BWW Reviews: Mark Knopfler Impresses at the Fox Theatre

It's been a long time since Mark Knopfler graced St. Louis with his presence and the wait was certainly worth it for those lucky enough to capture his performance at the Fox Theatre (April 22, 2010) this past Thursday. Flanked by a large band consistenting of any number of multi-instrumentalists, Knopfler delivered a crisp two hour set that mostly covered material from his solo career, but also included a few choice Dire Straits songs for those diehard fans who haven't kept up with this hugely talented guitarist and songwriter.

I've read on more than one website that Mark doesn't appreciate reviews that give away the setlist, because he wants the concerts to be a surprise, so I'm going to eschew my normal practice and just concentrate on a few songs that stood out. I will mention the opening cut, "Border Reiver", because it set the tone for the night with its flute and fiddle figures bringing to mind a Celtic excursion.

For most of the night this large ensemble (seven musicians) pumped fresh life into these selections, adding a myriad of interesting instrumentation including: flute, fiddle, pennywhistle, accordion, mandolin, and several other stringed acoustic instruments that I couldn't identify. The inclusion of these players acted to flesh out the arrangements of material both old and new in interesting and invigorating ways.

Knopfler himself is an intriguing presence on stage, laid back, but fully in charge of his ensemble. His unique percussive fingerpicking may be oft imitated, but I've never heard anyone that sounds like him, at least not exactly. I've been a fan since the early days with Dire Straits, but I also appreciated his understated work with Chet Atkins, among many others. If you were expecting pyrotechnics, then you've never seen Knopfler before, because he does play with passion, but he's so subtle about it, and he makes it all seem so easy, that you forget how much work he's actually doing.

If you were only there to see him perform his former band's material, then you may have been a bit disappointed since only a handful of selections from that era make the cut. Yes, you'll hear "Sultans of Swing", but "Money for Nothing" is not on the list. Instead you get tasty renditions of "Romeo and Juliet" and "Telegraph Road", which is not a bad tradeoff at all. He also performed encores of "So Far Away" and the title track of their biggest seller "Brothers in Arms".

This was not a flashy show either, but the lighting was impeccable and easily set the mood of each song. In fact, one of the coolest moments came when he swapped out his resonator guitar for his trusty red Statocaster with a small camera affixed to the headstock. The curtains parted behind the drummer after this switch and you could see a nifty video feed that allowed you to check out his agile fretwork.

Knopfler impressed on this evening, demonstrating his considerable skills as a songwriter and guitarist for a very appreciative crowd.

Pieta Brown opened the show with a brief set that featured her solid work on acoustic guitar and vocals, with Bo Ramsey providing tasty embellishments on his electric (Stratocaster). Ramsey's sound is reminiscent of Knopfler's work, and acted as a nice lead in to the main attraction. Brown's originals are catchy little mood pieces filled with longing, and definitely worth a listen.

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