I have a rule that I sometimes break. That rule is that I don't go and see bands or singers who I should have seen back in their 'heyday'. This concert was an exception I wasn't expecting to make but am so glad I did.
Suzanne Vega is one of those artists who was there in the early eighties and I heard her, I got the literate word play and the arrangements but for some reason I didn't plunge headlong into her music. Probably too busy getting into garage-a-billy at the time.
It turns out though that whether I acknowledged it at the time or not Suzanne's music was there as a backdrop through those years and I realised that at this unexpected gig as she moved through the tracks on these two albums and the recognition level of the tunes and the lyrics was high.
Solitude Standing gives up the gems that are 'Tom's Diner' and 'Luka'. I have a personal memory of that album an album I've never owned. A friend of mine, sadly now passed away, had this album on his car cassette player permanently and I thought of him constantly as the concert proceeded through this familiar sequence of songs.
Vega is an engaging performer and didn't evidence any of the coolness that you might imagine she could exude. Opening the first set as the album does with an acapella version of 'Tom's Diner' is a brave choice and she pulls it off with a bravura and intimacy that set the tone for the rest of the night.
There was a short break between the sets and it was onto a the more electric and muscled sounds of 99.9F - the Suzanne Vega album I do have though its not been listened to in years. It was a revelation as I was surprised how well I remembered the album. 'Blood Makes Noise', 'Fat Man and the Dancing Girl' 'When Heroes go Down' and the sublime 'As Girls Go' were like old friends, familiar but also bright and fresh. 'In Liverpool' was my standout of the night in part because of the back story of the song about a first love and nearly meetings over the years. It was touching and affectionate in the way an old love can be after the passage of time but where there is still a connection to the hearts of both parties.
She finishes of the night with an encore which includes 'Left of Center' another song that seems to have formed part of the soundtrack of my life.
While this was an evening of memories sparked by these wonderful songs it was also an evening that looked to the now and the future as Suzanne Vega still tours and performs songs from her now long career including her more recent album inspired by Carson McCullers 'Lover, Beloved'.
It took me a long time to get to Suzanne Vega live and to reconnect with these wonderful songs but the long road was worth it. Who knows I may break my rule again but then again will my experience be as good as this?
No comments:
Post a Comment