March 12, 1979 review: Dire Straits at After Dark

 

One of the all-time greats on a club date.

March 12, 1979

Dire Straits Guitarist Reaches Back to ‘50s

          Sold out several days in advance, Lockport’s After Dark club is jammed to 900-plus capacity Sunday night for rock ‘n roll’s first overnight sensation of 1979 – a modest four-man guitar band from London, England, called Dire Straits.

          On the strength of their sudden success, they might have scrapped this club tour of the U.S. in favor of bigger halls and bigger money. But they want a different kind of payoff and it starts coming the moment the crowd stops buzzing at the sound of the guitar.

          That’s Mark Knopfler’s melancholy red Stratocaster outlining the melody for “Down to the Waterline” and it’s one of two reasons why Dire Straits shot into the Top 10 in less than a month.

          Knopfler is a guitar player’s guitar player. His style stretches back to Scotty Moore, Presley’s guitarist in the ‘50s, and James Burton, who did the same for Ricky Nelson back then.

          These are the same influences that fired up Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, but Knopfler preserves the elegant restraint of the originals. He reins in his sustain for a crisp, formal, distinctive statement that carries just a whisper of echo.

          It’s this guitar sound that’s the most vivid feature of the band’s hit single, “The Sultans of Swing.” The band saves that for the last in its hour-long set and the cheers start the minute Knopfler plays the first phrase.

          Knopfler also is a lyric writer’s lyric writer. A former journalist and English instructor, he has a way with images and ironies. For instance, he envisions the streets of London in terms of the American Frontier in “Walking in the Wild West End.”

          Unfortunately, he is not a singer’s singer. His vocals are furtive, barely audible above the instruments, just like they are on the record.

          As a result, all that is distinguishable are a few words of the choruses in new songs like “Once Upon a Time in the West,” “Single-Handed Sailor” and “Follow Me Home.” It’s much like Oklahoma blues guitarist J. J. Cale singing “After Midnight.”

          Knopfler’s guitar carries the night and the rest of the band (which includes his brother David on rhythm guitar) provides a seamless backdrop, complete with harmonies. The restraints are taken off the band’s usual shuffle beat for a little flat-out rockabilly during the four-song encore.

          Opening were the Barooga Bandits, a Detroit band managed by the same people who look after Bob Seger. Where Dire Straits was distinctive, the Bandits were ordinary, an ordinary boogie band. It extended even to their best number – a remake of the Fleetwoods’ 1959 “Come Softly to Me.” The Bandits reduced it to a common boogie song.

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IN THE PHOTO: Dire Straits in 1979.

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FOOTNOTE: Dire Straits played 51 sold-out concerts in 38 days on this, their first North American tour, and already were performing songs from their second album, "Communique," which they recorded in December. "Sultans of Swing" earned them two Grammy nominations. Bob Dylan was so taken with the group that he invited Mark Knopfler and drummer Pick Withers to play on his "Slow Train Coming" album.

Here's what setlist.fm says they played that night in the After Dark, though the review reports a couple songs that aren't included here:

Sultans of Swing

Wild West End

Water of Love

Down to the Waterline

Lions

What's the Matter Baby

Once Upon a Time in the West

In the Gallery

Water of Love

Six Blade Knife

Southbound Again

Where Do You Think You're Going