Audrey Niffenegger’s debut novel is a story of a man who slips in and out of linear time yet manages against heavy odds to have a spectacularly rich relationship with an artist willing to take the risk. The characters are drawn to perfection and what sounds like sci-fi is anything but. This promising young author’s powers of observation are so acute that I found myself dragging my feet (reading slower!) in order not to miss them for want of finding out what came next. You’ll wonder, at first, about this metaphor of time travel. That she manages to pull it off is testament to a great new talent.

I was very sorry when it ended but totally thrilled by the experience.

–Sean Coakley

Meet-and-greets with artists are usually boring for everyone involved. The privileged people waiting backstage to say “hi” to the artists usually include retail, radio, press, record company and distribution personnel, promoters, friends and hangers-on. Having participated in them from all sides, I usually avoid these invitations. Most artists dislike these affairs but realize that they need to thank fans and people behind the scenes who help sell their music. Nevertheless, in any crowd, there’s inevitably one person struggling to convince the artist that he’s met her before; the artist always graciously pretends to remember.

For this reason I was reluctant to take up the kind offer to meet Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris before their show at Radio City Music Hall in June. But I had to get into the city early to pick up our tickets and figured “why not?” They’re musical giants and I wanted to see how they’d do it.

What I experienced was so surprising and uplifting that I can’t believe others haven’t done it before. About ten of us were gathered in a hot and humid room to await the arrival of our heroes. After about twenty-five minutes, five musicians walked in. They carried a stand-up bass, a drum with brushes, two ukuleles, a fiddle and lap steel (with small amp). These men sat down and began to play a joyful Hawaiian-sounding instrumental. When that tune ended, Mark Knopfler strolled in, quickly walked up to each guest, introduced himself, and thanked each for coming to the show. He then sat between the other musicians, picked up a guitar, and accompanied them on another instrumental. Emmylou followed with her hellos and then stood like the rest of us and watched and listened to a set of four wonderful songs. I realized that they’d turned the meet-and-greet into a band warm-up. It was like being invited into the bullpen to watch Roger Clemens prepare for the game’s first pitch. I think it’s safe to say that we were all amazed by what we were watching. When it ended, the band stood, Mark thanked everyone again, and Emmylou said she hoped we all “enjoy tonight’s show.” They had swiftly turned what is often an uncomfortable grip-and-grin into a relaxed, memorable time for all.

My jaw is still open. (See Melanie’s review of the show below.)

–Sean Coakley

Last week, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris kicked off a brief U.S. leg of a tour in support of their amazing collaborative album, All the Roadrunning. They’ve chosen to hit only a handful of big cities on this jaunt, keeping the energy up, and the time spent away from their families down.

Judging by the intensity of their performance at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday, it’s a formula that’s going to work. The Songlines team was lucky enough to be in attendance, and we were floored.

From the first notes, the skill of the eight musicians Knopfler had assembled was brought into focus. The distinct instrumental strains melded to form an almost ethereal cloud of sound welling up behind the duo. (Radio City’s incredible acoustics played a part, no doubt.) Performers included keyboard wizard Guy Fletcher, Dire Straits drummer Danny Cummings, and Richard Bennett, whose guitar prowess would’ve been unmatched on nearly any other stage. But this was not, of course, another stage. Bennett was standing only a few feet away from a genuine badass of the six-string; Knopfler’s mastery, in person, is almost otherworldly. Knopfler rolls the swagger and humility of the blues into every note. He doesn’t show off; nothing is in excess. This was particularly apparent on “Song for Sonny Liston,” the current single “This Is Us,” and a brilliant version of “Speedway at Nazareth,” which was the last song the group played before the encore.

All in all, the set included seven songs from the Mark Knopfler/Dire Straits back catalog, four tunes that have appeared on Emmylou Harris records, and seven tracks from the new album. Appropriately, the night began with “Right Now,” and its deep grooves were followed in quick succession by the jangly shuffle of “Red Staggerwing.” Afterwards, things slowed down a bit; the next highlight was Harris’s rendition of “Red Dirt Girl.” The command and clarity Emmylou’s voice in a live setting is astonishing. I kept wishing that she’d step away from the mic, and let her songs sail unaided up into the rafters. I’m confident that it could.

I’ve always thought that Dire Straits’ “Romeo and Juliet” is the perfect timeless lament about star-crossed love. The song satisfies on so many levels, with layer upon layer of meaning. It’s wistful, but it has attitude. It’s literate, but not heavy-handed. In short, I was thrilled to recognize its tinkling piano intro on Thursday night; it’s one of my favorites, and I didn’t expect that I’d get to hear it. The live performance ended up delivering in more ways than I’d have imagined, though. It became one of those memorable, magical concert moments. The crowd couldn’t resist cheering in response to twists in some of the original phrasing (”all I do is keep the beat / with rock and roll company”). Everyone began to realize that this wasn’t quite the song they had always loved; filtered through experience, it was one they ended up loving more. Because this was no longer a young man talking about a single squandered opportunity to hold on to love. That man would have many more chances ahead of him. What we were hearing was an older, wiser man, looking back at one shot at love that might’ve sustained him. The performance, though it was in mid-set, sparked a spontaneous standing ovation, and Knopfler, characteristically self-depracating, simply said, “Aw. You’re sweet.” Said another way, that comment might make it sound like he didn’t appreciate what had just passed between the stage and the seats. Instead, it was pure, bashful delight. We got it, we got him, and he knew it.

If you don’t have a chance to make it to one of these shows, don’t despair: a DVD is in the works.

–Melanie Shrawder