The Dire Straits Experience gathered a full house in Kyiv

Dire Straits is a prominent band, known and revered throughout the world by many fans of blues rock. Unfortunately, the group broke up in 1995 and, judging by the sentiment of the band’s mastermind Mark Knopfler, the fans are unlikely to have a chance of hearing the original members again. The Dire Straits Experience, formed on the group’s basis, gives the opportunity to enjoy the old hits played by the musicians from the band’s live line-up.

The impetus for The Dire Straits Experience creation was a charity show at The Royal Albert Hall in 2011. At that time, the original band’s member the keyboardist Alan Clark teamed up with Dire Straits’ session musicians the saxophonist Chris White and the guitarist Phil Palmer, as well as the several guests in the project for one evening — The Straits.

This performance, which became the debut for Terence Reis, later developed into a new project The Dire Straits Experience, performing hits of the British rock band. Its line-up also joined by Dire Straits’ two live musicians the saxophonist Chris White and the drummer Chris Whitten. At the last concert in Kyiv, they shared the stage with Tim Walters (guitar, vocals), Richard Cottle (piano, organ, keyboards), Paul Geary (bass guitar, vocals) and Danny Schogger (piano, organ, keyboards). The Ukrainian viewers spurred by the opportunity to hear live Dire Straits’ hits, not only bought up almost all the tickets for the event, but also repeatedly doused The Dire Straits Experience with standing ovation during the performance.

The public, clearly hungry for eloquent and high-quality show, greedily absorbed every second of what is happening on stage. Impatient clapping, the audience hurried up The Dire Straits Experience members, who came on the stage with a small delay and sound of thunder and lightning. The musicians started the performance with a powerful and long jam, with the spectators darting off with a storm of applause.

Judging by the overall reaction of the audience, Terence Reis, who replicated Knopfler’s vocal style very similarly, and in general the whole project The Dire Straits Experience struck many people's fancy that evening. During the concert, each subsequent composition and each solo the viewers accompanied with a long and hot applause, whoops of delight and even dancing.

The most famous compositions the musicians left for last. Dire Straits’ hallmark song "Sultans of Swing" expectedly caused great excitement and movement around the hall. Picking up with it the audience on their feet, the musicians left the stage for awhile, shortly returning for an encore. As a final point of the evening, The Dire Straits Experience played "Money for Nothing", elicited with the first guitar chords a storm of emotions, much more intense than during the previous songs.

For such warm welcome, the musicians responded by wishing the organizers to make a concert in Kyiv once more:

"Invite us again, we liked to perform here very much!" — Terence Reis said smiling at the audience

The organizers responded to the musician proposal announcing the new The Dire Straits Experience’s show on December 16. This time the band is going to perform on the bigger stage — at the Kyiv’s Palace of Sports.

Text by Anastezia
Photos by Dmythro
Noizr Zine thanks the concert agency "Рок гвардія України" for the accreditation