Calling Elvis, Anybody Home?

The whole family -- including Gina and Jory -- attended a brilliant concert by seminal songwriter and guitar maestro Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits fame and his band of talented musicians at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts in Eugene on Sunday, April 11.

Arrived early to peruse the "merchandise" such as shirts and posters, though things were off to a rocky start: a shirt vendor tried to stiff me for an additional $5 when returning my change. Dude was a dead ringer for "Del Preston," the veteran roadie with the thick Liverpudlian brogue and overdeveloped sense of self in "Wayne's World 2."

After giving him four Andrew Jacksons for two $35 MK shirts, he deftly gave me a fiver back instead of the $10 I was due. Rebecca interceded and -- feeling pressed -- I insisted on correct change. He indignantly, but immediately, complied with my request. I wonder how many other unsuspecting consumers he scammed that night.

For longtime MK and Dire Straits aficionados like myself, who have seen Mark in concert numerous times, the set list was superlative. He must have played nearly a dozen tunes I have never heard performed live in concert, so I was one happy camper.