Live Music: Suzanne Vega
I love having venues right down the street from where I live. Attended the Suzanne Vega show at Neumo's last night. I feel so spoiled.
The show opened with her stepping on stage in black and tan loose fitting clothing, a floppy hat covering her face, and her humming the open bits to "Tom's Diner". I stood about 20 feet away - and I had the strangest feeling when I finally saw her face.
Suzie isn't young anymore. I had always thought we were closer in age - but it turns out she's about ten years older than me - and there were lines etched on her face. Unhappy lines. This uneasy feeling kept with me throughout the show - get to that in a bit.
Two minor complaints:
1. Pre-recorded strings on "The Pornographer's Dream". I wish they'd done a different arrangement rather than resorting to extra production to make it sound like the album version. Beyond that, the song was *fantastic* live - slinky and cerebral all at once.
2. The show was too short. Mind you, it was an hour and a half long, two encores [one two song set, and then one last]. But I was hungry for more - which is a good thing. The woman can put on a show.
Throughout the night, her vocal work was superb. I saw her without her acoustic more often than in the past - but you could tell all her energy was going into the singing - and the effect was profound.
"Gypsy" and "In Liverpool" were some of the best renditions I've heard to date. Liverpool was the best song of the night IMHO. FYI - the two songs are about the same guy she dated. A part one and part two years apart. They met when they were camp counselors at a sleepaway camp. :)
She told the audience to feel free to yell out questions and requests - but refused to answer most of them - mind you, they were tough questions. She is less loose, less spontaneous on stage now, compared to when I saw her before, but she is still witty, and funny, and a consummate storyteller and performer.
By the end of the show, I realized what I was seeing, bleeding through the edges. It wasn't age - it was sadness. She went through an awful divorce, her brother died in 2002, and I could see those lines written on her face, in her eyes. A bit heartbreaking.
She still has the voice of an angel - I melted more times than I can count. And her second encore was "Rosemary", one of my favorite songs by her. She tours so rarely - I wish she'd come around again in a year or two rather than six.
If she's in your area, go see the show - she's something to see.
The show opened with her stepping on stage in black and tan loose fitting clothing, a floppy hat covering her face, and her humming the open bits to "Tom's Diner". I stood about 20 feet away - and I had the strangest feeling when I finally saw her face.
Suzie isn't young anymore. I had always thought we were closer in age - but it turns out she's about ten years older than me - and there were lines etched on her face. Unhappy lines. This uneasy feeling kept with me throughout the show - get to that in a bit.
Two minor complaints:
1. Pre-recorded strings on "The Pornographer's Dream". I wish they'd done a different arrangement rather than resorting to extra production to make it sound like the album version. Beyond that, the song was *fantastic* live - slinky and cerebral all at once.
2. The show was too short. Mind you, it was an hour and a half long, two encores [one two song set, and then one last]. But I was hungry for more - which is a good thing. The woman can put on a show.
Throughout the night, her vocal work was superb. I saw her without her acoustic more often than in the past - but you could tell all her energy was going into the singing - and the effect was profound.
"Gypsy" and "In Liverpool" were some of the best renditions I've heard to date. Liverpool was the best song of the night IMHO. FYI - the two songs are about the same guy she dated. A part one and part two years apart. They met when they were camp counselors at a sleepaway camp. :)
She told the audience to feel free to yell out questions and requests - but refused to answer most of them - mind you, they were tough questions. She is less loose, less spontaneous on stage now, compared to when I saw her before, but she is still witty, and funny, and a consummate storyteller and performer.
By the end of the show, I realized what I was seeing, bleeding through the edges. It wasn't age - it was sadness. She went through an awful divorce, her brother died in 2002, and I could see those lines written on her face, in her eyes. A bit heartbreaking.
She still has the voice of an angel - I melted more times than I can count. And her second encore was "Rosemary", one of my favorite songs by her. She tours so rarely - I wish she'd come around again in a year or two rather than six.
If she's in your area, go see the show - she's something to see.