Live Shots: Suzanne Vega cast her special spell over Montalvo Center for the Arts

Sometimes the algorithm isn’t all bad. A few months ago, Youtube reminded me of Suzanne Vega’s brilliant NPR Time Desk performance from 2014 (performed with longtime collaborator-guitarist Gerry Leonard), and since then I’ve spent a lot of time since with her eponymous first album, which is something I listened to as a tweenager a lot, mostly in the dark. Songs like “Solitude Standing,” “Left of Center,” “Freeze Tag,” and “Marlena on the Wall” deserve a hushed reverence, as Vega taps into a special, direct mode of expression all her own.

At Mantalvo Center for the Arts in Saratoga on September 27, she—with Leonard, natch—conjured up that magic, delving into beloved hits like “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner” (rendered with lovely looping guitars and Vega’s melodic lyrical riffs), as well as old favorites, several of which she’s rerecorded for her latest album, An Evening of New York Songs and Stories. At one point she introduced a new song dedicated to the people of Ukraine, Last Bus From Mariupol.” After performing it, a tearful, Slavic-sounding voice in the crowd thanked her profusely. —words: Marke B, all photos by Jon Bauer.