Vega

Last night I went to see Suzanne Vega perform at the Variety Playhouse. This was my first time seeing her perform in person. I was somehow surprised that she sounds virtually exactly the same live as she does on her CDs. I suppose that is an indication that her CDs are not over-produced and that she is just a really superior singer / songwriter. She started the show by singing "Tom's Diner" a capella. I think she did that to get it out of the way since so many people know her by that one song (including me for a long time). She then proceeded to sing a variety of the songs from her latest CD as well as many of her better known older songs; many songs she sang with very little instrumental accompaniment. She provided nice backstories to describe the history of the songs she performed and even tossed in a bit of humor at the expense of Rod Stewart. It was a thoroughly enjoyable show. I overheard someone say that he felt like "he had been put under a spell" for the duration of her performance. I think that is a good way to describe the experience. I hope she comes back again soon as I would gladly attend another of her shows.