Britt Pavilion, Jacksonville, Oregon

It’s 11:30am now, the morning after the show in Jacksonville.

The drive from Berkeley to Jacksonville was a long one. It was very hot and very dry. I learned from my mistakes and bought some sunscreen before I left.

There’s nothing special to say about the way from Berkeley to Jacksonville. The road from Berkeley to the Oregon border is very boring with not much to see, at least not if you’re on the I‐5 North highway. As soon as you approach Oregon, however, it becomes greener and nicer. Huge hills, too. The highest point on the I‐5 is in southern Oregon.

Oddly enough, my cellular phone didn’t (and still doesn’t) work in southern Oregon at all. I have reception, I am roaming, but calls are not getting through. So I had to trust my instincts when looking for a place to stay. That turned out to be a very easy task. I ended up staying in Medford, about 5 miles out of Jacksonville. The capitalistic concept of “supply and demand” works very well here. There are about 500,000 motels in here. The one I’m staying in—Cedar Lodge Motel—cost me about $40 for one night, king‐sized bed, wireless Internet and everything. Very good quality too!

There’s nothing to do here. Medford is a really small town with very little to do. Jacksonville, though, seemed pretty interesting. Tiny, tiny little town that seems to have remained intact for the last 5,000 years. Luckily enough, I got a good parking spot within 5 minutes walking from the venue.

The venue is really nice. The stage seems a bit old. In the front, there’s a small lawn section, for which you needed some wristband in order to enter (I was told later that this is probably a privilege given to people who hold season passes for the Britt festival). My seat was in the front row of Section B—right behind the lawn section—and right in the middle. It wasn’t too far from the crowd. It was actually pretty close—close enough for Guy Fletcher to notice me pointing at him (as I do in every show—I absolutely like this guy) so he pointed back, as usual, probably thinking that he’s dealing with some kind of a lunatic.

I met a very nice guy there, sitting right next to me. I am absolutely terrible with names—I believe I’d forget my own name had I not have to present my ID for satisfying some bouncers in places that are 21+ (when I shave, I guess I look like a teenager. At least that’s what my mother tells me). We had an interesting discussion, he seemed to be very knowledgeable in music in general and Mark Knopfler’s music in particular. We agreed to keep in touch—he sent me an SMS with his email address but, again, my cellphone doesn’t work well in Oregon so I hope I get that text message as soon as leave.

The crowd was very similar to the crowd in Berkeley. Mainly adults, absolutely gorgeous women.

The concert went great. And one thing that was really good in it was Mark’s communication with the crowd. In this concert, he actually talked to the crowd. Which was amazing. Mark has a great, sophisticated sense of humour. Think about the kind of humour in “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and you’ll probably understand what I’m talking about, except that he doesn’t curse. He spoke with the crowd for more than two minutes, and for me, that was a highlight in the concert. I love it when the artist communicates with the crowd.

The set list was almost identical to the rest, except for the absence of “Song for Sonny Liston”. The crowd loved him. John gave an excellent performance as well. The interlude in Marbletown turned to be the apex of the concerts for me as I think that that interlude is nothing short of spectacular. I used to not like Marbletown at all, until I heard it live.

Something odd went with the sound as well. Something didn’t sound quite right to me with regards to the volumes. At some point (Sailing to Philadelphia), Richard’s acoustic guitar seemed to sound a little too loud. But it may be only in my head.

Leaving Jacksonville back to the motel was easy. I took the roof down, put a CD with the Metroland soundtrack and listened to Mark’s brilliant theme song from that album. That was amazing.

Now it’s Monday noon. No shows today, so I’m thinking about hitting the ocean, spending the night in Eugene or Salem and then continue to Portland the next day.

Talk to you soon,

--
Isaac