TORONTO -- Have you ever been watching one of those music award shows on TV and pitied the poor person sitting behind Erykah Badu and her headwrap?

That was me on Thursday night at Mark Knopfler's virtually sold-out show at Massey Hall where I found myself seated behind a tall man with a large head.

I spent two hours and twenty minutes leaning one way or the other, straining to get a good look at Knopfler and his six-piece band.

That's the bad news.

The good news is that the sound was excellent, even if Knopfler has the habit of mumbling his lyrics, and not much was actually going on stage for me to miss.

Sure, Knopfler, the 51-year-old guitar virtuoso and accomplished singer-songwriter for veteran British group Dire Straits before setting out on his own, easily alternated between various impressive-looking acoustic and electric guitars.

But his stage presence, while welcoming and familiar, never really went beyond neutral, with most songs turning into subtle, long jams.

There were certainly no highs or lows in the strangely emotionless show even though the audience frequently leapt to its feet for a standing ovation whenever Knopfler pulled out one of his startling dreamy solos like during Romeo & Juliet, Sultans Of Swing and the show-ending So Far Away.

"You're very sweet," he acknowledged.

Making Knopfler feel right at home was a large, cheering "Geordie contingent" -- as he called them -- from Newcastle.

But while some musicians, like the low-key Knopfler, clearly excel at their craft, they simply aren't riveting entertainers.

Meanwhile, reaction to the new material from his second solo album, Sailing To Philadelphia, was lukewarm at best, even though it's a pretty wonderful collection with the added bonus of such guest vocalists as James Taylor, Van Morrison, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings and Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford.

Knopfler, who last visited Toronto way back in 1992 with Dire Straits, was said to be playing as long as three hours on his solo tour.

As it was, two hours and twenty minutes felt twice as long.

JAM! Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (More on: Mark Knopfler).

Set List

Calling Elvis

Walk Of Life

Who's Your Baby Now

Rudiger

What It Is

Sailing To Philadelphia

Romeo & Juliet

Sultans Of Swing

Done With Bonaparte

Junkie Doll

Speedway At Nazareth

Pyroman

Telegraph Road

First Encore

Brothers In Arms

Money For Nothing

Second Encore

So Far Away