Just a few thoughts on last night.
Before I begin I'd like to add a caveat that having seen numerous bands at the O2 since its conversion from Tony Blair faux pas to soulless cave/music venue/shopping centre, I utterly hate it as a live music venue. However....
Last night was probably one of the best Knopfler gigs I've seen in 35 plus years of attending concerts.
The sound - Wow, well dare I say, it was better than the RAH, I was say about 8 rows back on the right of the arena, and you could literally locate every instrument within the mix of any song I'd say probably 90% of the time, my test of this is to listen out for the citterns at the end of speedway, and they were there, clearly audible at probably the loudest point of the gig.
The cameras - Not usually a big fan as they can cause a distraction and I'm still not sure of the morality of paying large amounts of good money to watch a concert on a giant tv, however they did add to the atmosphere and it was nice to see up close some of the dexterity of the other guys, especially Jim Cox and The drummer boys. The return of the 'neck cam' for MFN raised a smile although I can just imagine MKs response to strapping that to the headstock of 6 grands worth of Les Paul!
MK - Guitar wise, probably the best I've seen him play in some time, very few errors if any, lots of shaking fingers (as many have commented on before) but a real return of an aura of confidence about his playing, to see him like this brought a tear to my eye.
I also have to mention Marks vocals because I don't remember quite such an authoritative performance as last night, his lovely baritone rasp held up for most of the gig, something which I don't think I've seen across an entire concert from him since the 80s. He usually ends up croaking at some point before the end of the set. Ok so HFOH is still a bit of a struggle and BIA suffers as he's struggling to concentrate on both the guitar line and the vocal but aside from those minor gripes his voice was as good as I've heard.
At one point I did wonder if they would use some of the camera footage for a mythical long awaited live release as it looked so good but ultimately unfortunately for us I cant see it. There would also need to be a little 'cheating' due to the lighting error at the beginning of CBC already mentioned by others, Marks usual response to being filmed during R&J, and the crackling at the end of the R&J solo.
Overall Mark seemed to be in a lovely mood and the interaction with the crowd was great, also loved the subtle humour following the lighting issue.
For those with concerts to come, you really are in for a treat and are witnessing Marks songs at their live Zenith.
Still hate the O2 though
