Suzanne Vega

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- LA Concert - August 2, 1996 -

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Subj: Re: In my [book of] dreams
Date: 96-08-03 13:02:36 EDT
From: wchapman@chaph.usc.edu (Wendy Marie Chapman)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu

Hi All,

Just back--or well, I've been back for a few hours now from the SV concert w/ Paula Cole and Sarah M. It was great! I have the play list, as I'm usually bad about remembering what she sang and then people want to know and I forget so I wrote the songs down on the back of my ticket.

1. Marlene on the Wall
2. Rock in This Pocket
3. Fat Man and Dancing Girl
4. Caramel
5. Small Blue Thing
6. Stockings
7. The Queen and the Soldier
8. World Before Columbus
9. No Cheap Thrill
10. Blood Makes Noise
11. Luka
12. Neighborhood Girls
13. Tom's Diner

Sorry if one or two of those are out of order. I wrote them on the back of my ticket and was running out of room so things got kind of screwed up. I think she sang FMaDG later.

Anyway, after the show I got a chance to briefly chat with Suzanne and it was really nice. She's exactly as I had always thought she would be nice and very very interesting. If she doesn't mind, I hope to have the picture up on my website soon.

(snip)

I hope all the others who saw her had as much fun as I did. Thanks to those especially Suzanne who made it happen. And the Berkeley crowd will have to let us know how it is up there.

Wendy!

Subj: Re: The Recent Concerts
Date: 96-08-05 14:33:50 EDT
From: tomh@thomsoft.com (Tom Halliley)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: Unique212@aol.com
CC: undertow@serv4.law.emory.edu

Unique212@aol.com wrote:
>
> Hi folks,
>
> Thanks for the mini-reviews. Could someone please tell us about the rest of
> the concerts -- that is, how were Sarah M. and Paula C.? Thanks in advance
> or the info.

Well, Paula Cole was amazing as usual...saw her 1.5 years ago as an opening act for Sarah McL. Paula's new tunes were...different, but I'll probably buy the new CD (coming out Aug. 15th?).

Suzanne was great, but of course, I'd like to have heard a longer set. In this format, each of the 3 ladies had about 45 minutes each. While shorter, the performances were much more intimate and all 3 mini-bands were very tight. BTW: I thought the sound quality was quite high at this venue (the Starlight Bowl in Burbank).

Sarah McL. was the best of the three (please don't kill me for this). Sorry to hear she's in the middle of a writer's block (that's why she's doing these shows...to take some pressure off). But it's always great to see her perform and hear these stripped down versions of her tunes.

My wife and are big fans of all 3 ladies' music, so this was quite a big event for us. Sarah said she planned to do more of this type of show next summer (again, featuring female songwriters).

TomH

Subj: Re: The Recent Concerts
Date: 96-08-05 15:11:46 EDT
From: rwalters@lafayette.unocal.com (Rob Walters)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@serv4.law.emory.edu
CC: tomh@thomsoft.com

Hello everyone,

TomH wrote:

>Suzanne was great, but of course, I'd like to have heard a
>longer set. In this format, each of the 3 ladies had about 45 minutes
>each. While shorter, the performances were much more intimate
>and all 3 mini-bands were very tight. BTW: I thought the sound
>quality was quite high at this venue (the Starlight Bowl in Burbank).

I wish I could've been there! Did Suzanne have any stories to tell? Any witty, amusing intros, especially to the new songs? Who was in the band?

Also, can anyone give their reactions to the new songs and how they compared with the old stuff? This setting would seem to be ideal for such a comparison. When she does tour, I doubt we'll get much of the older material, unless she does a 2 hr. show! (I hope, I hope...)

>Sarah McL. was the best of the three (please don't kill me for this).

OK, we'll let you off the hook this time, but don't let it happen again! ;) May I ask why you felt this way? Was it the performance, song selection, etc. Or, maybe you're an infiltrator and not a 'true' Suzanne fan! ;) (I'm joking here, for the sarcasm-impaired).

Waiting and hoping to see Suzanne in the fall,

-Rob

Subj: Re: The Recent Concerts
Date: 96-08-05 15:53:04 EDT
From: tomh@thomsoft.com (Tom Halliley)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: rwalters@lafayette.unocal.com (Rob Walters)
CC: undertow@serv4.law.emory.edu

Rob Walters wrote:
> I wish I could've been there! Did Suzanne have any stories to tell? Any
> witty, amusing intros, especially to the new songs? Who was in the band?

She says she's working on some new anecdotes to tell. Her life has been filled with Ruby & Snow White & other kid stuff, which doesn't make for the best stories (she said). Maybe doing a few of these concerts will give some road stories to tell.

The band, as someone else said, was limited to three: Suzanne, Mitchell Froom on keyboards, and Michael Visceglia on bass, guitar, and percussion.

> Also, can anyone give their reactions to the new songs and how they
> compared with the old stuff? This setting would seem to be ideal for
> such a comparison. When she does tour, I doubt we'll get much of the
> older material, unless she does a 2 hr. show! (I hope, I hope...)

The new tunes were great! Can't wait for the new CD (coming soon). I think the new tunes fit in well with the old ones. As usual, the new tunes reflect a variety of styles & arrangements ... great for those of us who like such variety.

> >Sarah McL. was the best of the three (please don't kill me for this).
>
> OK, we'll let you off the hook this time, but don't let it happen again! ;)
> May I ask why you felt this way? Was it the performance, song selection,
> etc. Or, maybe you're an infiltrator and not a 'true' Suzanne fan! ;)
> (I'm joking here, for the sarcasm-impaired).

Yes, I'm a "true" Suzanne fan, but... I think Sarah was more "into" the concert. Also, I sensed a bit of needing to get back into the groove by Suzanne... she hasn't performed for 3 years (as she said). However, you couldn't tell she'd been away for a while, as her performance was quite tight.

TomH

Subj: LA Times Review
Date: 96-08-06 14:06:07 EDT
From: Unique212@aol.com
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@serv4.law.emory.edu

Hi all,

Some Websurfing turned up this review of the L.A. concert. Any comments?

Begin Forwarded Text
_______________________________

Monday, August 5, 1996

POP MUSIC REVIEWS
McLachlan, Vega, Cole Go Casual

By STEVE HOCHMAN

Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest.
"I never get to see people play," Sarah McLachlan said from the Starlight Amphitheatre stage in Burbank on Friday, explaining why she recruited Suzanne Vega and Paula Cole to join her on a quickie, two-date tour.
So with no more calculation, promotional hype or even new albums to promote (though Vega premiered songs from an album due next month), the three women each gave sets powered by an obvious love of performing.

Vancouver-based McLachlan, who has quietly built a sizable, rabid following, took particular advantage of the casual format. Abandoning the lush arrangements of her albums for just drummer Ashwin Sood, bassist Brian Minato and her own piano or guitar, McLachlan left no doubt about her triple-threat talents as a dynamic vocalist, emotive writer and formidable instrumentalist. In the stripped-down setting, she both reached back to her adventurous '70s singer-songwriter influences (underscored by a passionate version of Joni Mitchell's "Blue") and pointed in promising new directions by strapping on an electric guitar for a couple of songs, giving her fluidly poetic, sensual style a grabbing edge. The setting also brought her naturally winning personality to the fore.

Vega, too, was a winning presence, as she introduced not only her upcoming album but herself in the role of a new mom, drolly spinning anecdotes about her daughter. While the icy detachment of her old favorites (including "Luka" and the a cappella "Tom's Diner') has held up quite well, the new material--with rich electronic tapestries crafted by her husband, keyboardist Mitchell Froom--was especially intriguing for its expanded stylistic and emotional range.

Sound problems plagued the opening set by Cole, a former Peter Gabriel band member whose 1994 album "Harbinger" was a promising debut. But she sabotaged herself with over-affected vocal mannerisms that obscured her talents.

Subj: Re: LA Times Review
Date: 96-08-06 21:57:23 EDT
From: tim@synopsys.com (Tim Hunter)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@serv4.law.emory.edu (Undertow)

Good review! In Berkeley we didn't get any "droll anecdotes" about Ruby, though :(

STEVE HOCHMAN wrote in his LA Times review:

#But she [Cole] sabotaged herself with over-affected vocal mannerisms
#that obscured her talents.

I must admit that this struck a chord -- I am somewhat fond of Dolly Parton, and I was excited when Paula announced that her next song was "Jolene". (The Sisters of Mercy do a great cover of this song.) However, Paula's version didn't do much for me. Her vocal sound effects seemed a little strange, and while they were certainly noticed by the audience around me, the reaction was more amusement than amazement.

tim

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