Well the pre-concert entertainment was on a whole other level tonight. First off was Hannah's Bar, erstwhile favourite of Scottish chanteuse Sandi Thom. I don't think there were too many LIPA students in there though. There was perhaps the finest collection of barmaids in history though.
After a quick Subway we then found ourselves in an "Emo" pub. It was called Bloodshed or Deathpit or some such stupid name and I should point out that we only ended up in there because there was hardly anyone in. Everyone else who was in there mind you perfectly fitted any number of stereotypes you can come up with.
All this fun meant we missed David Ford, not that I was particularly bothered.
I was happy to see, after an acapella Tom's Diner kicked things off, that our old friend Greg Rusedski/Ben Stiller's older brother was back on the bass like he was in Warwick/Coventry all that time ago. This was a full band show, although at certain points in the evening, things got stripped down to either Vega on her own or Vega and Greg Stiller.
Given the recent release of her new album this was a night that was heavily centered around new material, but thankfully the album is a great one and the songs were just as good live (even if she missed out Bound, my favourite newbie).
There was a decent smattering of the classic (Caramel, Luka, Left Of Centre), the paeans to Liverpool (which brought up the thorny question of whether the people of Liverpool considered their city to be a man or a woman) and she finished off with a proper version of Tom's Diner which the old lady in front of me found most distasteful.
The only dampener on my evening was being sat next to a couple who obviously thought they were either a) in a cheap motel room or b) starring in some bizarre form of gonzo porn. Holding hands I can take, full on face guzzling just isn't right.
Showing posts with label suzanne vega. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suzanne vega. Show all posts
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Beauty & Crime - Suzanne Vega
It seems almost strange that Beauty & Crime is Vega's first album since 2001's Songs Of Red & Gray (she has kept busy in the mean-time with touring, and playing virtual gigs in the online world of Second Life) but almost immediately you realise that that makes it her first album since 9/11 had it's permanent effect on the place that Vega calls home, New York.
The spectre undoubtedly hangs over the album. Anniversary is the most obvious and explicit statement about the tragedy, but there are strong echoes in the likes of Zephyr And I (which includes dreamy backing vocals from KT Tunstall) and Angel's Doorway (which sees Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo providing some guitar riffs).
I will admit that it's nothing particularly new, but then Suzanne Vega has no need to change. Always a class act, this album is no different.
The literate lyrics are as punchy and relevant as ever and most of all the feeling as a listener is one of realising just how pleased you are she is back and the realisation that we've been missing something for the past six years. Here's hoping we don't have to wait that long for the next one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)


