Carmina - 15/6/2019

This was the second Carmina gig in a month or so - the first having been in our village hall and this one at the lovely Part Y Seal country house. The sets were fairly similar although this one a little shorter. I particularly enjoyed some of the covers ('Fragile' a Sting song, 'Into the Mystic, Van Morrison, 'Killing the Blues' Rowland Sally and particularly 'Heroes, David Bowie. This last song is done slow and moody and like all good cover versions it adds something to the song. Of their songs I particularly enjoyed 'Landmarks', the rousing and brilliant 'River of Love/Shenandoah' mash up, 'Twenty Three (in the morning) and 'Song for Pepper'. There was also a great intro from Geoff as a tribute to the recently deceased Dr John. 'This was a four-piece Carmina with Rob, Pippa, Paul and Geoff on Keyboards as the fourth member. It was nice to meet people we knew in the audience and also chat to the band who know us after Geoff stayed with us last time round.

Mark Knopfler - 30/5/2019

Trips to Birmingham for gigs are rationed now so it is only special occasions and Mark Knopfler (who I haven't seen for four years counts as special even if it is the NEC). We got the tickets via MK's fair ballot arrangement whereby you put your requirements forward and then seats are allocated by ballot. How on earth then did I manage to get the three best seats in a 16,000 capacity arena - middle of the front row almost within touching distance of the man himself? The band was pretty much the same as on previous tours, Guy Fletcher as keyboards etc and band leader, Richard Bennett on guitar etc, John McCusker on fiddle etc, Mike McGoldrick on pipes and whistles etc, Jim Cox on keyboards, Ian Thomas on drums, Danny Cummins on percussion, Glen Worf on bass, Graeme Blevins on sax and Tom Walsh on trumpet. The band all get a mention as they were exceptional. The reason for the 'etc' is that many of the musicians are multi-instrumentalist and there was a wide variety and a constant change around. MK himself gets a new guitar every track and occasionally more than one. This was in marked contrast to the previous night's gig where Albert Lee just keeps playing with the same guitar. The gig started with 'Why Aye Man' followed by the upbeat 'Cornbread City'. Then the beautiful 'Sailing to Philadelphia' and the first piece of slower more plaintive Knopfler guitar playing. He then moved on to a couple of Dire Straits songs including 'Romeo and Juliet' which always goes down well before a couple of songs from the most recent album (Down the Road Wherever) including the excellent 'My Bacon Roll' which is a typical quirky MK song. The band were adding their own brilliance to the guitar which is front and centre at any MK gig - each of them a master of their own instruments and working seamlessly as a band. The two horn players made a big and perfectly judged contribution whenever they were called on and the two drummers also worked a treat. Next up was one of my favourites of MK's lesser known songs 'Bonaparte' and that was certainly one of the highlights of a gig, that was in any case superb throughout, with the whole band given the opportunity to show how good they were. A few tracks later and it was another favourite of mine 'Postcards from Paraguay' and some brilliant trumpeting from Tom Walsh. Another excellent Dire Straits song 'On Every Street' and then perhaps the best of the night 'Speedway at Nazareth' another quirky MK song. Every MK gig seems to produce a single moment that lives on and here it was a phrase on the guitar in this track that tumbled down the fretboard and ended beautifully. MK has an ultra relaxed confidence as he plays with his trademark bends and sustains that make every track a joy in any case. The encore produced the audience-pleasing 'Money for Nothing' and a second encore the timeless 'Brothers in Arms' followed of course by 'Local Hero'. Is that all? Just two hours of solid brilliance from an all star band and a guitarist still delivering at 69? OK.