Suzanne Vega at Cadogan Hall

Tonight was a treat and a half with the tiny trek over to Sloane Square to see the ever marvellous Suzanne Vega at Cadogan Hall, a new venue for me. Minor irritations aside (like the non-arrival of tickets and a last minute reallocation that meant we were sitting almost at the back of the hall) Suzanne brightened the evening and left me wanting to see her again.

That is, once we'd got through a short set from Gary Daly, a name that meant nothing to me until he said he used to be in China Crisis (which still doesn't mean anything to me but I at least know the name). If this is the launch of his new solo career then he needs to do some more work. I'm ashamed to admit that I checked texts early in his set, something I've never done before but there was so little there to keep my attention. I preferred his last three songs to the first lot. Ho hum. Anyway, on to Suzanne...

I last saw Miss Vega in July when she was promoting her new album, 'Beauty & Crime'. She's still promoting the album which is good for me since it means more gigs. She was playing with her band (as opposed to her occasional accoustic tours) and they sounded on top form.

Dressed in a black 'raincoat-dress' (part raincoat and part off-the-shoulder dress) with a black fedora she looked the part, reflecting the album cover. On stage alone, singing a capella 'Tom's Diner' as one by one her four-piece band walked on stage with a mug or a newspaper, so they all were on stage by the time she finished the song. It's a nice, quietly dramatic way to open the show. The DNA dance version of the song closed the show which is a nice motif, all life happening in a diner.

The songs were a mix of favourites and tracks from the new album and, this time, I got to see and hear 'Unbound' from the new album, one of my favourites, so I was a happy bunny jigging along in my seat (and that partly makes up for not playing 'Small Blue Thing'). She also played an excellent version of 'Bound', also from the new album, as the final encore. It's easy to think of Suzanne in the 'singer-songwriter' accoustic category but she writes some powerful music that comes to life with a tight band behind her, and 'Bound' is a good example of that. Both songs were new to me live and I hope to see her perform them again.

Favourites of the evening were 'Blood Makes Noise' (just voice and bass), 'Luka' (still powerful after all these years), 'Gypsy', 'Frank & Ava', 'Angel's Doorway' and 'Zephyr & I' which opened the encore. 'The Queen And The Soldier' was also part of the encore (jokely introduced as a song 'with a long narrative and a tragic end') which always moistens the eyes. The second encore was 'Bound'.

I love Suzanne's voice and could listen to her talk and sing all day. A couple of times during the concert I closed my eyes so I was just listening to that marvellously clear voice. She has a lovely dry wit that every now and then extends in mischievousness in some of her comments to the audience (like speculating about Rod Stewart while introducing '(I'll Never Be Your) Maggie May'). Her songs are excellent, a perfect marriage of words and music, painting pictures and telling tales. I don't think there's a single song of hers that I don't like.

It's always a pleasure to see Suzanne and I look forward to our next meeting.