During his Sunday evening stay at the Greek, Mark Knopfler recalledthe first time he came to Los Angeles: on a Greyhound bus. Over four decades later, thesinger-songwriter/guitarist continues to display that same blue-collar, workmanlikeethos, even within and amongst an iridescent and elite 11-piece ensemble thatdelivered a nearly precise two-hour performance of his eloquent British rock. Under a warm, clear last night of summer, embellishedwith only minimalist lighting, Knopfler let the music and musicianship havecenter-stage.
He opened with a rolling “Why Aye Man” and a rocking “CornedBeef City” as the packed house settled into the wooded confines of the GriffithPark amphitheater. After an atmosphericrun through “Sailing to Philadelphia,” sharing the vocal duet withpercussionist Danny Cummings, Knopfler dusted off “Once Upon a Time in theWest,” turning the 1979 reggae-flecked Dire Straits classic into a slightlyslower expanded showcase for the band. It was the first of several Straits entries, and followed by another,“Romeo and Juliet,” with Knopfler’s eternally tasteful guitar once again shining.
Sitting on a stool for a middle-run of storytelling, Knopflerfirst chose “My Bacon Roll” to support his latest, Down the Road Wherever. Asomewhat surprising selection, given that album’s strength of songs, the quiet folklament was transformed into a dynamic group vehicle on an extended outro. Knopfler recollected a youthful, post-gig,500-mile Christmas Day hitchhike inspiring “Matchstick Man,” and patientlyworked his way through the introductions of his ten bandmates, proudlyreporting that the collective plays a sum total of 49 instruments.
Straits’ “Your Latest Trick” held onto its last-callcocktail jazz, while “Postcards from Paraguay,” as a playful Celtic/SouthAmerican hybrid, pulled the relatively passive audience to their feet. Knopfler joked that maybe security waskeeping the mostly 50-and-over crowd sedate.
For much of the evening Knopfler had somewhat deferredrespectfully to his multitude of skilled musicians. On the last four, though, he returned to hisrightful place as six-string savant, driving “On Every Street,” dropping hintsof Cream’s “Crossroads” into the set-closing “Speedway at Nazareth,” andemerging from a flurry of drums to fire off the indelible, fuzz-soaked riff onencore “Money for Nothing.” On a closing“Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero,” he shared the rollicking highland melodyin harmony with his mates, rousing a standing ovation that prompted one of thefew smiles from the modest guitar master.
It was during “On Every Street,” the title track from Straits’1991, and final, studio album, that Knopfler sang of a “three-chord symphony.” While his groups have grown incrementallysince he turned solo in 1996, this ensemble has fully realized thatvision. With an assembly of aces andtheir four-dozen strong array- from whistles, fiddles, and pipes to saxophones,bouzoukis, and bodhrans- Knopfler finally has his symphony.
