Having seen Dire Straits live back in 1991 also both founding members Mark Knopfler and John Illsey seperately with their respective solo bands knowing they would be a hard act to follow, this writer went along to the Alchemy Live gig with some trepidation.

Alchemy Live played a superb two hour set covering much of the career of Dire Straits. The musicianship was exceptional and pretty much note perfect. Alchemy Live have seemingly perectly captured the essence of Dire Straits and for those of a certain age, it was a trip down memory lane.

From the very start Alchemy Live threw a curveball by opening with 'Money For Nothing'. However, this turned out to be a really smart move, getting one of Dire Straits' biggest hits out of the way so early on. This was followed by 'Walk Of Life'. 'So Far Away' and 'Brothers In Arms' featured later in the set, it was great to hear a few well chosen tracks from the legendary 'Brothers In Arms' album which turned 40 this year.

Set highlights included 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Private Investigations', 'Once Upon A Time In The West', 'Down To The Waterline' and 'Telegraph Road'. The gig end with 'Going Home (the theme from Local Hero' and a stunning version of 'Sultans Of Swing'

As a Dire Straits tribute band, Alchemy Live second to none and well worth seeing in concert.