[thechat] Suzanne Vega

[Judah McAuley]

I went and saw a Suzanne Vega show last night.  If you get a chance to see
her, you should.  I had not seen her before and I was a little worried that
she might be a bit aloof and withdrawn.  The first song or two did seem a
bit distant, but then she really warmed up to the crowd.  It ended up being
a very engaging set with two encores.  She took the time to explain many of
the songs and where she was at mentally when she wrote them.  It was really
nice.

One of the best parts was toward the end of her set.  Earlier she had
introduced one of the first songs she had ever written (at age 17).  It was
while she was working as a camp counselor and she fell for another
counselor at the nearby boys camp.  He was a Dadaist painter from
Liverpool, just working in the US for the summer.  It was a very nice song,
especially for being written at 17.  Then later near the end of her set,
she talked about the first time she went to Liverpool, many years later and
remembered the boy and his homesick descriptions of  Liverpool.  Which
turned out to be nothing like what she saw in Liverpool.  She then got out
her journal and read a passage that she wrote that first day in Liverpool
and then sang the song she wrote based off that journal entry.  It was a
great insight into song writing and I was also touched that she would share
that much with an audience.  Very cool.

Anyway, if you get a chance to see her, do it.  It was definitely worth the
money.  And she has a great band and she's really gorgeous.  Oh yeah, and
buy her new album Songs in Red and Black.  Its a kind of tough album
dealing alot with her divorce, but the songs are good if at times difficult
to listen to.

Enjoy,
Judah