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The experience of The Dire Straits Experience (no tautology because the first word is in my language)
There are such kind of people - on the top of the fame they feel it's too much for them and they prefer to do what they love but in a smaller way. Usually after that they are happy, but leave their own million fans desperate with the hope the fav. Band will get together one more time, even for a charity gig. This is exactly the case of Mark Knopfler, who, in the past 20 years, successfully developed his solo career far away from the giant scales of the band (Dire Straits) and in a different musical style. The closest to the full-blooded Band experience was first introduced in the spring in Ruse, this night in Sofia and tomorrow in Plovdiv, invited by Loud concerts. The Dire Straits Experience successfully sold out the concert halls in Bulgaria and judging by the audience's reaction, provided maximum authentic experience for the fans of the legendary British band.
But this is absolutely not an easy task. The figure of Mark Knopfler stays like an unattainable top, not only for his unique voice, his charisma and magnetic live presence on the stage, but with the impressive fact he is the author of the music and the lyrics of the songs, performed on the gig we had the pleasure to listen on 2 December in Hall number 1 of The National Palace of Culture in Sofia. The lead figure in the Band is Chris White himself, who toured with Dire Straits for their BIA and OES tours in 1985 and 1992 and who played on the last DS album - OES. He recounts how the idea was born - first for a charity gig in Royal Albert Hall as The Straits and after that became an unending demand by the fans to listen these incredible songs. Chris, Alan and Phil Palmer played together for 3 years. After that the Band was transformed with the name The Dire Straits Experience. The uneasy task to be the front man of the Band was took by Terence Reis. "When the idea was born I thought it will be impossible to find a man who would replace Mark Knopfler without to look like a fraud - Chris White recounts - but I was wrong.
Indeed - the hall was silent, the seven musicians went on the stage and, without any word, kicked up the first song - the incredible Telegraph Road. Chris Whitten, the drummer from OES Tour, was with them. If you close your eyes, Terence Reis' voice similar to Knopfler's, sends you back, over the years and you feel like you attend a gig of the original Band. Everything else was clear - the musicians on the stage are perfect professionals and, if we exclude the too loud sound, the performance of every song reached an ecstasy. The set list was also exciting- hit after hit - every of the six DS studio albums was presented by some songs.
Song after song, outburst after outburst, happy fans, blazed with delight faces, short talks on the stage to leave more time for the music and if you have left some time - you could listen the deep wonderful Knopfler's lyrics. Chris' sax puts emphasis after emphasis of the evening. Terence's voice and guitar leads you to a real voyage. The guitars and pianos are drawing colorful pictures and you feel like there is a video screen and you see a clip of DS from the past. Two hours ran extremely fast! After the emotional BIA, followed by SOS, which put the audience on their feet and MFN, known even by the stray town's dogs, (hahahaha...it's Slavi laughing like a crazy), the tender Going Home put the end of the evening and sent all the audience happy and smiling home, with a lightness in the heart, which shines there only after the best experience! The Dire Straits Experience definitely affirmed their name!
Article by Gergana Stoycheva- Nusha
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