Live Review: Suzanne Vega @ The Village

I'll admit to being a fairweather fan of Suzanne Vega. I went through a period of being obsessed with her song 'Luka' when I was in secondary school but, being penniless and having no access to illegal downloads at the time, never got around to investing in her albums.

So, after founding myself surrounded by hardcore devotees in Dublin's The Village, I begin to suspect that my cover will be blown and my 'casual fan' status exposed. To make matters worse, when the incredibly youthful-looking 50-year-old singer takes to the stage, she opens with 'Marlene On The Wall' - one of the three songs in her repertoire that I'm familiar enough with to sing along to.

Thankfully, Ms. Vega proceeds to serve up a set of songs that it's not necessary to be acquainted with to appreciate. For the first half of the night, she plays a selection of songs from her current compilation 'Close Up Vol. 1: Love Songs', which, as the name suggests, is made up of love songs from her back-catalogue.

After the interval (yes, Suzanne Vega comes with an interval), the songstress returns and plays a more varied selection of numbers, including 'New York Is A Woman' (not a lady, she assures us) and 'Pornographer's Dream' (which, apparently is a librarian).

Vega's voice is truly a force to be reckoned with, sounding just as crisp and tuneful in a live setting as it does on record. She seems appreciative of her success, engaging in witty banter throughout the evening and giving some back-information on each song (perhaps for my benefit?)

For the encore, she plays her two signature tunes, 'Luka' and 'Tom's Diner' and allows the audience to choose the closing numbers ('Calypso' is received particularly emphatically). Having arrived a 'fairweather fan', I leave The Village in a haze of good humour, feeling decidedly fanatical.

[image: Abe Tarrush via State Magazine]