Hi all,

This is enormously overdue, I've been travelling for work and had something of a family crisis since this show, but have some space this afternoon and so will put a bit of a review up of the Sydney show, since it seems no-one else has.....

Suzanne finally got to Australia - hooray! She hasn't been here since about 1993, so the Australians on this tend to get a bit narky when Towies complain about not having a show closer than 50kms or "only" getting six shows a year. I've been on this list forever - about 10 years I think - and in 2002 decided that she was never going to get here so I flew to the US to see her plan in Indiannapolis (Hi Chris!). In 2005, she played in Paris while I was on holidays in France, and I got to see her again (Hi Denis!). So this was my third show and the only one at home.....I wasn't able to finance a ticket to her last tour, I was an undergrad at the time.....

So this was a jolly long time coming.....probably our fault though, we've spent a lot of the interim period having a fairly ordinary currency that probably made it hard to pay overseas artists....

The show was at the Lyric Theratre in the Casino, which was a moderately unusual choice but a room nonetheless. Sara Storer played support, and was fine even though I'm not much of a country person. (Did get a chance to chat with her after the show, she's a lovely person.) Finally....finally.....Suzanne came out in a black trenchcoat (from the B&C cover) and opened with an acapella version of Tom's Diner, with the band walking onstage one by one playing the different "parts". It was a great way to start, although an unexpecetd card to play because the other shows I've seen she's always played TD last....

She then moved through segments of B&C (eg. New York, Pornographer's Dream etc) and this was interspersed with older tracks (eg. Gypsy, TQ&TS etc.) She still tells a fabbo story form the stage and definately had the audiences's support, which was intersting as Sydney audiences can be a bit ambivalent at times. The final song, though, was Tom's Diner as done with the whole band......WOW.

I've been a fan for more than 20 years, but was jaw-droppingly amazed by this, it was pure genius. Funky but subtle. I calculated after the show that TD was released 27 years ago....but it sounded so totally fresh it was incredible. Any chance of releasing this version? My gig-going Towie friend Aniko sitting next to me suggested that the encore could quite have easily been that version played three times back to back....

At the end of the show I went to see the sound guy with "the code", and met up with other Towies Rosemary and Peter from Tasmania, who were lovely. The sound guy - whose name I didn't catch but I think I've met before - escorted us backstage and I had the chance to chat with the Australian tour manager for a while, who was lovely and said the tour was all going very well.

After about 15 minutes, Suzanne came in and the Towies were summoned. Rosemary has a picture of all four of us, I'm sure she'll put it up. We didn't get much of a chance to speak with her, there were a lot of people in the room, and she seemed a bit tired or jetlagged. It's amazingly generous of her to let Towies backstage to meet her, I'm not sure that any other major artist in the world allows this?

It must get boring for her, and, being a bit overcome by it all after the very long wait (and a couple of glasses of hospitality wine!), didn't have much of interest to add. She did say she was quite enjoying the summer heat though (a lot of tourists find it a bit much). She also said she had been on the road for a while but was keen to get home for her wedding anniversary on 11 Feb.

That's about all really. Rosemary, Peter and I eventually found our way of the casino and went home! The only thing I'd add it that the fact that Suzanne and the band had travelled such a long way here to see us was really, greatly appreciated.

Cheers, 

LJ 

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for the nice post on the Sydney concert!! I'm glad you all enjoyed it! 

Hoping things will turn for the better with you, and the mentioned family crisis can disappear somehow...

Give my regards to Aniko who was sitting next to you at the concert - she has a Hungarian name.

Best wishes, Zoli

Thanks Lisa for your terrific review of the Sydney show which says all that I could and more. However, I do feel guilty about not having written something about how wonderful an experience it was, so here goes.

I was lucky enough to get to the Sydney concert and then both Melbourne concerts, having flown over from Tasmania. I only became a fan back in 1994, after hearing “Luka” on a bus trip in Indonesia, so didn’t see her in 1993. So this time, I just had to make the most of every opportunity! When I found out that a second Melbourne concert was announced, I was delighted to get a last minute seat to that as well. My cousin, who had never heard of Suzanne Vega, was intrigued by such excessive behaviour on my part, and came along to the first Melbourne concert with my partner, Peter, and I, and he is now a “new convert” with “Beauty & Crime” constantly playing in his unit. He especially loves “Frank & Ava” which I agree has a most compelling melody, rhythm and lyric.

Anyway back to the concerts. I could barely contain my excitement after all these years of reading about concerts all over the world. At last Suzanne stepped onto the stage of the Lyric Theatre. From the zany start described by Lisa, with Tom’s Diner, the audience was wrapt and it just got better and better with a wonderful set list comprising old favourites and captivating new songs from “Beauty & Crime”. These were interspersed with delightful anecdotes from Suzanne, and she used her outfit and hat to good effect with overtones of mystery and magic.

The sequence of the songs was carefully chosen for contrasting mood, and, I guess the standouts for me were “Blood makes noise” with that incredibly chilling, onomatopoeic hiss, my all time favourite “Left of Centre”, the achingly beautiful “Ludlow Street”, the quirky “Pornographer’s Dream” and “Zephyr and I” which had the most infectious clapping (Peter commented afterwards that he thought it was just brilliant). I thought the craftsmanship of the show was shown by ending with the upbeat version of “Tom’s Diner” thus completing the circle on what was a high note indeed. When the audience demanded more, Suzanne graciously sang several encores, “The Queen and the Soldier” being more or less compulsory! Even then the Sydney crowd wouldn’t let her go, and after all that, she was still prepared to meet her fans and sign CDs and other assorted memorabilia.

By the time we got to Melbourne, I had managed to calm down a bit, so that at the Melbourne concerts, instead of sitting on the edge of my seat all night, I was able to simply absorb Suzanne’s wonderful, unique voice and stage presence. Each of the concerts was different in subtle ways, although the audience demographic each time was noticeable in embracing a wide range of ages (something that I think Suzanne herself commented on). I think it is a tribute to her talent that she does appeal to such a wide-ranging audience. The venues were also quite different with the Palms at Crown in Melbourne having a smaller capacity with a choice of table, booth or balcony seating. We were at a table with 6 other people in unassigned seats near the front. I thought the lighting and acoustics were particularly good in Melbourne, although I preferred the set up of the Lyric in Sydney.

We both thought Sara Storer, the “famous support act” was very good. She was charming with her self-depreciating humour, and is of course, a big name in her own right in Australia as a country singer. I don’t know much about country music, but I did enjoy the songs she performed from her latest CD which seemed to me to have a strong pop flavour – perhaps she will indeed become a “cross-over pop chick”.

Fatima, if you happen to read this, I wrote to you in despair some years ago about Suzanne never coming here, and you told me I just had to be patient. Well it was so worth the wait! And, Suzanne, if you happen to read this, thank you so much for travelling half way across the world and gracing our shores with your lovely presence. We hope to see you again in the non-too distant future.

Cheers,Rosemary

hi rosemary,

i'm reading and i remember you.  i'm just so happy for you that suzanne finally had the chance to go to australia again and for you to enjoy those three amazing experiences, because that's what her concerts are, as you rightly say. thanks so much for your review(s) (same goes for everybody who posted theirs).

and don't lose patience, because i have a feeling she will be coming back.

much love, fátima

ps: didn't get your review(s) through email, as i usually do, but something made me want to visit the MB today. or was it just chance?  

Hi Fatima,

So surprised you remember me, as I have been so silent for so long! Suzanne's Australian visit has caused me to finally find a voice. 

I found it hard to keep up with Towie messages after the site was reorganised and I no longer received everything. It used to be a lot of reading, but I really enjoyed keeping up. I am curious about your ps.- not sure how you get separate emails? I have been periodically checking the MB. as I thought that was the only way now. Sorry if I have missed something vital or obvious somewhere along the way. 

lots of love,

Rosemary