Suzanne Vega performed at a free show Wednesday afternoon at Madison Square Park in Manhattan. The free show was the first of the 2013 Mad. Sq. Music: Oval Lawn Series located at 23rd Street and Madison Avenue.
The evening started out warm, peaceful, and packed. Blankets enveloped the lawn, people brought their own food, and music played for almost 90 minutes. As the set started, Vega seemed impressed by how polite and quiet the audience was. Speaking a bit too soon though, during ‘Frank & Ava’ some guy in the crowd took out a harmonica and took it upon himself to start jamming along. After a lady notified security, the harmonica player was escorted out of the park, but not before heckling Vega or maybe it was the crowd.
No other major incident occurred and the evening continued without a hitch. My favorite moment was during The Queen & The Soldier which played out amazingly like a story. I felt like a child being told a bedtime story, wide eyed and completely entranced by every word.
Vega also performed Left of Center, which she reminded the crowd as playing in the background in the film ‘Pretty in Pink’.
And yes, she did perform Tom’s Diner. How could she not?
Assisting in the evening’s showcase was Irish guitarist Gerry Leonard on an electric guitar with Vega on an acoustic.
Here are the photos from the evening:
Photo: 2013 © Tear-n Tan. All Rights Reserved.
The TEAR-N TAN Files 