Dez's Top Rock/Pop Artists, #10: Dire Straits

Southern Star

My previous entry may be the greatest rock guitarist alive, but Mark Knopfler is my favorite guitar player. I know I’ve used concert memories lately in several posts, but I’ve got a particularly strong one associated with Dire Straits, so I think I’ll go with that structure here as well.

One of the reasons that my live Dire Straits memory is so important is that it was my first concert experience. I would have been about 12 years old, and my older sister told me that I could come with her and her boyfriend to a concert. Already a dedicated music fan, I was thrilled. A good part of my musical fanaticism can be blamed on my siblings. Growing up I didn’t really have a choice. When I was very young, my sister would make me sit down and she would put those huge 70’s stereo headphones on my head and make me listen to God knows what. It was my sister who introduced me to Bruce Springsteen (well, not personally, but his music). My brother D. was quite important. He gave me a copy of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Chronicle, Jimi Hendrix’s Essential, The Best of The Doors and Buffalo Springfield’s Retrospective all when I was quite young and impressionable. My now deceased brother R. was a Stones fan. I have memories of him sitting up in our playroom for hours on end spinning Hot Rocks, getting lost in his schizophrenic mind. That is how I got to know The Stones’s music intimately.

And my sister introduced me to Dire Straits. Her boyfriend at the time, I forget his name, was a nice dude and a huge DS fan. They were coming to the Southern Star Amphitheater at Astroworld on their Brothers In Arms tour, and he got my sis and me some tickets to go with him. She told me that I was going to a concert, and my head was spinning with the possibilities. Could it be Bruce? The Stones? Oh my God, maybe it was Huey Lewis & The News! (This was the mid-80’s, remember). “No, Dire Straits.” Dire who? I had this sinking, disappointed feeling. I quickly tried to familiarize myself with their tunes before the show, but I was still underwhelmed.

The Southern Star Amphitheater, like the rest of Astroworld, is now an open field across the highway from the similarly abandoned Astrodome in Houston, I think they are building some shopping centers and apartments there now. The Southern Star design is now a common set-up for outdoor concert venues, but it was a newer design in the early 80’s. Located at the back of Astroworld (behind the XLR8 rollercoaster), it was basically a grassy hill with a stage in front of it. But there was something a bit magical about the place. Perhaps it was the amusement park backdrop, but it was just the coolest venue for shows in the summer. I saw about 4 shows there in my youth, and each one turned out to be a memorable experience, for various reasons.


ABOVE: The show that I attended in Houston is one of the most bootlegged shows of Dire Straits, in part because it was broadcast live on the radio nationwide. Here is the "album cover" of one of the many bootlegs of the show out there.

We arrived, and we couldn’t find the proper entrance, so the three of us (along with a group of other likewise confused concertgoers) climbed a rather large chain link fence to get in. Concert security wasn’t what it is now. We staked out our spot on the hill, and I recall the people to the right, and the people to the left, and the people behind us all smoking weed. To a 12 year old, this was quite an interesting shock to the senses.

But then the show started and the music wiped out all other distractions (when they started their hit “Money For Nothing” and the crowd rose to their feet, my sister’s boyfriend lifted me up on his shoulders so I could see…cool thing to do). Dire Straits was such a powerful live band in their heyday. They did not play their hits note for note, often extending their songs to double the length that they were on the record. I have a vivid memory of one of those perfect concert moments: 18-minute version of “Tunnel of Love” (which may be my single favorite rock song of all time) with all of its amusement park imagery and dynamics, being played outdoors with a real amusement park as the backdrop. I mean, how great is that? I recall Knopfler commenting on that too.

Fortunately I can relive that moment. In one of those strange coincidences of life, my brother J., living in Colorado at the time and completely unaware that I was attending the show, decided to pop a tape in his stereo and record a live radio broadcast of Dire Straits, live from Houston. A year later, while browsing his tapes, I see a cassette labeled “Dire Straits, Houston” with the date of my show. Really? I made a copy and have it to this day. But wouldn’t listening to it mar the perfect memories? Things always sound better in your memories than they actually were, right? No. I am happy to report that that tape proves that it was not just hazy happy childhood memories. That show kicked serious ass. It features a transcendently great version of “Wild West End,” by the way. Here it is...


Listen to more Dire Straits at Wolfgang's Vault.
ABOVE: For those of you who love great live recordings, check out the website wolfgangsvault.com. It has a treasure trove of live recordings you can listen to (I saw quite a few Bowie shows there, ANCIANT). It also just so happens to have my Houston show in its entirety. Imagine sitting out on a grassy hill one summer night with the amusement park behind the stage. Great setting. The tune is mellow and pretty, but check out the muscular guitar solo at the end that kicks it wide open. That is why Dire Straits was so great live.

Thanks to my siblings, those who are still with me and the one who has passed on, for giving me the gift of my passion for great music.

What To Listen To:
Dire Straits’s debut, Dire Straits, stands apart from other releases from the late 70’s. There is no trace of disco, hard rock, punk, early New Wave…nothing that reflects the dominant musical movements of the day. This is a laid back, pub rock record more rooted in country, folk, beat and bluesy rock and roll. What does stand out is Mark Knopfler’s crisp, clean guitar playing that is most pure on the debut. The third record, Making Movies, is the one that true fans adore. It was one of those records that was moderately successful in the U.S., but it is much beloved in the UK. Side One is one of those perfect sides (sadly not relevant in the CD or digital age). Brothers In Arms was the breakthrough that became one of the most unlikely blockbusters of the 80’s, and while uneven, it definitely has some very high points. Alchemy is probably tied (with a live album from the artist who will be #1 on this list) for my favorite live album of all time. Released pre-Brothers in Arms, it showcases their dynamic live playing. Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits is a decent single disc intro.