This was my first time seeing Bob Dylan, though my friend had seen him multiple times before. Dylan, who had turned 70 that year, was a revelation. Make no mistake, his voice, never the most in-tune of instruments, was shot to ribbons; he made Leonard Cohen sound like Mariah Carey. But he had an energy and spark about him, amazing when you consider that, at that point, he had been on tour for 23 years.
Mark Knopfler was the special guest; Dylan is about the only artist left standing who could expect the former Dire Straits frontman to agree to support him. Knopfler, however, was not impressive. He played his instrument, the guitar, to perfection, don't get me wrong, but his show was dull, dull, dull, and, until his little 'encore,' was totally bereft of Dire Straits hits and even included a song or two from an album at that point still unreleased, Privateering (2012). The two DS songs he did play, 'So Far Away' and 'Brothers in Arms,' were greeted with incredible enthusiasm from the crowd, one wonders why he didn't play more of them. Plus, he played his opening guitar phrase of 'Brothers in Arms' a tone flat, before he realised and shifted up. Nobody seemed to notice, but I did. x
Mark Knopfler was the special guest; Dylan is about the only artist left standing who could expect the former Dire Straits frontman to agree to support him. Knopfler, however, was not impressive. He played his instrument, the guitar, to perfection, don't get me wrong, but his show was dull, dull, dull, and, until his little 'encore,' was totally bereft of Dire Straits hits and even included a song or two from an album at that point still unreleased, Privateering (2012). The two DS songs he did play, 'So Far Away' and 'Brothers in Arms,' were greeted with incredible enthusiasm from the crowd, one wonders why he didn't play more of them. Plus, he played his opening guitar phrase of 'Brothers in Arms' a tone flat, before he realised and shifted up. Nobody seemed to notice, but I did. x