Live Review - Suzy Bogguss

Suzy Bogguss


The Sage, Gateshead, Hall 2

1st June 2010





Having seen Suzy Bogguss at The Arc, Stockton, 3 days previously, I was really excited to see her again for her solo debut at The Sage, which was a sell-out.

Having played Hall 2 of The Sage twice previously as part of Wine, Women and Song, with Gretchen Peters and Matraca Berg, she has obviously also come to love the venue. She was desperate to ‘show it off’ to her husband, son and band and when we applauded her arrival on stage, she looked at her band, grinned ear to ear and announced, “See! I told you so!” before telling us that, as some of us would know, she has played here with her girlfriends and always had a great time.

Flanked by Charlie Chadwick on bass and Pat Bergeson on guitar, she launched into Outbound Plane, to huge applause, before slowing the pace for the beautiful Aces, where listening to that unchanged voice was like going back in time.

Introducing her band mates, it was evident that she holds them in high esteem and she enjoyed telling us the story of how Charlie had designed his own folding bass. Very cool!

Just Like the Weather, she told us, was written by her and Doug, en route to a friend’s wedding. Irony at its finest, perhaps, but a great song. As the song began, she had everyone laughing with her as she suddenly stopped, laughed and said of Pat, “Sorry, I just walked right in on his intro.’ The laughter that followed on stage evidenced how relaxed the three are in playing with together. Telling us she write the next song with her husband she joked “Oh wait, I just did that. Oh yes, this is another one.” Thus followed a less obvious but gorgeous addition to the set, Far and Away, written about leaving the love of your life, irony again, since it was written with her partner. As the song came to an end, she suddenly threw off her shoes, telling us she’s debated whether to wear the heels and declaring, “Well, I did for a while, but that’s enough of that. We’re all friends here and my feet were washed, just in case the front row was getting nervous!” Well, if going barefoot is good enough for Deana Carter at the CMA’s...! These little stories and exchanges simply demonstrate how at ease Suzy is with her audience, coupled with her amazing ability to look right at people around the room as she sings and chats. As she does so, it cannot help to escape anyone’s notice that despite being fifty three, Suzy barely looks older than 40, and still has such a sparkle about her.

Telling us that it has been such a great thing to do what she loves for so long, Suzy joked that she’s not sure she’s gotten much better, but has had the chance to work with some amazing people, one of the most amazing among them being the late, great, Chet Atkins. Going on to tell us some stories of the man who became a good friend , she played the Beatles cover, All My Lovin’ that she and Chet recorded for a Beatles tribute CD. It was arranged in such a way that it really suited her voice.

Speaking of her most recent release, Sweet Danger, she told us she’s been touring it for almost two and a half years (doesn’t time fly!) she teased us about a preview of her upcoming CD before playing the Matt Rawlings penned The Bus Ride, her favourite, and mine as it happens, from Sweet Danger. It is one of those songs that really speaks to the imagination and it struck me during this song, what an amazing guitarist Suzy is, herself.

Chain Lover followed, inspired during a sleepless night in a hotel, where she called her friend and this song appeared. The lyrics are very clever, using smoking as a metaphor for...well, you’ll have to listen and find out! Putting down her guitar, Suzy just sang and clicked for this one and proved that she can sing the blues as well as every other genre she has ever covered. As she finished, Suzy joked that she felt like Edie Adams on the cigar adverts, and proceeded to improvise the ad’s theme, to the tune of Big Spender. That in itself was funny, but then Charlie joined in with the bass!

Realising her guitar needed to be tuned, Suzy said she’d try the new technique Pat had taught her that morning, before telling us that Pat had also worked with Chet Atkins. As she tuned, Charlie filled the silence by teasing her, asking if Pat had ever told her that Chet had never stopped to tune a guitar mid set. Suzy looked at the audience with a hang dog expression, before teasing him back that she only ever wants the best for her audience and if that means tuning a guitar, then so be it.

Slipping back to Sweet Danger, it was explained to us that the one cover on the CD, Pete Cetera and Chicago’s, If You Leave Me Now, she’d cut as her son had been singing it in the car, reminding her what a great song it is. I actually prefer her version. Then, Suzy told us a little about her upcoming release Wildwood Flower, a collection of US folk songs, although she was sure we would dispute some! Asking us not to tease her US fans with the fact that we had had the chance to purchase pre release copies, she decided to close out the first half with one she thought we might all know, a great version of Shady Grove.

Following the break, Suzy returned to the stage to more huge applause, simply saying. “Thankyou, thankyou,” before moving straight into Night Rider’s Lament, and that yodel. I think this song was the best her voice sounded all night. Interestingly, the man who wrote the song was originally from England. She then went on to tell us about touring with the writer Garrison Keillor, which sounded like an amazing experience, and she told us, reinforced her belief that a show should be an exchange between artist and audience. She has certainly nailed that one, then.

A stunning version of Shenandoah, from the upcoming CD was then followed by a real treat, other than the second yodel of the night! Introducing ‘a cowboy song,’ and how she first sang it over here at Wembley in 1989, she began Someday Soon, inviting none other than her husband, singer songwriter Doug Crider, to come up on stage and join them. His voice blended perfectly with Suzy’s and I am sure I am not alone in wondering if they would ever consider a ‘duo’ album...Suzy? Doug?

Joking that the song always acts as something of a palette cleanser, she invited us to take part in a sing along of her good friend Matraca Berg’s song, Eat at Joe’s, which Suzy sang brilliantly, even adding Doug’s name in for a laugh. Teaching us our part, she was obviously impressed that many of us already knew it. Giggling mischeviously, she joked, ‘When you aren’t singing, you need to be listening, as I’m telling you a story...really.” . Thus followed over 4 minutes of everyone singing, tapping their toes and just having a good time; doubtless also being reminded of the reasons why we all love nights such as this, in the process. Suzy even finished the song by coming right down to the front of the stage and having us sing the fade outs with her.

Telling us she was about to sing another Doug Crider song, she added that we may have seen her now fifteen year old son out at the front on the merch table. She then explained that she had always seen this song from the daughter’s perspective, but suddenly, as her son is growing up, she sees it as the mom. This preceeded the most moving version of Letting Go, I have ever heard her deliver. There were tears in her eyes as she sang and I don’t think I am alone in relating to the song myself and being quite overcome with emotion as she filled up and the raw emotion reached her voice. There was something truly amazing about seeing the song suddenly meaning something else to her, there in front of us. I guess for those of us who love or ‘get’ this song, we were all connected silently in that room, for over three minutes. The power of music...

Bringing the pace back up, we were treated to a rocking version of Hey Cinderella, another Matraca penned song, which as I get older I relate to more and more. It appears it is not only me who deems it compulsory to shout the line Hey Cinderella at the start of every chorus and soon Suzy was encouraging everyone to join in. Drive South received rapturous applause.

Suzy then stopped and told us, from the heart, that she didn’t want our night together to be over, before pondering whether we could put the Sage on wheels so she could take it and the audience with her. Thus began a discussion about where we would go. The show was ended with an absolutely perfect selection. One More For the Road, from her CD with Chet Atkins, speaks of not being ‘ready to pack it up yet,’ which I think summed up the mood around the room. Very touchingly she changed the line ‘I’d like to stay here and pick one with Chet’ to ‘for Chet’ and I think we all sang along for him as much as for her.

She left the stage to a thoroughly deserved standing ovation before returning for an encore; there was clearly no way she was leaving just yet. Returning to the stage, she picked a sing along from the new CD that she thought we’d know it but if not, “..just sing ‘watermelon, watermelon;’ nobody will notice. I’ve done it half the night and I’ll bet you didn’t realise!” Thus followed an exquisite version of the beautiful song, Red River Valley, which almost moved me to tears. It seemed a perfect choice as it is about bidding adieu to someone/ something you love and after a night as magical as tonight I don’t think anyone was ready to bid adieu; to Suzy, the night, or the music, or indeed, she to the Sage.

Leaving the stage to another standing ovation, we thought that was it, until she came back out for one final flourish; choosing one of the umpteen song titles shouted from the audience, she and the band played a rocking version of No Way Out, which sent us on our way on a musical high.

The final highlight of the night? Getting to chat to Suzy and Doug (and indeed, Ben) after the show, where Suzy chatted to everyone who wanted to say hi, demonstrating she is as lovely a person off stage as she appears on.

I think after such a wonderful night of music, everyone present found it rather hard Letting Go of Ms Bogguss and the band, though without a doubt we will be holding onto the musical memories until her return, hopefully Someday soon, to The Sage; both solo and with Wine, Women and Song.