• Notting Hillbillies promo photo
    Country Rock

    Notting Hillbillies in Newcastle (Redux)

    I stumble across this show quite frequently in my travels through iTunes, and I was reminded again of it this morning while picking around on my acoustic guitar. I was toying around with the beautiful guitar parts of the Dire…

  • Rock n' Folk

    Ticket to Heaven

    Nestled deep into the last album that Dire Straits ever made – 1991’s On Every Street – is a song that I consider as close to perfection as there is. The cornerstone of the song is the calm and gentle demeanor…

  • Mark Knopfler
    Rock

    Dire Straits in old ’92

    Howard Stern and his gang were discussing their top guitarists the other day. Howard’s top three? #1: Jimi Hendrix. #2. Eddie Van Halen.  #3: Leslie West.  It’s pretty hard to argue against Jimi, but from there, all bets are off.…

  • Mark Knopfler
    Rock

    Ickmusic Live: Dire Straits at Pinkpop 1979

    It’s time to bow to Sir Knopfler, as we travel back in time to Holland in the year of our Lord 1979. Apparently, these are the only four surviving recordings from the Dire Straits performance at the Pinkpop Festival in…

  • The Notting Hillbillies
    Rock n' Folk

    Notting Hillbillies in Newcastle

    Reading the paper this morning, I was informed that it’s Mark Knopfler’s 57th birthday today. I’ve been meaning to get this show posted, so what better opportunity than today? The Notting Hillbillies was Knopfler’s post-Dire Straits group that he formed…

  • Roots Rock

    Emmylou and Mark Make Beautiful Music

    For those of you who caught Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris on tour, I envy you. I’ve been playing and replaying the last show of their tour over the weekend. It took place Friday night at the Greek Theater in…

  • Country Rock

    Hillbilly Heaven – Blues Stay Away From Me

    “Mmmmm-mmmm-mmm-mmm-mmmmm”. You’ll understand after you hear the first 5 seconds of this song. Now, I’ve always liked Dire Straits, but I had no clue, until I heard this song a few years ago, that Mark Knopfler had a little side…

  • Rock

    Calling Elvis, is Anybody Home

    I came across this great web site / music magazine called Glide Magazine. They offer free downloads of entire shows. Their latest selection is the mighty Mark Knopfler and his great band live in Hamburg, Germany from 2001. The opener…