Suzanne Vega at Cadogan Hall

On Wednesday evening we went to see Suzanne Vega at Cadogan Hall, the same place I saw her on her last tour in 2007. It's a nicely grand venue and not at all rock'n'roll, and neither was the audience - an awful lot of suits around. Mind you, Suzanne was in a suit as well and wore a big necklace, but she's allowed.

I've seen Suzanne with a full band and with a stripped back set, and tonight it was just her, her regular bassist (Michael Visceglia) and a guitarist (Gerry Leonard), and that combo really worked. Being backed by two virtuoso players is inspired, with each of them in turn showing off, playing together and then going into all-out war as they vie with each other for the biggest sound and fastest notes. I've seen Michael Visceglia play with Suzanne several times before and he's always excellent but I was really impressed by Gerry Leonard who created massive sound-scapes that floated over and under the bass and Suzanne's voice - every now and then I looked over at him wondering how on earth he was creating that sound with just a guitar. That's something I really like about Suzanne - she's doesn't treat her songs as sacred but rather recreates them every now and then, almost creating new songs. My favourite in this vein was 'Blood Makes Noise' which I'm used to hearing with the rippling bass as the only sound, let alone the jittering and scittering lead guitar swooping around the song - it was marvellous.

As well as the two guitars, Suzanne also had The Millennia Quartet to add some string texture to some of the songs. They came on initially for 'New York Is A Woman' and 'Pornographer's Dream' and then popped on and off periodically throughout the set. Suzanne said they were special guests for the London show only so I don't know if other string ensembles join her for other dates.

I like listening to Suzanne sing and just talk, telling us about her songs and chatting to the audience. She got us to vote on the gender of London as a city and decided it was a woman, then commenting that London and New York could swap make-up tips. She also told us about her mother giving the family cat a Viking funeral when it died and how that wasn't the way she wanted to be sent off. Which was a nice way to introduce 'Tombstone'.

Suzanne played a goodly selection of songs and part of the set was for songs from her first album, 'Suzanne Vega', which is 25 years old this year. She played a new song, 'The Man Who Played God', her contribution to the new Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse collaboration record, 'Dark Night Of The Soul' that is released next month. She also played two songs I don't think I've seen her perform before, 'Tombstone' (which she said was her happiest song!) and 'Harbor Song'.

Favourite songs were 'Marlene On The Wall' (the opening song), 'Luka' (of course), 'Frank & Ava', 'Small Blue Thing', the magnificent version of 'Blood Makes Noise', 'In Liverpool', 'Solitaire', 'The Queen And The Soldier', 'Gypsy' and 'Rosemary'. About half-way through the gig I realised I was just sitting there with a big smile on my face, enjoying Suzanne singing and her lads playing, totally relaxed. I didn't even take any photos until the last few songs. Tickets to a Suzanne Vega gig should be available on the NHS, the simple pleasure and relaxation is positive health thing, sinking into her beautiful voice and words, dreaming of 'Caramel'. Another excellent performance from Miss Vega!

On the way out we noticed there was a table with an area roped off for a queue - was Suzanne going to do a signing? I've not noticed her signing after previous shows but, on the other hand, I've never looked out for a signing table or merch, so this might be a regular end to her shows that I've missed. I always get shy at this point - join the queue and then worry about what to say to a hero or go home and miss the opportunity ... we joined the queue! I bought Suzanne's new record, 'Close Up' a few months ago from her website and it arrived signed, but I bought another copy from the merch stall for her to sign tonight and I'm pleased I did. We didn't have to wait long and suddenly there she was and the queue started moving. I didn't say much, just thanked her for a great show as she signed the inside of the CD cover. Some people were having their photos taken with her which was nice, but I'm happy to have simply met her at last.

I always leave a Suzanne gig with a smile on my face. This time I went out into Sloane Square to get the bus home with an even bigger smile than usual, clutching my CD she signed just for me and with her songs echoing round my head. Thank you very much - please come back soon!