March 15, 2008

The evening started with a wonderful introduction by the director of the Bartlett Performing Arts Center, Ron Jewell. He was nice enough to thank all the sponsors and had pointed out the fan group who had traveled so far to see Suzy tonight, including those who flew in from Australia and Holland! We weren't sitting in the front row, but by show of hands, we were known to the locals. It was 8:19 p.m. (CST) when Suzy appeared out on stage in a striped shirt with different shades of pink and a pair of white pants. Right away, she opened with "Outbound Plane." After, she wished everyone a happy Saturday night and said, "Let's have some fun, wanna?" With that, she went into "Someday Soon." 

Suzy said she had been looking forward to coming to Bartlett and said it was much like "the center of the universe." She went into a story about how she was in D.C. and found a magnet of a gentlemen who considered himself the "Universal Idol." After playing around with her guitar for a moment, she said they were going to start with the stuff they knew and then venture into the unknown, saying, "I might be able to play this," and moved into "Aces."

She announced that she has a new record this time, but it's not the same as the last one. "I love story songs," Suzy said. She tried it on Doug and he told her that she was going to record it. With that, she asked Todd to count in and performed "Busride." After, she said "Fun song. Gotta love those yodels!"

Suzy continued talking about Doug, saying, "Doug is an extremely good writer. Doug and I have been married for 21 years and they get sadder and sadder." With a chuckle from the audience, Suzy talks about this next song being about two best friends and she decided that she was no longer selfish about it with having the chance to hear some wonderful stories. With this in mind, Suzy did "Heaven." "It's hard to be Bugs Bunny after that!"

"You never know how someone will read a song." Suzy said there was a fellow who was a window washer and he wasn't seeing enough of his wife… She counted in on "Somewhere Between" and makes an expression with the line, "there's a window that I can see through."

Suzy said she likes to blend songs into a show and said she will sing one of her songs that she had written with Gary Scruggs, the son of Earl Scruggs. At the time, they had talked about the music of AP Carter that's simple. With that, Suzy went into "Hammer and Nail."

"It's time for a sing along!" But, Suzy made it easy with just three words and said it takes guts to sing this song. Just then, she looked over at Pat and told him that after this set, he needed to change his guitar strap, which was red, because it clashes with her top. With a few rounds of practicing the line, Suzy and the band kicked into "Eat At Joe's."

With incredible solos, Suzy felt it was necessary to introduce the band: Will Barrow on piano/accordion, Dan Immel on bass, Todd London on drums, and the Universal Idol, himself, Pat Bergeson on guitar. Suzy talked about writing a song with Matraca Berg and wishing that some things didn't have to happen, including the gravity part. With that, Suzy went into "Hey, Cinderella." This concluded the first set at 9:06 p.m.

At 9:34 p.m. , Suzy came back out on stage alone and said, "I fired the band." She continued saying that she had traveled around in a camper truck and had to advertise for the day of her show. She had hoped for some food in return. Suzy said she would play in the central square and tell people where she'd be playing that night.

At this time, Suzy was going to sing a song by Tony Arata, who wrote "The Dance" for Garth Brooks. With that, she went into "Part of Me." She told the story of growing up in Illinois, close to the Mississippi River. Suzy got her first taste of the Rockies and had learned that if you open a case, people will put money in it. She continued telling the story of when she was in Centennial, WY, population 50 and of the 50, 49 were men. Suzy said it was so great, she was there 49 times. She performed "Night Rider's Lament" with background vocals from her husband, Doug Crider, and Will Barrow. After the song, Suzy announced, "Mr. Doug Crider! He's up there doing sound and being shy." She continued by saying, "It would be bad if they were both hams."

The next song had a Latin feel to it. Suzy talked about being a drummer in the high school band. This was her first Top 14 hit and she moved into "Cross My Broken Heart." The next song is an old Nat King Cole. Suzy had made a record with Ray Benson and this was a cover she put on it. "Cupid Shot Us Both with One Arrow" was performed. After, Suzy said she couldn't sing that fast and is now, out of air.

The next song is a Duke Ellington song and Suzy went right into "Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me."

Coming up, now, was another song from her new record, Sweet Danger. Suzy said she did a cover on it and it came from her son, who is out selling CDs. Suzy said, "By the way, if he gives you the sad story of how he has to sell so many CDs or he'll be sleeping with the wolves, don't believe him!" With that, the audience laughed. Suzy continues by saying she got a phone call from Peter Cetera… She wasn't home. But, he had a nice talk with Doug! The band moved into "If You Leave Me Now."

Afterwards, Suzy did "Letting Go," "No Way Out," and "Drive South."

Unlike the night before, Suzy left the stage, while getting a standing ovation, for a few minutes and was able to come back out with an encore. She said that she did this song with Chet and he always said that it was written by Suzy and Doug. Suzy would look at him and say, "And you! The music is a little important, too!" But, that was modest of Chet and he would often say he had a lot to be modest about. On that note, Suzy kicked into "One More for the Road." The next song, Suzy said she was thankful for this woman's mentorship. She made a start for herself by becoming the first female with a hit single. And, to close out the show, Suzy performed "I Want To Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart."

To conclude the evening, Suzy was able to hang around the venue for a while and chat it up with some folks, local and those of us who drove thousands of mile or more to see her. It was truly a fantastic night and everyone around me had a great time hearing and enjoying Suzy's music and sense of humor.

Mindy

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