Suzanne Vega has kicked off her fourth Australia tour with a well-played choice of Wollongong’s Anitas Theatre at Thirroul for opening night.
Wollongong was a perfect start for the Suzanne Vega Australian tour. At the time for her first release (Suzanne Vega, 1985) and subsequent releases throughout the 80s the region had a innovatively programmed radio station at the time in 2WL. The radio station gave high rotation to Suzanne’s new music. Subsequently, she has a strong fan base in the area and the support for ticket sales showed.
The tour itself celebrates the 30th and 25th anniversaries of Suzanne Vega’s second and fourth studio albums ‘Solitude Standing’ (1987) and 99.9F° (1992).
Suzanne Vega curated a setlist that spoke directly to her fan base. The first part of the main set was ‘Solitude Standing’ from start to finish. The album featured the first heading of ‘Tom’s Diner’, the real New York restaurant that was also immortalised as the café in the Seinfeld television series.
The track ‘Gypsy’ from the album is the oldest piece on the record. Suzanne wrote the song 10 years earlier when she was 18 years old.
The ‘Solitude Standing’ album reached number 7 on the Australian album chart of 1987.
The other album 99.9F° released in 1992 was not greeted with the same commercial success as ‘Solitude Standing’ but it provided an alternative, more challenging style to the music of Suzanne Vega as the world was changing rapidly with the advent of Grunge.
Australian guitarist Richard Pleasance (formerly of Boom Crash Opera) featured on three tracks ‘Rock In This Pocket’, ‘In Liverpool’ and ‘When Heroes Go Down’. It would make for a unique moment if he could join Suzanne at least at the Melbourne show.
The show rounded out with the hits ‘Marlene On The Wall’, ‘Left of Center’ and the DNA remix of ‘Tom’s Diner’.
Suzanne Vega setlist, 27 July 2018, Wollongong
Tom’s Diner (from Solitude Standing, 1987)
Luka (from Solitude Standing, 1987)
Ironbound / Fancy Poultry (from Solitude Standing, 1987)
In the Eye (from Solitude Standing, 1987)
Night Vision (from Solitude Standing, 1987)
Solitude Standing (from Solitude Standing, 1987)
Calypso (from Solitude Standing, 1987)
Language (from Solitude Standing, 1987)
Gypsy (from Solitude Standing, 1987)
Wooden Horse (Caspar Hauser’s Song) (from Solitude Standing, 1987)
Rock in This Pocket (Song of David) (from 99.9F°, 1992)
Blood Makes Noise (from 99.9F°, 1992)
In Liverpool (from 99.9F°, 1992)
99.9 F° (from 99.9F°, 1992)
Blood Sings (from 99.9F°, 1992)
Fat Man & Dancing Girl (from 99.9F°, 1992)
(If You Were) In My Movie (from 99.9F°, 1992)
As a Child (from 99.9F°, 1992)
Bad Wisdom (from 99.9F°, 1992)
When Heroes Go Down (from 99.9F°, 1992)
As Girls Go (from 99.9F°, 1992)
Song of Sand (from 99.9F°, 1992)
Private Goes Public (from 99.9F°, 1992)
Marlene on the Wall (from Suzanne Vega, 1985)
Left of Center (from Pretty In Pink soundtrack, 1986)
Tom’s Diner (DNA version) (single, 1990)
Suzanne Vega is touring Australia for Lennard Promotions.
http://www.lennardpromotions.com.au/current-tours-music-news/item/140-suzanne-vega
Suzanne Vega dates
27 July, Wollongong, Anita’s Theatre
28 July, Sydney, Enmore Theatre
31 July, Brisbane, The Tivoli
1 August, Canberra, Canberra Theatre
3 August, Melbourne, Palais Theatre
4 August, Adelaide, Thebarton Theatre
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