Suzanne Vega, Auckland NZ, 2018

Suzanne Vega

7th August 2018
Bruce Mason Centre, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Chris Zwaagdyk.

In front of an almost sold out audience, a woman stood on stage tonight and sang with a voice that even after thirty years of performing, has remained untouched by the knotted fingers of time.

That woman was Suzanne Vega.

After twenty-five years Vega had finally returned to New Zealand for two shows, the first being tonight’s in Auckland.

But first up was the Melbourne based Kiwi singer songwriter Lisa Crawley, who has recently dropped a brand new video for her track ‘You Got Me’. The perfect accompaniment to Vega, Crawley did a magnificent job of warming up the crowd before the main event.

Against a backdrop curtain delicately lit with moody blues and a hint of violet, surrounded by subtlety angled light stands, Vega appeared in a simple black pant suit to enthusiastic applause.

While having played recently in Australia with her band which included both guitarist Gerry Leonard and Yuval Lion, Vega’s New Zealand shows are of a far more stripped back and intimate styling; Vega choosing instead to perform with her long-term partner in crime the magnificent Mike Visceglia on bass.

Tonight had promised to be a journey through Vega’s career so what better place to start than at the beginning; Vega cheekily donning a top hat before delivering a stunning version of ‘Marlene on the Wall’ from her 1985 self-titled debut album. Listening to those first few lines, cradled lovingly by both Vega’s acoustic guitar and Visceglia’s bass it was as if stepping back in time, Vega’s voice moving through the audience on silken ribbons.

Rich undertones followed with a breathtaking version of ‘Caramel’ from her Nine Objects of Desire album, a somewhat unexpected but warmly welcomed addition to the set list; ‘Small Blue Thing’ completing this stunning opening triptych.

It was at this point that Visceglia quietly left the stage to allow Vega to perform ‘Gypsy’ but not before she graced the audience with another one of her talents; the art of storytelling. With a knowing smile and voice like honey, Vega weaved words like coloured threads into a tapestry of tales that peppered her set tonight; her narratives of young love resonating with all who were present, while her tongue in cheek anecdotes in relation to the band U2 had the audience eating from the palm of her hand.

Vega is certainly a performer who knows how to connect with her audience, drawing the room in with welcoming arms while delivering songs such as ‘Rock in this Pocket (Song of David)’ which Vega admitted herself has so much more importance lyrically to her in these days of the #metoo movement. In fact Vega often looks at things from a females point of view; songs such as ‘(I’ll Never Be) Your Maggie May’ and ‘Calypso’ illustrating this fact beautifully.

However it cannot be denied that one of her most powerful tracks sets it’s eyes firmly on the life of an abused child; ‘Luka’ still completely mesmerizing, Vega’s performance flawless.

At this point it would be hard to top that, but Vega manages to do it with an interactive version of ‘Tom’s Diner’. Once again popping on her top hat she began the song acapella, Visceglia coming in moments later with throbbing bass notes thick as treacle. Moving into the iconic chorus, Visceglia prompts the crowd to join in, Vega at this point moving about the stage in time to the beat; while already an absolutely stonking version of the song, the duo take it up yet another notch by kicking in a backing track which transforms the song into the ever popular 1990 DNA version.

A two-song encore saw the night out in style, Vega choosing to finish with ‘Rosemary’ and quite rightly deserving the standing ovation given to her.

A class act without a shadow of a doubt.

Were you there at the Bruce Mason Centre for this intimate folk rock gig? Or have you seen Suzanne Vega perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlist:

1. Marlene On The Wall
2. Caramel
3. Small Blue Thing
4. Gypsy
5. In Liverpool
6. Rock In This Pocket (Song Of David)
7. The Queen And The Soldier
8. Horizon (There Is A Road)
9. Left Of Center
10. (I’ll Never Be) Your Maggie May
11. Some Journey
12. Luka
13. Tom’s Diner
14. Calypso [encore]
15. Rosemary [encore]

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