September 17, 2007

After an adventurous trip, we arrived at Borders just minutes before the show was to take place!  We walked in the location, which is situated on the University of Michigan campus, and heard sounds of instruments  coming from atop the stairs.  As we reached the top, the full band setup  was right there, in the middle of the cookbook section.  There were  several rows of chairs and a few folks were already seated.  Sadly, the  crowd turnout was small, but it made for a very intimate show.

 Taking a seat at the front, I watched Pat Bergeson, Denny Bixby, Will Barrow, and Todd London interact, chat, and warm up their instruments.   The members of the small audience talked amongst themselves and I  learned that a few had never heard Suzy before. Some had the new album in their hands, already purchased. Borders had a display of many copies of Sweet Danger nearby.

 A Borders associate introduced Suzy as she walked out to take her spot  on the makeshift stage. She asked how we were doing and said that she  was going to do some tracks off the new album.  After a little audience interaction, she began to strum her guitar, then paused to adjust, noting that she had been playing everything up a half step on the bus while warming up.  She then moved some cords around a bit and Pat joked  that she was doing "lasso tricks."  Todd counted off the intro to "Bus  Ride."

 Next, Suzy advised that she was going to do the sad one to get it out of  the way, so we would feel there was only one low moment. She said that  it was supposed to be uplifting, but that a good friend had told her, "That's a really great song; 'course you can't listen to it!"  Without question, it was to be "In Heaven."

 Suzy contemplated her next selection for a moment.  She asked if we wanted to hear her try something that might be a little extra work for  her.  Everyone agreed, so she started pondering the lyrics to the song,
 saying she thought she could do it. "Hey, I know!" she said suddenly.  "Anybody got a CD?  Can I borrow the lyrics sheet?" she laughed along with the crowd. "I got this little wild hair to do something fun!" she told us. A man in the second row handed her the insert, commenting that she really had to sign it now. She assured him she would write  something really sweet on there.  After joking about needing a  magnifying glass to read the tiny print, she scanned the words, "okay"ing as she read to herself.  She then stuck the sheet in her back  pocket, kidding that it would be really yucky now.  "No Good Way to Go" is absolutely incredible live, and Suzy didn't miss a word!  It has a  stronger effect live – not as subtle as hearing it on the CD.  This is a fantastic song and I like it more now than I did before Ann Arbor (is  that possible??).   The band did an excellent job and Denny and Will provided the backup vocals.

 Handing the gentleman back his CD insert, Suzy thanked him again and  said that having it in her pocket had helped a lot.  She told us she would do one more song, the one cover on the album.  She told the story  of how her son Ben had been singing this song in the backseat of the car  when he was 11. Did you know Ben had played trumpet in a band? Now  he's into any band with a horn section, she told us.  Favorites of his include Blood, Sweat, and Tears and Chicago. She's okay with that blasting in her house, she grinned!  Ben's version of the song had been  so sweet and innocent that it gave her a new perspective on its meaning. She performed, "If You Leave Me Now."

 As the applause subsided, she told us, "We are going to be playing at The Ark tonight." She asked that if anyone couldn't make it, that they email 10 or 20 of their friends and tell them to come! She gave the time of the show and promised not to keep anybody too late on a school night. She promised lots of fun, and said that anyone there would be  thought of as young, vital, artistic, cultured – and all that stuff!

 Suzy did a signing after the mini-show and chatted with the fans. It was very personal and fun, although I wish more people had been able to  come and experience the wonder of the new album.  Kudos to Borders for  opening up their book rows to allow Suzy to showcase her stuff!!

Janelle

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