It's inherently easy, but ultimately wrong, to assume that Mark Knopfler is beloved solely by classic-rocking dudes. After all, whether the 58-year-old Scot was finger-picking with Dire Straits, or now working solo, he's forever been the patron saint of air-guitar grunts, hairy mimes who break a sweat every time they hear Money for Nothing on the radio.

By Sean Daly, Times Pop Music Critic – Clearwater Florida
In print: Thursday, July 31, 2008

But at a sold-out Ruth Eckerd Hall on Wednesday, in front of 2,043 men and women, Knopfler proved for a mesmerizing two hours that his signature style is both masculine and feminine, the sturdy licks bubbling from his preferred instrument sounding like liquid heartache.

If the Tin Man strummed a Strat — post-heart, of course — he might sound like this.

Rolling Stone recently ranked Knopfler the 27th greatest guitarist of all time. But there wasn't a person leaving his local stop who wasn't demanding a recount on the way to the parking lot. Working through his Dire greats and solo jaunts (including cuts from latest album Kill to Get Crimson), the star borrowed from Gaelic folk songs, bluegrass twirls and electric oomph.

Backed by a phenomenal six-piece band of fiddles and mandolins, accordions and a stand-up bass (you've got to be good and versatile if you're going to keep up with this guy), Knopfler opened the show with the frisky hoedown stomp Cannibals.

Then he slowly let loose his mighty ax for Why Aye Man, that trademark tone ringing from his guitar immediately conjuring goose bumps.

If there was a drawback to the show, it's that when Knopfler dropped low his husky voice and prickly playing, going for mellow over majesty, some yahoo in the audience would inevitably holler "You the man! or Master at work!"

Enough with the shouting and the yelling. He knows you love him — now shut the heck up and let the master do his job.

Knopfler built his set list with an ear for shifting moods, making you swoon (the new True Love Will Never Fade), then knocking the ever-lovin' air out of you (the bluesy hammering of Song for Sonny Liston), then drawing you so far in you were darn close to plummeting out of your seat (the delicate hillbilly breakdown of Marbletown).

He opted for a spare stage, and yet every now and then the lights would play nifty tricks, illuminating Knopfler as the common man on a lonely dance floor.

The night's best one-two punch was a Dire Straits double-shot. First, the romantic sucker-punch of Romeo and Juliet, a ballad that has retained its Kleenexian wallop all these years later.

Then, with the crowd giving him a standing ovation, Knopfler nodded to his bandmates and kicked into Sultans of Swing. Knopfler has been playing that one for decades, too, but he knows darn well fans crave the epic solo as much as the lyrics.

So as he freshened up his biggest hit, he also made sure to give the people what they want, including that fastest-fingers finale.

Did I bust out the air-guitar? You better believe I did. And I looked darn pretty doing it, too.

Sean Daly can be reached at sdaly@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8467. His Pop Life blog is at blogs.tampabay.com/popmusic.

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