Photos by Andy Argyrakis

What Dire Straits lacked in career length was certainly compensated for when it came to overall longevity, especially considering its mere six-album catalogue, more or less wrapped around the MTV generation, sold over 120 million copies.

Three decades since breaking up at the peak of its stadium-filling pinnacle, the British band remains a permanent part of American and international playlists, plus was further etched in history after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

It’s certainly no secret none of this particularly interests the long solo leader Mark Knopfler, but that hasn’t stopped former member Alan Clark (piano/keyboards) from flying the flag in Dire Straits Legacy, alongside many other musicians who recorded and performed with the group at various points, including King Crimson’s Mel Collins (saxophone), Phil Palmer (guitar/musical director) and Danny Cummings (percussion).

Outside of being dealt a blow in the recent passing of guitarist Jack Sonni, DSL is also rounded out by Marco Caviglia (vocals/guitar), Primiano Di Biase (keyboards) and Cristiano Micalizzi (drums), who collectively brought their “For You” World Tour to the star-stacked line-up of the Blue Gate Theatre in Shipshewana, Indiana, surprisingly the closest stop to Chicago.

Yet following two hours filled with many album treasures and all the iconic tracks, it was absolutely worth the drive of any distance given the fact the guys don’t come around these parts very often, if at all.

Nonetheless, the miles and years all but melted away as the precision of “Private Investigations” opened the intimate evening, aiming the trajectory towards equally exceptional renditions of “Tunnel Of Love,” “Romeo And Juliet” and “Telegraph Road.”

In fact, hearing so much of its bluesy, jazzy, roots rock origins next to more pop-minded material such as “Walk Of Life” allowed Dire Straits Legacy to illustrate why the group was so unique.

The same could be said when DSL moved from the flavorful finger picking surrounding “Sultans Of Swing” straight into the nearly new wave of “Money For Nothing,” though each transcended classification to achieve cross-generational ubiquity.

The instrumentally proficient players really got to jamming come “Brothers In Arms” before wrapping with the understated but similarly stellar “So Far Away” as Dire Straits Legacy came across as close as realistically possible to the originals besides a full-fledged reunion.

For additional information on Dire Straits Legacy, visit DSLegacy.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the Blue Gate Theatre include Marie Osmond (Sept. 23); The Texas Tenors (Sept. 28); Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone (Sept. 29) and Salute To The King (Sept. 30). For additional details, visit TheBlueGate.com.

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