#54 DTRW TOUR - July 18 2019 - Arena della Regina, Cattolica, Rimini, Italy

[hunter]

Maybe the touring is just an excuse to get out and about with his pals a little? Time off from the missus he-he Time to write. I'm kidding of course, but you get the impression that as the tour goes on the initial rush wears off and the shows become almost secondary. Mark's a pro and keeps soldiering on, but he hasn't got a poker face.

[qjamesfloyd]

Touring the way Mark and the band do, with luxury hotels, personal drivers, top-notch catering, the possibility to be in bed fairly early and sleep long, the possibility to stay in shape, is not hard work, even for a 70-year-old. Sure, performing for two hours is demanding, but he has been doing this for 40 years. It's a breeze for him. Maybe he's more bored than anything else.

That's a question that I have often asked to myself, how it is difficult to handle such big tours. As you said, they're touring in top-notch conditions, good for them. I guess they deserve it after almost 40 years doing what they do, and doing it well.

What I don't understand is why some people here keep saying that he's bored. He's obviously not. He keeps repeating night after night that he'll play until he "dies" on stage etc.

C'mon, he doesn't do it for money so I assume he does it because 1/ he likes it and 2/ he likes doing it for us.

You can always debate about setlists, show duration etc. ; keep in mind though that we have a perfect 2 hour show every night.

We all have anecdotes about bands - whether big names or not - tanking a show. My cousin once went to see a big group from the late 90s playing in a big area with expensive seats etc. They played for 1h15 and 0 encore! I still remember how disappointed / upset he was.

Yesterday I was reading about a big name in France - whom I barely know  but never mind - performing in front of 10000 people. They wrote that the "1h30 show was great". OK then… but it's still only 1h30. The least that Mark has played since the tour has begun is, what, almost 2h00? That ain't bad.

I mean, have DS / MK and co ever tanked ONE show in 40 years? No.

So "bored", I don't think so. The static setlist is probably Mark's choice and that's what it is. It has been said before but 99% of the audience attend one show and don't give a shit to "static setlists". They don't even know about it and anyway, everyone is cheering at the end of the gig… so why bother?


Some will say "be careful the patrol is watching us" never mind, but once again we shall keep in mind that it will be over for good (?) far too soon… Then you (we) will moan about the definite absence of setlist… a good reason for endless moaning !! 

 

[Darling Pretty]

Thanks NicoMK. True words. I
 think the same

[Robson]

Me too.

[superval99]

I agree too!   

[Knut]

I think the static set is just his interpretation of what a show should be like. I guess the songs are carefully selected to do "something" as a whole, and that adding/replacing tunes therefore is a difficult thing, as it breaks that "something", somehow, and that the first few shows are used to calibrate "something".

Many, many bands have done the same thing before - just repeating the same show over and over again, like it is some kind of play with a written manuscript with strict limitations in terms of on-the-fly changes. In a sense, I get the idea, and if he didn't want the monotony, he could EASILY do something about it. Both him and his band are good enough musicians to rehearse a new tune backstage every night and play it reasonably well in concert. That's what "world class musicians" should be capable of, at least. Several other bands deliver the same quality with varying set lists.

[Robson]

Of course! And here I also agree:)

[Shangri-La]

He must be! 2 h on stage almost every night, then all the travelling, sleeping at different places..... And he is not a young dude anymore😀

It's like waking up at 6 in the morning to go to work 8-10 hours per day, 5 days a week, 11 months per year.

All hard work.

Ha-ha! (I know you're joking.)


Touring the way Mark and the band do, with luxury hotels, personal drivers, top-notch catering, the possibility to be in bed fairly early and sleep long, the possibility to stay in shape, is not hard work, even for a 70-year-old. Sure, performing for two hours is demanding, but he has been doing this for 40 years. It's a breeze for him. Maybe he's more bored than anything else.

Or ill.

[Stanko]

I think he has one eye on the break already before the N American leg.

He must be bored too playing the same songs night after night.  Surely.  As you say Dona74, I think this set is a carefully chosen one to cater for what he can play these days.  Maybe some changes for the N American leg?

as bored as CR7 when scores  !
well that might sound as a joke but it's as serious as that
(despite the fact he really has one eye on the break already...)

[Knopflerfan]

http://guyfletcher.co.uk/18th-july-2019-cattolica/

[hunter]

He must be! 2 h on stage almost every night, then all the travelling, sleeping at different places..... And he is not a young dude anymore😀

It's like waking up at 6 in the morning to go to work 8-10 hours per day, 5 days a week, 11 months per year.

All hard work.

Ha-ha! (I know you're joking.)


Touring the way Mark and the band do, with luxury hotels, personal drivers, top-notch catering, the possibility to be in bed fairly early and sleep long, the possibility to stay in shape, is not hard work, even for a 70-year-old. Sure, performing for two hours is demanding, but he has been doing this for 40 years. It's a breeze for him. Maybe he's more bored than anything else.

Or ill.

True.

So we have three options so far: tired, bored or ill.

I guess one's opinion depends on whether one is an optimist, a cynic or a pessimist :-)

[ds1984]

Last time I remember seeing a bored Mark was in 1992.

Anybody that experienced touring on a regular basis can understand that even with luxury condition touring is demanding so this is a logical state to get a somewhat tired (but happy) Mark at the end  of the leg. Personally I found him last week  in better shape that on the start of the tour so this is different tireness. As he said in interviews, you really have to like it.

[qjamesfloyd]

I think you are right, during the final Dire Straits tour he knew that he had had enough of it and wanted to doing something different, thereby re-igniting the flame in him, which is what he did. But I feel we need to get over this whole set list thing, the fact is, each tour Mark has ever done has had some different songs than the previous tour, so what is the issue? And the fact is not every fan will go to more than one concert per tour, some won't go to every tour either, so it will vary, so Mark can't constantly change the set, but more than that, it is Mark's tour, so it's his choice what he wants to play, the fact it doesn't please some people is not really his fault.

[localhero1986]

The question is: are we bored if we were offered free tickets to attend every show? I guess the answer is “no” and everyone would say “yes”. Why bother? I attended the Lucca show and I did not have the inpression he was bored, old, no longer capable of performing songs the “right way”. Most perfect MK show ever IMO, especially compared to the 2005 Amsterdam show I attended, boy, that was full of greenies and mistakes in lyrics... 

[NicoMK]

Most perfect MK show ever IMO, especially compared to the 2005 Amsterdam show I attended, boy, that was full of greenies and mistakes in lyrics... 

 What ??
Actually the 2005 Amsterdam (and Rotterdam) shows are amongst my favorites. Very powerful gigs I thought and didn't they play the ultra-rare "Back to Tupelo" there?