This is the first of trifle delayed updates to the happenings on the long weekend of July 4th. The weekend kicked off with the Mark Knopfler/Emmylou Harris concert at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. Their album was mildly disappointing and it hasn’t been finding much time on my CD player except for “Beachcombing” and “Love and Happiness”. Shanthala arrived with a lot of reservations. The Greek Theatre is a beautiful outdoor venue, set in the hills of the UC Berkeley campus. Our seating was good and center though a little farther than I’d have preferred, but that was expected. The show was sold out and they didn’t permit photography.
I did not know that the venue was outdoor and was suitably unprepared for a possibly chilly evening. It started right away with Shanthala getting chilly with me for not having found this out. Luckily, she had got a shawl with her and that kept her warm. A lady sitting beside us saw my plight and kindly lent me her full-arm shirt with the words: “This is my favorite shirt. Don’t forget to return it before you leave”. It didn’t turn out to be that cold after all and with all the shaking during the concert, I stayed warm.
The concert started a little past 8:15. It was a surprise right from the start. I was curious to see the order of songs in the concert and which ones from each of their solo repertoire they’d play. The mailing list has been quiet on this front as well and so I was left guessing. While I’ve enjoyed the somewhat well-known and unsurprising setlists of his solo tours, I guess I’ve secretly yearned for a little surprise. That was in plenty at this concert.
The evening started off with “Right Now” which caught me completely by surprise. I had been expecting “This Is Us” since it is similar to “Why Aye Man” and “Calling Elvis”. He followed it up with a very catchy version of “Red Staggerwing”. The live versions were way superior to the studio versions. Emmylou said “Touring with Mark so makes up for high school” 
. She sang two of my favorites from her “Red Dirt Girl” album which are among the few songs of hers that I know. “Michaelangelo” fit in very well with the concert’s setlist. Richard Bennett also had more prominent guitar work in this concert than I recall the previous times, especially on her solo songs.
The highlight of the evening for me was a version of “Song for Sonny Liston”. There was an extended solo in the middle that was pure magic. The drumming of Danny Cummings, the drummer from “On Every Street”, was just brilliant throughout the evening, but on this song it was magic. This song is a classic live. The studio version practically sounds flat! “Romeo and Juliet” had a beautiful piano introduction and the song is always poignant. It is a masterpiece ! “Done with Bonaparte” continues to impress and the fiddle player was brilliant on this song as well. After about an hour and half of playing came a really rocking “Speedway at Nazareth” which was not very different from the Shangri-La tour version, but really put the house on fire and set the stage for the first encore which was “So Far Away” and “Shangri-La”. I had missed listening to “Shangri-La” live last year and it was a treat to hear it this time. I guess it’ll replace “Brothers in Arms” now. It has a similar start with the organs. The second encore was “If This Is Goodbye” followed by a really cool acoustic version of “Why Worry” with just Mark, Emmylou and Guy Fletcher.
Mark was his usual understated self letting his music speak for him. “If This Is Goodbye” was apparently written as a reference to 9/11, but like most of his songs, it can be applied to many situations, personal and public. Songs like “This Is Us”, “Red Staggerwing” and “Right Now” which were very low on my list of good songs from the album sounded rocking and very catchy live. The only disappointing song of the evening was “Belle Star” for me even though the guitaring was good.
My famous last words
Are laying around in tatters
Sounding absurd
Whatever I try
But I love you
And that’s all that really matters
If this is goodbye
If this is goodbye
Emmylou said “This is Us, This Is It, Goodbye” as they played in this, the last concert of the tour. She could’ve been referring to us fans as well enjoying every moment of the concert.
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