What a night to remember! Stunning setting,excellent seats and masterful sounds! No need to review as the other guys have summed it up nicely! Telegraph Road was main highlight for me,being seated I decided to go for a wander up around the bank to check out the atmosphere with my brother James,Tele Rd came on,it was perfect timing with everyone around the bank softly chanting along the words.The guitar solo was massive!I'm sure the birdlife within the Park had to adjust there sleeping pattern the following nights. What an excellent version of So Far Away! Mark Knopfler still rocks after 20 odd years,his new solo material shows his maturity 'with the times'! The 'Fingerpicking tone Master'. Great show Mark - Thanks alot,hope you will return to NZ again, don't let it be another 14 years...

Mark Knopfler Bowl of Brooklands New Plymouth New Zealand Saturday 19 March 2005 8:00pm Simply the best night of my whole life - Finelly got to see my Hero and a Guitar Legand. what more can i add to that!

Mark Knopfler Bowl of Brooklands New Plymouth New Zealand Saturday 19 March 2005 8:00pm Mark Knopfler - Guitar/Vocals Richard Bennett - Guitar Glenn Worf - Bass Chad Cromwell - Drums Matt Rollings - Keys Guy Fletcher - Keys It’s 7:30pm and the audience is steadily arriving. The Bowl proves to be a fabulous choice of venue by Mark’s management, with ducks swimming on the lake in front of the stage, the lightest of breezes rustling through the trees, and everyone is remarking how good the weather is for this evening’s concert, and congratulating each other on obtaining such excellent seats. A few lucky people are exchanging stories of having bumped into band members whilst wandering around town during the day. There is a slight apprehension in the air, it’s been fourteen years since Mark last played in New Zealand – can the man still deliver the goods? Within seconds of the lads walking on stage, and the powerful sound reinforcement system bursting into life, all fears were quashed. The first set begins with ‘Why Aye Man’, complete with extended instrumental section. Perhaps too long an instrumental section? Memories of the drawn-out ‘Ride Across the River’ from 1986 come flooding back. 2nd up is ‘Walk of Life’. Although many Europeans have called for this particular song to be dropped from the setlist following previous tours, it’s been fourteen years since it has been played live in NZ, and the crowd roars when Guy Fletcher hits the first notes of that oh so familiar melody. It’s worth noting that Mark has slowed this number right down, it has much more of a groove to it now than ever before. I liked it. ‘What It Is’ and ‘Sailing to Philadelphia’ pass without incident, before the crowd are treated to the haunting keyboard introduction to ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The crowd goes wild within seconds of the first notes being played on Mark’s National Steel guitar. (The “scrap metal” as he described it later in the evening) After this, Matt and Guy left the stage, (cup of Earl Grey was it Guy?) for a back to basics version of the classic ‘Sultans of Swing’. This masterpiece of modern music continues to evolve, with a significantly altered instrumental section, and of course no keyboards or sax solo. With ‘Sultans’ complete, a change in pace ensued, Matt returning to the stage with his accordion, and Guy with an acoustic guitar. Mark took the opportunity to introduce the band members to the audience whilst a second drum kit was being wheeled onto the stage so that the six band members could be closer together for the more restrained, central section of the concert. Richard and Mark launched into ‘Done with Bonaparte’ after a humourous false start, Richard attempting to play the song unplugged. One wonders if perhaps this was a planned stunt, as a similar event occurred at the Adelaide show. Following this was ‘Song for Sonny Liston’, played by Mark, Glenn and Chad. The groove generated by the trio of musicians was just brilliant, far exceeding all expectations afforded by the studio version of this track. It was about this point in the proceedings that I wished Mark was a little more outgoing in his banter with the audience. This central section of the concert would have provided the perfect opportunity to reflect on the beautiful surroundings, it was dark by this time, the lights in the surrounding trees were taking effect, and the ducks had returned to swim on the lake during the quieter songs. ‘Donegan’s Gone’ and ‘Rudiger’ rounded out the central section of the concert, and it was then back to the rock and roll with the first single off the Shangri-La album, ‘Boom, Like That’. A well recovered from ‘oh, bugger’ moment here, with the strap slipping off the body end of Mark’s guitar part way through his first solo, and his guitar tech not noticing until partway into the next verse that Mark was in trouble. Mark recovered admirably, wedging the guitar against his body with his right forearm for the second half of his solo, and the first half of the next verse, the only audible fault coming as Mark grabbed at his axe to prevent it hitting the deck. Well done Mark. Next came what was to be the only real disappointment of the entire gig, ‘Speedway at Nazareth’. This should have been the big rock number, and the build up during the vocal section promised nothing less, however the band was let down by the sound mix during the instrumental section, with the drums overpowering everything else, and I could only really tell what the guitarists were playing by watching their fingers. Chad was really going to town, this was his big show piece, and perhaps it sounded better elsewhere on the ground, but from the first few rows it was really quite ho-hum. The main section of the concert was completed with the ever-impressive epic, ‘Telegraph Road’. Words cannot describe the emotions this song brings out in me, and the boys absolutely nailed it tonight. Just brilliant. The first encore was ‘Brothers in Arms’, and once again the crowd went wild when they recognised the opening notes from Mark’s guitar. Interesting to see Chris White’s flute part (from Dire Straits days) being played by Matt on accordion. It worked well. The crowd were on their feet by the end of ‘Brothers’, and once into ‘Money for Nothing”, the security staff were kept busy in their attempts to keep the path in front of the lake clear of people. The band left the stage after ‘Money for Nothing’ (another Earl Grey, Guy?) as the crowd cheered for more, and Mark soon obliged with another favourite from the ‘Brothers in Arms’ album, ‘So Far Away’. The entire audience were up on their feet dancing to this song, and security gave up trying to keep the pathways clear, allowing the audience to enjoy the moment. It was magnificent. The crowd just wouldn’t stop shouting for more, and Mark came to the party with yet another encore, ‘Our Shangri-La’, the first time this has been played following Mark’s battle with laryngitis. The final extended instrumental section matched the mood of the evening perfectly, with everyone in the audience again on their feet dancing. It was a truly magical moment. The concert was concluded with ‘The Mist Covered Mountains”, and “Wild Theme” from the ‘Local Hero’ soundtrack, the latter being played by just Mark and Guy, whilst the remainder of the band one assumes make a quick dash for the hotel. In conclusion - Mark by nature has an introverted and reserved character, but that is totally overshadowed by his undeniable ability to create melodies, and craft those melodies into memorable songs in a multitude of musical genres. His unique guitar playing style enables him to deliver a performance that sets him apart from the many other musicians touring the world today. Our man still rocks. If he’s playing in a town near you - get yourself a ticket fast.

A magical show in a stunning venue.

A fantastic night - my first time seeing MK live, and I was truly impressed. A great balance of DS favourites and recent songs. I thought 'What it is' was really powerful, with some great licks and solos, and 'Done with Bonaparte' had a killer intro with MK and RB going for it on the finger-picking. 'Telegraph Road' was majestic. None of the reviews I've seen have mentioned 'So Far Away', but I thought the version he played on this night was quite special - it had a full sound with a few extra notes and fills which I found neat. As for the other highlights, I'm a sucker for new and funky solos, so I thought this version of 'Sultans' was very cool. Back to basics with guitars and drums. Also loved 'R & J' with the shiny National - nice touch having MK start playing in the shadows and all you can see is the shimmer of the guitar. Really it was all pretty darn good. Agree with whoever said that 'Speedway' was a bit crashy on the drums, and there was the odd problem with MK's cabling. But these are minor points when every other note is pretty much perfect. I don't know how he does it - if I'm rocking as hard as he is when I'm his age, I'll be a happy man! It's a real honour to see the man up close and personal. Definitely worth going for the gold tickets - managed to get front row, I won't forget that concert for some time!

We were lucky in New Plymouth. With the stunning backdrop and venue that is the Bowl of Brooklands, one of the great guitar-maestros did what he does best.With a broad selection covering his keywork with DS and the solo years, Mark treated us to a catalogue spanning 26 years (yes!!).It was a breathless start with his Geordie salute,"Why Aye Man", and the band were into it.Solo period was effortlessly interspersed with the classic favourites as the boys warmed to their reception. With Mark taking the weight off with a nice cup of tea (yeah right!) to soothe the vocal chords, we were treated to some Shangri-La tunes. Those given an airing blended well into the mix of styles and already have a welcome familiarity in this live set. A tip of the hat to the UK's legendary skiffle-man of the 50's on "Donegan's gone", provided Mark with an outing for his yackety-axe technique. What better way to salute your musical forbears? The sustained country-funk of "Song for Sonny" and "Boom like that" had things building nicely too. The band were raising the tempo now with the thunderous "Speedway at Nazareth" and the sustained crescendo grew into a blistering reading of "Telegraph Rd." I read a release review of the "Love over gold" album a long time ago, that claimed DS had finally learnt how to rock out on this track. Well Mark and friends haven't forgotten either. Having reached the summit,we were now gently descending down the otherside as haunting guitar-notes heralded "Brothers". I'm always reminded of the superb, semi-animated video that accompanied this track when I hear it. Anyone who has dealt with their own personal grief, sorrow or demons will empathize with those thoughtful lyrics. Into the encores, surely Mr K would play "Our Shangri-La"? As I said,we were lucky in NP.On a gorgeous late-summer evening, he duly obliged. He hasn't been able to sing this recently owing to throat problems and the higher vocal register of the song. I think we all sang along to help out. This show was a tribute to the enduring nature of Mark's song-writing and musicanship. Thanks man, and come back soon, Geordie-boy. Howay the lads!!

Arrived a hour early to capture the atmosphere as the crowd built up. What an excellent venue. The performance was brilliant with the stand outs being Romeo & Juliet and Telegragh Road. They simply nailed these ones to perfection. For me Sultans was played and sounded different over the last half of the song but nevertheless it was great. Not sure if other fans agree but the bass and drums in Speedway to Nazerth seemed to drown out Marks guitar playing when to me this is one of the best blow out pieces he plays. Anyway well worth the wait of 15 years but I'm not going to wait that long again so will have to head overseas to catch another concert.

Spectacularly beautiful venue, wonderful atmosphere and a brilliant show from the master and his fellows (but I wouldn't have expected less...). "Well Aye Man" was a perfect opener for the Geordie boy and it just didn't stop. Plenty of passion and fire - "Telegraph Road" was awesome. Job well done...!!!

Mark Knopfler - Master guitarist. I was blown away by the concert, it was AMAZING absolutely PERFECT. I am familar with all D.S, Sailing to Philadelphia, Ragpickers dream and Shangri-La material - But this concert was superiour to anything that had come before. I had listened to some D.S live recordings from the 80's and they dont come anywhere near to the quality of this performance. The Bowl of Brooklyns was packed (somewhere between 9,000 - 14,000) and the weather was perfect. As Mark and the Band came on stage the moon was just above the centre of the roof and the stars just making an apperance, in the cloudless sky. The actual quality and clearness of the sound was most impressive. Why Aye Man, Sultans, Romeo & Juliet, So Far Away, Walk of life, Rudiger and Money for Nothing were all done to perfection- The best I have ever heard! (the whole crowd standing for the last three songs) SOOOOO many guitar riffs, 2 hours and 20 minutes of absolutely flawless playing and singing. His throat is fully healed by the sound of things, his voice was powerfull and distinctive as ever. They included Shangri-La in the encore again- which was a suprise to the crew judging by the frenzy of activity and the scurrying around back stage not to mention the ph call to the sound desk to warn them. I was seated 4 rows back from the front - the gold ticket was deffinately worth it! The thing I am most in awe about, is that after 27 years of playing the same song - who knows how many times- Mark still enjoys what he is doing and does it many times better than he did 27 years ago. The guys in the band with him, Guy Fletcher Chad Cromwell Glenn Worf Matt Rollings Richard Bennett, must all be the best at what they do as well- to produce such a mindblowing performance of some of the best music ever made. Cheers a humble fan

I guess it was all said in the last review. A truley memorable night

First time in New Plymouth & would have travelled further to see MK. He didn't disappoint with a 2.5 hr set of fantastic songs. As expected, the old 'Straits songs were the big hits with the crowd. Telegraph Road was huge with all the punch & passion still there. He did 4 songs from Shangri La (Song for Sonny Liston, Donegan's Gone, Our Shangri-la and Boom Like That). I particularly liked Song for Sonny Liston which saw MK jamming with just Glenn Worf on double bass & Chad Cromwell on a smaller kit of drums at the front of the stage. 2 loudly demanded encores, and MK finally finished up with a wonderful surprise, the standard finale for most Dire Straits shows, 'Going Home' (theme from Local Hero) - with just MK, and Guy Fletcher on keyboards - strikingly beautiful and a fitting end to a great night. An honour to be in his presence again!