Mark Knopfler USA Tracker Tour 2015
31st October – Fort Lauderdale
SAFE TRAVELS The final day brings with it a bittersweet feeling, mixed emotions…a small part of you is glad that it’s all over, the traveling, the trying not to eat too much, the mental preparation [...]
30th Oct 2015 – Clearwater
PEN ULTIMATE It’s hard to believe I’m writing the penultimate page documenting this ridiculously great tour. It really is coming to a close and we can all feel it today. The crew had a [...]
28th Oct 2015 – Melbourne
SURF SOUND Anyone who has spent any length of time windsurfing will know the name Mark Angulo. I met Mark many years ago on our first trip to Maui. Mark introduced us to the North [...]
27th Oct 2015 – St Augustine
SCATTERBRAINED SPECS On September 8th, 1565 St. Augustine was first set foot upon by Spanish admiral and Florida's first governor, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. He named the settlement "San Agustín", as his ships bearing [...]
25th Oct 2015 – North Charleston
FISH FEST South Carolina is a place I can’t recall having been to before. An hour East of Atlanta, North Charleston was originally a plantation area. The large plantations were subdivided into smaller farms [...]
24th Oct 2015 – Atlanta
SALAMI GIFT The affluent uptown district of Atlanta known as Buckhead, comprises about one fifth of the city and surrounding its dense, high-rise core are large single-family homes situated among dense forests and rolling hills. [...]
22nd Oct 2015 – Durham
COLLARD GREENS It was time to bid farewell to New York and head to Teterboro for the final time. The Legacy was loaded with fresh New Jersey Sushi and we were off on our [...]
20th 21st Oct 2015 – New York
STANDING OVATIONS I don’t recall any of our previous shows in New York being quite as exciting as these two. New York audiences are traditionally hard to please but both nights here, they [...]
18th Oct 2015 – Washington
TONE KING Another day trip from New York city, this time to America’s capital city and to a venue we visited a while back. The Warner Theatre is another in a run of cosy [...]
17th Oct 2015 – Philadelphia
PHILLY CHEESESTEAK The beautiful Philadelphia Academy of Music on South Broad Street hosted us today, built in 1855-57, it is the oldest opera house in the United States that is still used for its original [...]
16th Oct 2015 – Red Bank
RED BANK This is our second visit to the Count Basie theatre which although built as the Carlton theatre in 1926 was only renamed in 1984 to honour jazz great and Red Bank native William [...]
14th Oct 2015 – Niagara Falls
UNHINDERED CROSSING When I last came to Niagara Falls back in 2008 I….no wait a minute, I didn’t. That was just a movie....for which I scored the music. Niagara Motel was a fun little black [...]
13th Oct 2015 – Pittsburg
TOURING WHEELS With the sunshine glistening on the water of Boston harbour, we flew up and away towards Pittsburg. Mark and I were trying to work out when we last visited this great city [...]
11th Oct 2015 – Albany
STATE CAPITAL Today consisted of another quick trip out of Boston and back, this time to the New York State capital, Albany. Once again, it’s a trip revisited as five years ago we played the [...]
10th Oct 2015 – Mashantucket
BLUNDER BUS After yesterday’s deluge, the weather today was crisp and bright. Not a cloud to be seen in the sky as I investigated the proximity of the closest Whole Foods store. I’ve finally given [...]
9th Oct 2015 – Boston
POLICE FIRE The windows of the Montreal Ritz-Carlton looked out this morning to a proper dreary day. Probably the first such day of this leg of the tour. It was cold and very wet. [...]
7th Oct 2015 – Montreal
DELICIOUS NIBBLES My goodness, another ridiculous day. Gym, self-made brekky with PG tips and Nespresso coffee in the room. Then a walk about the neighbourhood in search of Buckley’s ORIGINAL cough medicine. I should [...]
6th Oct 2015 – Toronto
NEGRONI CLUB Another day off and another round of golf but this time was different as I managed to organise something which the crew boys could enjoy as well. We all found ourselves in the [...]
4th Oct 2015 – Ann Arbor
REVEREND COYOTE Almost exactly five years ago we flew in to Ann Arbor from Chicago for a show at the same venue with an evening flight after-show to Toronto. I recognised this fact whilst on [...]
3rd Oct 2015 – Indianapolis
SOCKS For me and I think a large proportion of the band, today was a slow day. Exertions of the past few nights take an inevitable toll and every now and then there comes a [...]
2nd Oct 2015 – Chicago
LITTLE BLIGHTER A day off in Chicago is always a prospect to relish but for me, it was a trip out of town and yes, more golf. Blake and I were both invited to join [...]
30th Sept 2015 – Milwaukee
XR750 Arriving at an even busier Midland airport this afternoon, Cpt. Blake greeted us at the FBO (fixed base operator, an aviation business that serves the general aviation industry) and a waiting shuttle bus drove [...]
29th Sept 2015 – Minneapolis
LEINIE ’n’ SAUSAGE The day started slowly for me which meant I didn’t make the breakfast club meeting at Tempo, our favourite touring deli. Hell, I didn’t even make it to the gym. Orange Juice, [...]
28th Sept 2015 – Kansas City
SNAKE BITE I’m not quite sure how today happened. First, we were breakfasting in Austin, then we found ourselves in downtown Kansas City and the next thing we knew, we were in the windy city [...]
26th Sept 2015 – Dallas
MAJESTIC RIBS Texas is an extraordinary place, there is a real buzz here. Yes, it’s the weekend sure but there’s nothing mythical about Texan hospitality and warmth. Self-confidence is also a trait from historical evidence [...]
25th Sept 2015 – Austin
3 things…. Music The tour seems to go from strength to strength and we all keep thinking “how can it get any better”? well the answer is, it can. The show in Austin was another [...]
23rd Sept 2015 – Denver
RED ROCK It's remote location means that stays in Denver, Colorado usually involve at least one day off and on this trip we have two, one either side of the show. My day out of [...]
21st Sept 2015 – San Diego
ADIOS CALIFORNIA Rounding off our fabulous 6-day stay at the now highly regarded Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica, Ian and I grabbed some sunshine by the pool before [...]
20th Sept 2015 – Santa Barbara
BABY BACK The drive from the Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica to Santa Barbara had huge scenic potential and a quick look at Google traffic made the route obvious. Our rental cars are being [...]
19th Sept 2015 – Los Angeles
DARK STAGE Today’s LA venue has been home to America’s Academy awards ceremonies (the Oscars) since 2002. The framed photographs in the dressing room, all in black and white, shows teary eyed actors and celebrities [...]
18th Sept 2015 – Berkeley
ANOTHER PLANET Gigs don’t come much better than this. Here’s why. 1. The venue. The William Randolph Hearst Greek theatre at Berkeley has long been a huge favourite of ours and with every visit, we [...]
16th Sept 2015 – Las Vegas
CAESARS BOHEMOTH I get it, I really do, Vegas I mean. Being married to a Californian means I understand the tradition. The attraction of having a fun weekend, driving to Vegas, blowing a [...]
15th Sept 2015 – Salt Lake City
WATER BALLOON Our day off yesterday was a quiet affair. I hooked up with a windsurfing friend and drummer, Tim Ortlieb from Hood River and Ezzy Sails. He was keeping an eagle eye on the [...]
13th Sept 2015 – Portland
PORTLAND SCENE Visibility across the Puget Sound was almost non-existant this morning as I gazed into the murk pounding an overburdened treadmill in a freezing cold, uber-air-conditioned Four Seasons gym. I suppose the arctic conditions [...]
11th 12th Sept 2015 – Woodinville
LATE SUMMER WINE These Summer winery festival shows are quite something. A welcomed addition to our touring schedule and the chaps at Chateau Ste. Michelle really know how to organise them. The musical events [...]
10th Sept 2015 – Vancouver
TO CANADA [hover_pack img="https://guyfletcher.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/VancouverView900.jpg" link="https://guyfletcher.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/VancouverView900.jpg" img_title="" img_alt="" width="900" height="451" class="" radius="" effect="none" color="" opacity="100" title="" title_delay="" title_slide="" title_rotation="" text="" text_delay="" text_slide="" text_rotation=""] Ahh British Airways, “the world’s favourite airline” claims the ageing slogan, the accuracy [...]