Mark Knopfler on his own at The Pearl

Bob Dylan fans, cover your eyes a minute.

Mark Knopfler returns to Las Vegas on the same weekend that he visited last year, but some of us are kind of happy it’s not with Dylan this time.

The co-bill caused the tour to be bumped up — over-optimistically, as it turned out — into a big sports arena, where Knopfler’s mellow tones didn’t play as well as they should Friday in The Pearl at the Palms, when he will be the center of attention.

Sure, Dylan gave the Knopf a generous opening set. But we’re happy he will have even more time to stretch out. After all, his current album, “Privateering,” is a two-disc effort with 20 songs to pick from and harks back to his Dire Straits era with an eclectic mix of blues, country and English folk.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.