[FrederikS|TPU]

Dear Headfellows,

I got some concert tickets from my parents on my birthday. Very thoughtful of them since I absolutely adore Mark Knopfler's music. So far I have only been able to hear his stuff on CDs which leaves me with this question, is he any good live?

I am kind of hoping that one of you guys has been to one of his concerts recently.

Thanks for reading!

Best,
Frederik

 

[musicmind]

The most recent concert of his that I saw on DVD was "A night in London" and it was quite enjoyable, good sound and great playing as always. I think Mark is a player that focuses a lot on tone and his sound, so I am sure everything will be setup well for the concert. Their Dire Straits "On the Night" DVD is one of my favourite concerts.

 

[Milner]

I am curious also. I he playing a concert here, but the prices are a little high, just want to make sure it is worth it.

 

[FrederikS|TPU]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to his concert here in Denmark the 19th this month. Will get back to this thread and post some impressions after the concert.

 

[nor_spoon]

Is Mark Knopler any good live?? Why wouldn't he be? He is truly one of the great out there, and since you adore his music, I am sure it's going to be an evening worth being remembered

 

[FrederikS|TPU]

I really hope so

 

[Mike Wazowski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrederikS|TPU /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dear Headfellows, I got some concert tickets from my parents on my birthday. Very thoughtful of them since I absolutely adore Mark Knopfler's music. So far I have only been able to hear his stuff on CDs which leaves me with this question, is he any good live? I am kind of hoping that one of you guys has been to one of his concerts recently. Thanks for reading! Best, Frederik

I too would be really wondering how good are his live concerts, if he were touring here and I were to decide whether it is worth the $200 or so for 2 tickets... But you got them as a gift, so have no choice but enjoy

If someone gave Mark Knopfler tickets to me, I wouldn't even think whether to go or not. I have DS On The Night live CD, it is great, especially with my new AKG K701 phones...

 

[Hudson]

I saw Mark about 16 months ago and would recommend to anyone to go see him. I am not a huge fan and only have a few DS albums, but recognised prettymuch all of the tunes the band played.

The sound quality at the venue was excellent and the band was very tight which made for a very enjoyable evening.

However, my biggest memory of the evening, by far, was the mans playing ability. When you see him live it's very easy to see why so many people hold him in such high regard as a guitarist. What he does on CD he easily replicates live and then some, you will enjoy every minute.

 

[Happy Camper]

Hope that he does Private Investigations. Wicked live.

 

[Mike Wazowski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hudson /img/forum/go_quote.gif I saw Mark about 16 months ago and would recommend to anyone to go see him. I am not a huge fan and only have a few DS albums, but recognised prettymuch all of the tunes the band played. The sound quality at the venue was excellent and the band was very tight which made for a very enjoyable evening. However, my biggest memory of the evening, by far, was the mans playing ability. When you see him live it's very easy to see why so many people hold him in such high regard as a guitarist. What he does on CD he easily replicates live and then some, you will enjoy every minute.

Hudson, thanks, that's really helpful. The goodness of sound will of course depend, at least to some extent, upon the particular venue, but how good the venue is is usually known. Having said that, I remember seeing Pink Floyd for the first time, in 1989. The venue was a crappy stadium, but the guys had brought all their sound with them. They played for almost 3 hours, and it was the best sound I've ever heard, before or after. Black Sabbath, a few months later, sounded terrible in the same venue.

 

[Milner]

His show here is in Abravenel Hall, which is our state symphony hall. The acoustics are amazing....ever seat sounds good, just need to make sure I can see him play!!

 

[VeipaCray]

Check him out playing live on the Music for Montserrat DVD.

 

[FrederikS|TPU]

Back from the concert approximately 2 hours before time. After 30 minutes or so my ears were so messed up that I had to leave. In the beginning I kept on saying to myself "hang on it can't be this loud all the time", but hey! I was wrong.

The first number was slow country like song, when I come to think of it I actually don't know the name of it because the acoustics were so horrible plus the sound was distorted from the high volumes they were playing.

Moving on next number was "Why Aye Man" (one of the best songs ever). As you might have noticed from playing it at home that track is way more intense than most of the newer Mark Knopfler stuff, and that made it seriously unpleasant to listen to. It was so loud that most people with a serious hearing impairment could hear it. In that number I felt as if my ears were beginning to ring after Mark did a little spontaneous riff that could have sounded good if it wasn't approaching 100 dB.

From the first number I began considering leaving the venue due to the horrible acoustics and immense sound pressure, but I decided to hang around just to see if they were going to sort out the volume at least. That did not seem to be the case. With each number rising in intensity my ears were hurting and I mean hurting. I felt like after my graduation day where we had a boom blaster going flat out all day and then later that night went to a club, which made my ears all soar, this was many times worse.

I was almost convinced that I had to leave and then "What It Is" came on. It is a good number and Mark Knopfler really knows how to put some soul into it, but it was so loud that it felt my ears were going to fall off.

That really forced my decision. I left the place after enduring a grand total of 24 minutes of excessive noise. And yea I mean noise because at that volume you can't hear what is going on anyways.

Great thanks for the ring in my ears here 1 hour and 30 minutes after I stepped out of the infernal noise.

The next time I get offered concert tickets I will either get 40 + dB noise guards or simply sell the tickets and save up for better headphones. This was just a complete and utterly waste of time and money, oh did I forget to mention that the ticket was $80 or €55.

I don't mean to disrespect anyone, maybe except the insane audio technicians at the Danish venue called "Forum" (they must be deaf or plain stupid). Mark Knopfler is still one of my favorite artists, just to bad it had to end like this.

 

[pdennis]

I feel you.

WHY do otherwise intelligent people (I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on this... I'm sure some of them are, anyway) like to damage their hearing for entertainment? Is it really not possible to enjoy music otherwise? Is it masochism? Is it just being macho? I don't get it!

Seriously, this really pisses me off. Sometimes it seems like I'm the only one who can enjoy listening to/dancing to rock, latin, or electronic music without feeling like I'm wearing the PA cabs like a set of Grado's.

 

[nor_spoon]

Sorry to hear that

Have been to some concerts myself, where the volume is so loud that everything just becomes a total mess. My ears are pretty sensitive to loud noices, so I once got myself some custom molded earpieces that reduces volumes by 25db. Very good investment, and highly recommended for anyone either playing in a band or going to concerts often.