The Straits Charity in RAH?

[Darling Pretty]

Absolutely right Jackal.
On both points
Maybe 50 shows later SOS sounds way better.
When they come to Germany, I would go

[Pick]

I think Jackal puts it best. This was a fist major outing for Terence at the helm of this band.

That acknowledged, in all the notes that are played in the show I don't think there are as many mistakes as you suggest. The occasional bit of jazz doesn't offend my ear, as I said.

With such a history of live shows, fans really know what to expect from Knopfler. Terence, as we have said, is not Knopfler and no matter how accurate the main sections of the songs, if he deviates in the solos "bum notes" / mistakes / adventurous harmonies are likely.

Anyway, I was there and it sounded great in the moment.

[Love Expresso]

Boy, one day off the forum and SO much stuff to read. Just hustled through the last four pages of this thread (in another thread somebody also said that Richard will be with Mark? How does he know?)

All I can say is: I can understand Pick and that he is proud of his mate to do a gig at the Albert (just think about it!) and made a more or less great impression TO THE AUDIENCE! We all around here were waiting, let's face it, with a biased attitude to see, "now, let's see how they bungled it up." Well, I must admit that I am (or was) not free from these feelings when I thought this afternoon about maybe reading something about the gig this evening.
But Picks post (and also the great posts of BBB who is a obviously really openminded and great fellow  ) put it in perspective for me. They had fun and success, ok, but they were not a new Dire Straits, but a tribute band that gives its best.

And:

I tried to watch the clips, but had to stop them after two or three minutes. A big warm feeling of love for Mark and HIS way of playing suddenly started to fill my belly, when I heard the first notes of Private Investigations guitar and I suddenly remembered WHAT it exactly was and is that I like - it is what Mark does to it. To play R&J is really a lion-hearted task, and even if he managed to do it well, it is MARK's song! If there is one song they should have not played it would be R&J in my opinion... And Sultans? Of course, there are a lot of versions of SOS from Mark since 1996 with many mistakes... So Mr. Reis is forgiven...

About that link with the John Illsley interview, thanks a lot, never read that, very interesting!

LE

[superval99]

Anyway, I was there and it sounded great in the moment.

Yes, I know what you mean.  I think that being there is quite a different experience to listening to a recording after the event!   I have been at some MK concerts and thought it was wonderful, but on listening to the recording it wasn't that great afterall!    

What I heard are not jazzy bits, or deviations. I would be happy about those "mistakes" - no, what I heard definitely did offend my ear!   MK has said that he is happy about some of his mistakes and he tries to leave them in and eventually they become part of the song.  That's OK if the mistake sounds good.  

Of course, the band is very new - they just need time playing together!  

[dustyvalentino]

What I heard are not jazzy bits, or deviations. I would be happy about those "mistakes" - no, what I heard definitely did offend my ear!   MK has said that he is happy about some of his mistakes and he tries to leave them in and eventually they become part of the song.  That's OK if the mistake sounds good.  

Agreed.

Pick, good for you for sticking up for your mate, but there is loyalty, and there is delusion.

Trying to imply that rather than playing a handful of duff notes while fronting a band made up of people you idolised all your life, in front of the world's media, at the Royal Albert Hall, he was deliberately going off on a Smalls-esque Jazz Oddessey, well, that falls into the latter category.

[Pick]

Y'know, it is simply a discussion I'm going to step away from. I keep referring back to the recording and it is very different to the live DS versions I've heard. It's also not perfect. However, I just can't get upset about it and I don't think there's enough there to spoil it for anyone but purist DS/MK fans...and yes, I understand what this forum is all about.

FYI, "jazz" is our polite word in the band (yes, with Terence) for duff notes. I acknowledge there are a few mistakes in there. Please also appreciate I know his playing quite well and, left to his own devices in a solo he will get adventurous which might not always work. Those of us who are musicians will understand that feeling; I do it all the time!

In context, I think it was the last song of the main set and the energy in the room just made it special.

Thank you, Love Expresso and BBB, for understanding my point of view. I've realised I actually don't care if die hard DS fans think it was good. As I mentioned, I know the material and I enjoyed it, as did the audience in general I think, and in the grand scheme of things that was the important point. The bonus is that some contributors on this forum seem pleasantly surprised by Terence's contribution, which I always thought and hoped would be the case.

[the visitor]

It was an awesome gig.  This was not, however, a gig for Knopfler fundamentalists - it was for people who wanted to have a damn good time and hear Dire Straits songs played well, and by some of the original band. 

From a brief read of this forum it seems the hard line faction were all at home anyway awaiting for YouTube footage with notepads ready to spring onto this forum and slate the gig. In my short time on this place, I would have expected nothing else.  Let me tell you, you're in the minority. Life exists outside of the internet and everyone at the RAH yesterday had an awesome time.  How do I know?  Because a packed house stood around me on their feet dancing....you couldn't help but stand up, the atmosphere was electric.

If you weren't there, save your negativity and go and get your fix of MK at his next charity gig.  Oh sorry, you won't be able to go to that one becuase you aren't a member of a high society club or associated with a Radio 4 presenter. 

Face it, YOU MISSED OUT!!!!  Long live the Straits!!!

[dustyvalentino]

The bonus is that some contributors on this forum seem pleasantly surprised by Terence's contribution, which I always thought and hoped would be the case.

I would certainly fall into this category, but that said I'm not really the target audience here - I don't like tribute bands and I have no interest in watching somebody pretending to be Knopfler.

As from the start, I wish the musicians well. My only beef is with the marketing, which I consider to have been on occasion both misleading and dishonest.

[Jackal]

Zog put on his glasses, bent forward towards the displays on the wall, slightly squinting.
-Red? he said
He pulled the lever on his chair, descended to level 2A, jumped off the chair and crossed the little metal bridge.
-Now, where are ya? Zog said facing the vast wall of buttons and levers.
-Internet forums ... AMIT ... Discussions ... Ah, there ya are!
Zog pressed the button named Temperature and turned the adjacent lever from "Heated" to "Amiable".
-Ah! All set.
-But what's that? Never seen that one before? "D-e-l-e-t-e-t-h-e I-n-t-e-r-n-e-t". Delete the Internet? Oh my goodness ...
Zog felt a tingling sensation in his toes, and mischivious grin appeared on his face.

[aborille]

Face it, YOU MISSED OUT!!!!  Long live the Straits!!!

Missed what?
We already enjoyed them, included Jack Sonni and Mel Collins 

http://www.ultimissime.net/Eventi/MONTE-S.-G.-CAMPANO-Dire-Straits-un-concerto-straordinario.html

Alessandro

[Love Expresso]

Knopfler fundamentalists -  

the hard line faction were all at home anyway awaiting for YouTube footage with notepads ready to spring onto this forum and slate the gig.  

In my short time on this place, I would have expected nothing else.

If you weren't there, save your negativity and go and get your fix of MK at his next charity gig.  Oh sorry, you won't be able to go to that one becuase you aren't a member of a high society club or associated with a Radio 4 presenter.  

Face it, YOU MISSED OUT!!!!  Long live the Straits!!!

Hmmm. Speaking of negativity...


I however hope I can see MK on one or some more "regular" gig(s) in 2012 when he hopefully tours for the sixth time in the last 12 years. I have not the feeling that I am missed out as a part of his large audiences all over the world.

LE

[dona74]

Face it, YOU MISSED OUT!!!!  Long live the Straits!!!

It's very clear to me that on Sunday 22th May 2011 Dire Straits officially died.  Now we have an official date for this death.

Long live the Straits?  Oh my god....  Have you ever heard a good tribute band? I don't need to go to the Rah to hear one of those good tribute band.... Come on.... as McEnroe said.... "you cannot be serious!"

And please.... stop saying that it was for charity.... I mean... this concert was charity for sure.... and why this band will tour (for example here in Italy) this summer....? (oh.. yes... sorry.... for charity!)

And what about those "professional musicians"? Someone told them that they are playing in a tribute band? Or probably they all clearly know what's the project? (Oh yeah... obviously the project is a wonderful tribute to Knopfler's music... of course.... me stupid!)

[Best Brown Baggies]

I don't want to get into the 'DS/MK die hard, purest fan' debate again,
but I 'do' count myself as one.
I have seen MK in various forms, weather it be with DS, solo, NHB's
Over 30 times to date, and there will never be another
musician alive, that gives me the feeling that he does
when i listen to one of his studio albums, watch him live
Or even play a few well placed notes on someone else's album,
but at the same time, like LE said, I am and always have been very open minded
towards music. That's why I like so many other artists.
I don't know if it's because I don't play the guitar, or any other
instrument for that matter, that my ears don't pick up on the same things.
I have many DS, MK bootlegs, most of which capture Mark & the band in perfect
mode, but still some of my favourite bootlegs are ones where a note is wrong or
whatever you want to call it.
As far as last night goes though, yes, after listening to some of the You tube clips
I can see that it wasn't note perfect, but if you were immersed in the whole atmosphere
of hearing & seeing some of your idols in action, with the whole crowd up on their feet
almost from the second song, you would appreciate that's all that matters.
Btw. Do my 2 MK related tattoos make me a super hardcore fan???!!
(And before I get my wrists slapped, I am of course joking)

Cheers. BBB

[ds1984]

It was an awesome gig.  This was not, however, a gig for Knopfler fundamentalists - it was for people who wanted to have a damn good time and hear Dire Straits songs played well, and by some of the original band. 

From a brief read of this forum it seems the hard line faction were all at home anyway awaiting for YouTube footage with notepads ready to spring onto this forum and slate the gig. In my short time on this place, I would have expected nothing else.  Let me tell you, you're in the minority. Life exists outside of the internet and everyone at the RAH yesterday had an awesome time.  How do I know?  Because a packed house stood around me on their feet dancing....you couldn't help but stand up, the atmosphere was electric.

If you weren't there, save your negativity and go and get your fix of MK at his next charity gig.  Oh sorry, you won't be able to go to that one becuase you aren't a member of a high society club or associated with a Radio 4 presenter. 

Face it, YOU MISSED OUT!!!!  Long live the Straits!!!

I don't like the tone of this post.

FYI, even if MK does perform from time to time a gig for ultra selected attendance, he is otherwise quite touring a lot enough (2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 201?) not to make the "Knopfler fundamentalists" utterly upset because they couldn't get in one night. So nothing that was really missed out from that side.
But what pissed me off is that I live too far away to go to the RAH!

And I wish The Straits to be successful enough to be able to perform as many shows that MK did in the last decade.

[Jackal]

I can't stand Walk of life, but in this version Reis plays a solo at the end. That's nice. I always felt there was something missing. (Except for during the OES tour when we got pedal steel overkill.)