice was very average.

10. All That Matters - A ballad from Shangri La. The live version was much better than the studio version, but not one of my favourates.

They started rocking again after this. The mid set acoustic songs were not bad, but would probably have suited smaller venues better. Playing to 10,000 in a big arena they kinda lose their feel.

11. Boom, Like That - First single from the Shangri La record, and probably the most lively. Sounded very good live, with Mark's voice holding up well. Another highlight.

12. Speedway At Nazareth - This song is an Arton Senna tribute, and is only average on record, but there was much more power and emotion to this live.

13. Telegraph Road - One of my favourate Dire Straits songs. The keyboard background which imitates the strings sounded superb, combined with the piano and Mark's guitar licks. This was a great band performance and one of the highlights. Mark's voice sounded a bit huskie for the first verse but got better throughout.

First Encore:

14. Brothers In Arms - Again a great band performance. I'm not sure if it was Guy Fletcher or Matt Rollins, but one of them did a great job of creating the affects of a pedal steal with their keyboard, which gave the song a good atmosphere. Mark's vocals were a bit slack in places and as Seb mentioned before, he mumbled a few of the lines.

15. Money For Nothing - The stadium errupted when Mark blasted out the big filthy, overdriven riff. The guitar sounded great and the backup vocals in the adsence of Sting also sounded great. Mark's lead vocals were perfect up until the last verse when he started losing his voice.

Second Encore:

16. So Far Away - Great song, but the lead guitar didn't seem to be all that prominant as it is on record. Mark was struggling with his vocals at this stage, but the band performed well and it wasn't too bad overall.

17. The Mist Covered Mountains/Wild Theme - These are from the film soundtrack Local Hero. Mist Covered Mountains is average at best and didn't sound too good, but when he went into Wild Theme it sounded good. I would have preferred the Going Home Theme instead though, which is basically Wild Theme but with a saxophone as well as the lead guitar. Although as already mentioned there was no saxophone in the line up.


Mark left the stage to great cheers and applause with people demanding more. Overall I had a really good time, although it might have been better if I had been nearer the stage and Mark's voice had been on better form. He blew me away once or twice with his guitar skills, and during Sultans of Swing and Telegraph Road I was awestruck. He is just so effortlessly brilliant. It was well worth going to see him and I'll definately go again, making sure to get closer next time. I missed a few of the Dire Straits songs like Heavy Fuel, Tunnel of Love, Solid Rock, etc but I suppose he couldn't fit them all in.

I definately recomend going to see him, although if you are not familiar with his solo stuff then you might find some the show rather boring, as some of the more downbeat MK songs take some listening to get into. One thing I've found with his solo stuff though is what a great songwriter he is. He seems to write songs about almost anything, but with a purpose, rather like Dylan, who happens to be one of his influences, along with other singer songwriters/blues artists/folk musicans, etc, of that era. He now makes music rather like his idols rather than the heavily commercial rock music that he did with Dire Straits. It's not all as audlibly attractive, but the songs are still brilliant, and in some cases are much more meaningful.


I'm looking for photos of the show but haven't found any yet. I'll post them if I find any.