#08 DTRW TOUR - May 06 2019 - Arkea Arena, Bordeaux, France #SPOILER#

[qjamesfloyd]

A big belly didn't have any effect on B.B.King so it's not that, Mark has not been lean since the On Every Street tour.

[dmg]

I'm pretty sure if he did have any serious condition his doctors would advise him not to go on such a gruelling tour.  He could easily have called it a day or done a smaller scale tour.  In saying that it was obvious from the outset that this was going to be very demanding for him and performances would suffer.

To be honest I fully expected Sultans to be dropped this time and I'm fine about that, but if TR is also dropped then there isn't really much left.  I get the impression Mark doesn't want people like me at his shows (i.e. long-time loyal fans from DS days) - he really wants recent fans with little expectations on his playing ability but want to hear songs such as HFOH performed live. 

[2manyguitars]

I demand that mark plays down to the waterline on bagpipes, euphonium, and tuba. If it doesn't happen I will find this completely unacceptable and will take his lack of pipe and brass lessons as a personal affront to me, I mean how dare he not dredge up a song from 40 years ago and do something that is beyond his current capabilities just for my personal pleasure.....

Anyone see what I did there?   

playing TR and Silvertown is not beyond his personal capabilities , he played them few days ago,
if you can't see what's going on I am sorry for you

The post was meant to be frivolous but You're missing the point. It is not up to us to tell mk what to play. He has always followed his own musical journey and always will. Please simply play what you want Mark, some will like it, some wont, but at least you'll be pleasing yourself, which is central to any true art.   

[PensaGhost]

I think it is without doubt there is something wrong with his health, and more than just his back. He is not comfortable most of the time, and I still think there is something not right about the way his guitar sits on his body now, and it is not a bigger belly, it has been this size before. I hope it is nothing to serious, but with this being the last tour, you never know

He has the guitar strap higher up, which is much easier on your wrists and hands. You don't suddenly start having the guitar strap in a very different position after 40 years of playing unless you have to.

nothing wrong imo, just a bigger belly

So a big belly is the reason for ... everything?

define 'everything'

The stiffness of his movements? His clearly lesser abilities on the guitar? The dropping of TR, SB, etc.?

TR 2019 is much better than any 2015 or 2013 one, I don't hear any particular stiffness

he is just a little older and slower, sometimes he makes errors which is due only to the age, not to the song, he makes errors in any song, it's not due to the song being TR or SB

the big belly creates only a different guitar/strap position

[superval99]

I'm pretty sure if he did have any serious condition his doctors would advise him not to go on such a gruelling tour.  He could easily have called it a day or done a smaller scale tour.  In saying that it was obvious from the outset that this was going to be very demanding for him and performances would suffer.

To be honest I fully expected Sultans to be dropped this time and I'm fine about that, but if TR is also dropped then there isn't really much left.  I get the impression Mark doesn't want people like me at his shows (i.e. long-time loyal fans from DS days) - he really wants recent fans with little expectations on his playing ability but want to hear songs such as HFOH performed live.

You mean he doesn't want me?   A fan of 36 years?   

[dmg]

I'm pretty sure if he did have any serious condition his doctors would advise him not to go on such a gruelling tour.  He could easily have called it a day or done a smaller scale tour.  In saying that it was obvious from the outset that this was going to be very demanding for him and performances would suffer.

To be honest I fully expected Sultans to be dropped this time and I'm fine about that, but if TR is also dropped then there isn't really much left.  I get the impression Mark doesn't want people like me at his shows (i.e. long-time loyal fans from DS days) - he really wants recent fans with little expectations on his playing ability but want to hear songs such as HFOH performed live.

You mean he doesn't want me?   A fan of 36 years?   

Nobody could ever not want you Val! 

[PensaGhost]

I demand that mark plays down to the waterline on bagpipes, euphonium, and tuba. If it doesn't happen I will find this completely unacceptable and will take his lack of pipe and brass lessons as a personal affront to me, I mean how dare he not dredge up a song from 40 years ago and do something that is beyond his current capabilities just for my personal pleasure.....

Anyone see what I did there?   

playing TR and Silvertown is not beyond his personal capabilities , he played them few days ago,
if you can't see what's going on I am sorry for you

The post was meant to be frivolous but You're missing the point. It is not up to us to tell mk what to play. He has always followed his own musical journey and always will. Please simply play what you want Mark, some will like it, some wont, but at least you'll be pleasing yourself, which is central to any true art.   

why not ? Some artists explicitly asked fans what they should play live

MK doesn't want to follow fans? it's his right, of course

[superval99]

I'm pretty sure if he did have any serious condition his doctors would advise him not to go on such a gruelling tour.  He could easily have called it a day or done a smaller scale tour.  In saying that it was obvious from the outset that this was going to be very demanding for him and performances would suffer.

To be honest I fully expected Sultans to be dropped this time and I'm fine about that, but if TR is also dropped then there isn't really much left.  I get the impression Mark doesn't want people like me at his shows (i.e. long-time loyal fans from DS days) - he really wants recent fans with little expectations on his playing ability but want to hear songs such as HFOH performed live.

You mean he doesn't want me?   A fan of 36 years?   

Nobody could ever not want you Val! 

Thank you!   That's a weight off my mind!   

[Jules]

I think it's simpler than that...

He wanted to do a last tour and he knew he was not able to play as usual so, first thing, bring sax and trumpet and a percussion full time to fill all the musical gaps and do less efforts, and second, reduce that effort as much as possible but having a competitive set.

Once Upon a time, your latest trick, on every street and Romeo and juliet are DS classic tracks, plus some of his classic solo tracks and other things never performed live would do it.

I usually have my complaints about the set, but I look at this tour with different eyes. It's the last tour he will give us, and he decided to give us a last despite he's not in the usual shape. So, thanks MK, thanks for one more tour and thanks for the two big surprises.

This tour is not one to be measured but to be treasured.

[2manyguitars]

I demand that mark plays down to the waterline on bagpipes, euphonium, and tuba. If it doesn't happen I will find this completely unacceptable and will take his lack of pipe and brass lessons as a personal affront to me, I mean how dare he not dredge up a song from 40 years ago and do something that is beyond his current capabilities just for my personal pleasure.....

Anyone see what I did there?   

playing TR and Silvertown is not beyond his personal capabilities , he played them few days ago,
if you can't see what's going on I am sorry for you

The post was meant to be frivolous but You're missing the point. It is not up to us to tell mk what to play. He has always followed his own musical journey and always will. Please simply play what you want Mark, some will like it, some wont, but at least you'll be pleasing yourself, which is central to any true art.   

why not ? Some artists explicitly asked fans what they should play live

MK doesn't want to follow fans? it's his right, of course

Why not? Because he doesn't want to! You've answered your own question.

If you want an artist who will involve the fans in the way you state there are plenty of them out there. Please don't get me wrong, there's nothing at all wrong with that approach either, its just never been and never will be Marks way. To expect anything other than that really is just dreaming...

[hunter]

why not ? Some artists explicitly asked fans what they should play live
MK doesn't want to follow fans? it's his right, of course

For instance this guy, at 17:00:





(I had two tickets to this show, but couldn't go )

[qjamesfloyd]

Why would you want Mark to be like other artists? I like the fact that he is unique. If you want that then great, but Mark has never given the impression that he follows anyone, he does things his way, I just happen to like his way.

[superval99]

I think it's simpler than that...

He wanted to do a last tour and he knew he was not able to play as usual so, first thing, bring sax and trumpet and a percussion full time to fill all the musical gaps and do less efforts, and second, reduce that effort as much as possible but having a competitive set.

Once Upon a time, your latest trick, on every street and Romeo and juliet are DS classic tracks, plus some of his classic solo tracks and other things never performed live would do it.

I usually have my complaints about the set, but I look at this tour with different eyes. It's the last tour he will give us, and he decided to give us a last despite he's not in the usual shape. So, thanks MK, thanks for one more tour and thanks for the two big surprises.

This tour is not one to be measured but to be treasured.

It will definitely be treasured by me, jbaent!   

[2manyguitars]

Why would you want Mark to be like other artists? I like the fact that he is unique. If you want that then great, but Mark has never given the impression that he follows anyone, he does things his way, I just happen to like his way.

Nail on the head.

[Knopflerfan]

I think it is without doubt there is something wrong with his health, and more than just his back. He is not comfortable most of the time, and I still think there is something not right about the way his guitar sits on his body now, and it is not a bigger belly, it has been this size before. I hope it is nothing to serious, but with this being the last tour, you never know

He has the guitar strap higher up, which is much easier on your wrists and hands. You don't suddenly start having the guitar strap in a very different position after 40 years of playing unless you have to.

nothing wrong imo, just a bigger belly

Nope.....