A sold out audience at the Lichfield Garrick saw some of the best known rock and pop anthems of the 1980s performed when The Straits appeared at the venue.
Support came from the folk blues troubadour Marcus Bonafante, who won over the audience with his accomplished guitar playing and bluesy drawl of a voice. His set ranged from the haunted Devil Girl and Jezebel, to the melancholic The Bittersweet which had echoes of Keb Mo, while Cheap Whiskey was song about love going wrong.
The Straits are a seven man band, consisting of original keyboard player Alan Clark, saxophonist Chris White, and five chosen musicians, who are the keyboard player, percussionist, guitarist and singer Jamie Squire, rhythm guitar and vocalist Adam Philips, bassist Mickey Feat, drummer Andy Treacey, and filling the big shoes of Mark Knopfler himself was Terence Reis.
I saw The Straits during their first tour, and at that time they were a tentative band playing another man’s songs. At this gig, all of that hesitancy was gone, and they played with an energy and power that was remarkable.
Mark Knopfler is still a massive draw on the live circuit, able to sell out sports arenas and massive venues with ease, but his music has moved on and only a few of his songs still feature in his live sets. This has created a gap in the market as this gig showed.
The band started of with a new arrangement of Where Do You Think You Are Going? with the four piece simplicity of the original being replaced by an eerie keyboard opening. But by the time the group hit their stride during the song’s instrumental coda, we knew we were in safe hands.
The pseudo classical guitar of Private Investigations was full of texture, while the feel good romp of Walk of Life was warmly recieved by the audience.
The songs had a new life to them, which was shown in many of their longer pieces. Telegraph Road revealed itself in a new life as an energetic rocker, and the combination of a powerful instrumental coda, and a saxophonist bought to mind the best performances of The E Street band, while Romeo and Juliet with its famous dobro guitar part was beautifully played, with the bruised romanticism of the original version coming through.
Other songs provided more suprises. Communique was turned into a bluesy rocker complete with wailing sax and a hammond organ solo of complexity, before Two Young Lovers became an exercise in early rock and roll dynamism.
Tunnel of Love was a simple arrangement, full of powerful drums and bass, and an ending guitar solo that was not a carbon copy of the original, but had the bravery and musical integrity to have new twists and turns.
The performance of Brothers in Arms was also different to what we might have expected, with solos for all band members and some very supportive playing from the bass and drums, and featured a keyboard part of mournful simplicity.
The saxophone playing on Your Latest Trick featured some outstanding gymnastics, but some of the biggest hits were saved until last.
The group finished with Sultans of Swing, the famous guitar arpeggios at the end of the solo bringing the capacity audience to their feet, while the encore showed the full range of Knopfler’s talent as a writer. At one extreme there was Money for Nothing the group’s best known song, all flailing drums and four square boogie, which was thoroughly enjoyed by the crowd.
However, their version of Portobello Belle was a revelation. They turned this gentle three chord love song into a folk rock masterpiece, featuring the soulful vocals of Jamie Squire, the song became like something Van Morrison could have written.
This was a brilliant concert, filled with virtuoso musicianship and one of the best back catalogues in pop and rock of the last 30 years.
