After a hiatus of about 35 minutes -- a little too long in my opinion -- Vega's band appeared. Mitchell Froom plus the old firm from Solitude Standing! Mike Visceglia on bass, Marc Shulman on guitar and I think (but don't quote me on this) Stephen Ferrera on drums. Suzanne emerged wearing a cut-off black top and those ridiculous but distinctive oversized dungarees (with braces).
She had more of a tangible physical presence than I'd expected. Perhaps I was expecting an angelic apparition! Drum Media reviewer Michael Smith wrote, "she looked like the archetypal New York street kid of the movies of the 30's". This didn't occur to me; I was too busy navel gazing...
The show commenced with Fat Man and Dancing Girl and Rock in this Pocket. The temperature was decidedly hot. The first thing that came to mind was Leonard Cohen's comment, "behind the ... songs ... there is some kind of raging appetite". It was as if Suzanne was desperate to devour. Cat People, the vampire film featuring David Bowie, comes to mind as I write this. Get too close to the stage and you risked being consumed. This woman was hungry!
Marlene on the Wall saw an easing in the intensity. For me, this was the only song that disappointed. It's always been a personal favourite although I know Suzanne doesnžt regard it as one of her best, claiming that itžs not especially innovative. In concert it was bass-sodden. It lacked the sharpness and flow of the album version. I like this song clean. The production style of 99.9F° had been inappropriately imposed and the song didn't hang together rhythmically. It sounded like Suzanne and the band were struggling to get through it. The audience agreed with me. It was probably the worst received effort of the night.
Things got back on track with 99.9F° and When Heroes Go Down. The energy, momentum and infectiousness were back.
As the show progressed, what struck me was not Suzannežs 'raging appetite' but the overwhelming professionalism and technical skill of all performers. These guys could really play! And they were all whole-heartedly committed to delivering an enjoyable, accomplished and stimulating show. I only noticed one minor vocal glitch from Vega all night. I've always loved Suzanne's voice and I wasn't disappointed to hear her live. Perhaps there was an extra earthiness I hadnžt detected on vinyl or CD. Definitely a real live human being up there! Let's hope she goes easy on the whisky, I wouldn't want her to end up sounding like Joe Cocker!
The guitar work of all players was excellent and the tone of the instruments Vega played couldn't be faulted. The drumming generally drove and punctuated the music well. Powerful but not overpowering.
Smith described the band as 'jazz combo meets university lecturers'. Spot on. Mitchell Froom with his huge head and black-rimmed glasses looked like somebody youžd find in a physics or philosophy department.
Paul Andrews in his review for On the Street, wrote: "Her band ... [crunced] their way through each number, always pushing each other for a better performance. Vega remarked that she was from New York, and that it was important to point out because of its effect on her music. She needn't have bothered, as the band couldn't have come from anywhere else with its metallic sheen and confrontational zeal. Guitarist Marc Shulman outdid himself, producing sounds during the enormous version of In Liverpool/that would have made avant garde guitar master Glenn Branca proud."
Some stunning soundscapes were set up. Rich and complex but never self-indulgent or irrelevant. Rather, precise and purposeful; nearly always working to enhance, not detract from, Suzanne's singing. "Here were four players of excellent ability whose efforts were focused entirely on promoting the necessary images, to translate Vega's ideas for us ... never for a moment did the swell of sound that propelled her seem out of place. A little loud perhaps for so gentle a voice, but always right. She was just a revelation." Smith again. Tracks like As a child, If You Were in My Movie, Left of Center, & the aforementioned Fat Man & Dancing Girl, Rock In This Pocket & 99.9 F° revelled in the wealth of intelligent instrumentation. Songs performed solo provided refreshing acoustic counterpoints.
Fortunately the sound quality problems (with the exeption of the drummer who failed to strum a decent chord all night!) that bedeviled Archie Roachžs performance were absent when Suzanne took the stage. No booming bass or popping microphones. About twenty per cent of the time I found the sound too loud (given contemporary concert volumes I'm amazed that half the pop musicians in the world arenžt stone deaf; perhaps they are ž that could account for the quality of some of their output) and occasionally there was some bass heaviness and hence stodginess (especially on Marlene but also during In Liverpool and perhaps parts of Luka, Blood Makes Noise and As Girls Go) but the majority of the time things were fine with a commendable tonal balance and with rhythmic drive successfully conveyed. I'm relieved to report that I didn't have my ears assaulted by excessive or overly fierce treble reproduction. I still remember that Tori Amos concert...
Lighting was used sensibly and effectively and served to complement and enhance the music -- nothing inappropriately extravagant being attempted. Mainly lights were just switched on and off but the synchronicity between musicians was reinforced by the precision displayed in lighting changes. On time every time. A couple of small spotlights were used to good effect on occasion.
I could find no fault with the pace at which any song was played. Sometimes, in concert, pop performers are inclined to sprint but Suzanne and the band accorded the music due respect. When appropriate the playing was lively but never rushed. Full marks on this count.
Three minor points. I'd like to hear Luka, as rendered on the night, again. Ižm not sure that it really worked. It was commenced solo and after a minute or so the band came in. I felt it sounded like a bob-each-way. Split in two almost. It would have been nice to hear Luka presented totally acoustically. Secondly, the use of the megaphone in Blood Makes Noise wasn't entirely successful. For a while I wasn't sure whether Suzanne was singing or grunting-cum-groaning. Maybe that was the idea! Later I could hear what she was saying but at first it was just a blurred mess. This might be in keeping with the lyrics of the song but I was looking to the megaphone to project, rather than muffle, sound. Finally, In Liverpool was a tad flat-footed and heavy. Very good, just a fraction "earth- bound".
Counterbalancing, I'm pleased to report that the two cuts from the under-rated, at least in Australia, Days of Open Hand, namely Tired of Sleeping and Men in a War, were impressively performed and well received.
Reflecting after the show, it occurred to me that perhaps some of the slower songs lacked a little melancholy. Blood Sings was deeply satisfying but were Small Blue Thing and The Queen and the Soldier sad enough? I wasn't dissatisfied at the time, so maybe I'm just imagining a flaw.
Anyway, it was a wonderful evening; great songs expertly rendered in a charming and comfortable theatre. And then there was the Vega personality... She really is a joy. A rapport between Suzanne and the audience was in evidence right from the start of the show. Expecting a seated concert I was surprised to see a little rush towards the stage when Vega appeared. Fortunately I was up the front so I joined a group of perhaps 200 doing the Suzanne "sway 'n' shuffle". "I can see that some of you are trying to dance -- which is ... admirable. The rest of you are ... reading."
Paul Andrews, in his review for On The Street, wrote:
"So what kind of person is a Suzanne Vega fan? Are they quiet, intelligent young men or women who like to sit and listen carefully to the lyrics while applauding politely at the end of each song? Nothing could be further from the truth. The minute Vega walked into the spotlight at the State Theatre, her fans rushed the stage, roared with approval at the end of the each song and even danced to Vega's often extremely undanceable material. Obviously it was the right thing to do, as rose to the occasion and performed what could quite possibly have been one of her best concerts.
"The audience was extremely responsive, bursting into applause at the end of each song and then reverting to suspenseful silence as the next began. During Vegažs opening chords for Rock In This Pocket the crowd's lack of noise was remarkable, literally the only thing heard was the nervous strum of her acoustic guitar."
To quotee Michael Smith again, "Drawing songs from all five of her albums, [Vega] took [the] audience on a roller coaster of light, colours, textures and sounds without once demanding anything, merely coaxing us to see through her eyes and always with that gentle voice sometimes whispering sometimes singing, never demanding or petulant." The audience responded with delight and affection. Even awe and adoration. I kept waiting to concentrate more attention on the band -- they were so good -- but I found it impossible to shift my focus from Suzanne for more than a few seconds; as MS put it, she was "mesmerizing"!
I'm generally appposed to get performers talking -- let's face it most of them don't have much of interest to say - but I'm not going to complain about Vega's chats. Quickly, surprising and amusing seems to be the consensus about her stories. We were told a tale about how, at the age of 5, she was accused of calling another girl a whore. "Well I didn't remember but I thought perhaps I'd better have a think about it just in case I had.. What was this word 'whore'? I hadn't come across it in my reading so far. Perhaps it was one of those 'augh' words. Haugh ...". "In Washington I was doing one of those programs where people phone in. And this boy rang up and he said, 'Miss Vega, I'm going to ask you a question I bet no-one's ever asked you before.' Well I was sceptical. I mean I've been around for a while and I've heard a lot of questions. So he asked me, 'Miss Vega, what fruit or vegetable would you most like to be?' Well I explained to him that I was really quite happy being a human being and that my fantasies didnžt normally have to do with fruits and vegetables..." The Vega paradoxes -- girly yet worldly, street-smart yet sweet, naïve yet sophisticated, child-like yet mature -- simultaneously vulnerable and strong, wild and restrained, angelic and earthy were clearly to be seen.
Interestingly, there's been some discussion about encores. Alan Jackson, writing for <>The Times, referred to Suzanne's "diffidence in dealing with the clamour for another ... encore." Michael Smith wrote, "the only clichés to be seen or heard anywhere through the night were in 'stadium rock'-like exit before the second encore, with each member drifting off as the synthesizers swooshed an appropriately big sound at us, and the obvious 'obligatory' nature of the two encores ... It just seemed a little arbitrary considering how obviously hard Vega works at getting the songs to express, with minimalist exactness, her ideas, that she should seem to 'play the game' at the end of a show." I can see Smith's point. The question is, would you be perceived as rude or unappreciative at/dis- respectful towards the audience if you didn't provide encores? Vega cleverly commenced the first encore with Tom's Diner (a cappella as usual) and I'm pleased to report that the Sydney crowd made quite a good fist of the 'da da das'. As Girls Go followed with The Queen and the Soldier being the second encore song. Perhaps one encore, with the lights brought up quickly after it, is the solution.
Can Suzanne Vega's current musical output be classified? Under the heading "Fanfare and fusion: more than just folk", Jon Casimir wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald, "If Suzanne Vega is a folk singer, then I'm a sumo wrestler. Sure she has 'folk singer' in her repertoire but it doesn't do her justice ... it doesn't even hint at explaining the extraordinary musical fusion for which Suzanne Vega is responsible." Michael Smith proffered, "her show now swings effortlessly from acoustic 'folk' to 'acid jazz', pounding 'techno-dance' rhythms to 'prog rock' jamming." How about acoustic folk meets industrial pop? Grunge for the gentle or techno for the timid. Perhaps funk for peaceniks, maybe minimalism with muscles. I don't know, perhaps the Future of Folk is now the Picasso of Pop. But aren't we talking stylistic diversification and extension rather than a radical transformation? For the last eight years at least (I wasn't hanging around New York coffee houses and folk clubs in the early 80s!) Suzanne's music has clearly had edge. I've always regarded Suzanne as a folk-pop performer rather than a folk musician. I enjoy listening to Joan Baez but as Suzanne herself has pointed out, there's a significant difference between the output of the two women. For me the obvious comparison is with Joni Mitchell. I know some donžt agree but in Bullet in Flight we have a 1987 assessment: "Vega's folk-rock is distinctive, the kind of music Joni Mitchell might perform ... if she were also Lou Reed" and, in a preview of her recent Brisbane concert, Neel Mengel wrote, "Her latest CD '99.9F°' freewheels across musical territories in the way that Joni Mitchell once did." Suzanne has said that she sees herself as "more aggressive and geometric and less sentimental than Joni Mitchell". I certainly wouldn't describe Joni Mitchell's work as sentimental (although you might describe some of her songs as romantic) but I acknowledge that Suzannežs music is more 'geometric' than nearly all pop music. The parallels here are more with Philip Glass, baroque composers, notably J.S. Bach, constructivist sculpture and some cubist painting. Is Cuba cubist?
How strange! To look for parallels in the visual arts, I opened my copy of A History of Modern Art (H.H. Arnason, Thames & Hudson) at random. Before my eyes appeared a reproduction of The Melancholy and Mystery of a Street by Giorgio de Chirico. How very Vega!
"Into the brightly lit surface between the buildings emerges a shadowy little girl rolling her hoop, a wraithlike figure drawn inexorably towards a looming black shadow of a figure behind the dark building. In the shadowed foreground is again an anachronism, an empty old-fashioned freight car whose open doors add another disturbing element of the commonplace. The scene may be described matter-of-factly [...] but from [...] familiar components the artist creates a mood of frightening strangeness.
"de Chirico was exposed to the art of the late nineteenth century [...] romantic, Arnold Böcklin [...] he retained certain images throughout his metaphysical period, particularly Böcklin's black, shadowy figure of Odysseus with his back to the spectator in Odysseus and Calypso [...] de Chirico was also affected by the philosophical writings of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer [...] Nietzsche's insistence on the lyric significance behind the surface appearance of mundane objects led de Chirico to his metaphysical examination of still life."
I refer interested people to the work of the following for Vega pre-echoes: Pablo Picasso during his transition to analytical cubism -- consider the 1910 work Girl with Mandolin, Marcel Duchamp, Kurt Schwitters, Frederick Kiesler ("The Last Judgement ... has few modernist parallels in its combination of surrealist-expressionist atmosphere with constructivist forms"), and George Braque after the first world war.
"By 1918-9 a new and personal approach to synthetic cubism began to be apparent [...] although the colors are rich, and Braque's feeling for texture is more than ever apparent, the total effect recalls, more than Picasso's, the subdued tonality that both artists worked with during their early collaboration [...] the color remained predominantly the grays, greens, browns, and ochres of analytical cubism. From time to time, [...] he tried his hand at high-keyed and positive color, but [...] one sensed a certain graying of the red and yellows that softened their impact and integrated them into a tonal harmony [...] The principle characteristics of Braque's style [...] was that of a textural sensuousness in which the angular geometry of earlier cubism began to diffuse into an over-all fluid pattern of organic shapes.
"The difference [...] lay in the painterliness of Braque's paintings and drawings [...] the artist effected his personal escape from the rigidity of his earlier cubism and prepared the way for his enriched approach to cubist design.
"The colors are subdued but rich and sensuous, still lifes [...] and the shadowed interiors occupied by somber figures, are shot through with passages of luscious color, and filled with a mystery of loneliness. In his late maturity, Braque, without sacrificing any of the restraint or control that had marked his career, added an element of romantic enrichment to culminate and enlarge upon his lifetime of intensive contemplation." For a female parallel to Vega in the visual arts, I tentatively nominate Barbara Hepworth.
"Hepworth [was drawn] more to the abstract -- organic sculpture of Brancusi or Jean Arp and to the constructivism of Gabo.
"The late 1930s produced some of Hepworth's most severely simplified sculptures, a number of them consisting of a single marble column, gently rounded or delicately indented to emphasize their organic, figurative source. Perfection of finish, making the marble glow with an inner life, is a fundamental quality of Hepworth's sculptures. Her wood sculptures of the 1940s are marked by the same loving finish; the woods are beautiful and frequently exotic -- mahogany, scented guava, lagowood, or rosewood -- worked to bring out their essential nature.
"During the 1950s Hepworth's most interesting new experiment [...] is the series of Groups in white marble, small in scale and magical in their impact." Reviewing the Hammersmith concert for The Times, Alan Jackson wrote, "The image of fey, flaxen- haired folkie was far from apt in the first place." Vega has long had a well developed pop sensibility. Her first three studio albums are a lot richer, more innovative, potent and powerful than some seem to think. Suzanne hasn't suddenly discovered complexity and colour. Drama and texture have always been there. 99.9F° is certainly a more extraverted work than Days of Open Hand (I nearly fell off my chair the first time I heard When Heroes Go Down) but therežs always been fire in the belly, bravado as well as beauty.
My only plea to Suzanne is not to lose touch with her serious side or her folk roots amidst the fun and fusion. I'm definitely not criticizing the style of show that was delivered -- July 2, 1993 will live in the memory for years; indeed the only pop concert of comparable quality I've attended was provided by David Bowie in Glass Spider mode -- however, I also greatly enjoy hearing Suzanne solo (Steffen Maier put it well when he wrote, "Suzanne wouldnžt even need a band 'cause she's so good on her own. But such a brilliant band she also shouldn't withold from us") and I gently remind Suzanne Vega that her simple honesty, quiet contemplativeness, quirkily elegant intelligence, literateness, subtlety, sensitivity, discipline and refinement are fundamental to her appeal (along with her earthiness, nerve, humour and appetite for confrontation and new and rich pleasure.
My earlier musings about the presentation of Small Blue Thing and The Queen and the Soldier probably reveal my hope that Suzanne will continue to write poetic, sombre songs (as well as more upbeat ones). Choosing favourite Vega songs is an impossible task but my favourite album is still Solitude Standing and I deeply admire the stoicism of songs like Night Vision, Wooden Horse, and Bad Wisdom.
Anyway, no heroes went down in Sydney.
Suzanne and the band were superb. To award less than 97 out of 100 would be churlish. A remarkable effort by a remarkable woman. The richness of Suzanne's personality is reflected in the richness of her music. Complexity, paradox and variegation overlaying a strong, sure and beautiful core. We see a woman simultaneously tender and tough. Welcoming but disturbing.
A sculpture of warm, flowing wax on razor sharp steel. A block of ice on fire.
Brent Howard