Suzanne Vega at the Bowery Ballroom NYC, 10/25/01, Photo by Glyn Emmerson Photo © 2001 NY Rock

Her popularity came in waves. In the midst of New Wave and Madonna, Vega's 1985 self-titled debut hurled her into the mainstream with the single "Marlene on the Wall." (Her A&M label estimated the album would sell 30,000 copies. By mid-1988, it had sold a million worldwide.) After Vega's debut came 1987's Solitude Standing featuring "Luka." In 1990, two British DJs re-mixed the song "Tom's Diner" and Vegamania erupted again. But the remix overshadowed the fact that Vega then wrote two great albums infused with intricate percussion and string arrangements called Days of Open Hand (1990) and 99.9F (1992). By then, grunge began to conquer radio airwaves, and Vega got left behind. It seemed like the only time you'd hear her mentioned was when some radio station was having a "Hits of the '80s" weekend and "Luka" was played. Vega's 1996 release, Nine Objects of Desire, yielded the single "No Cheap Thrill" and we remembered her again. Then we tucked her away once more.

Despite being one of the most underappreciated singer/songwriters, Vega never seemed irked. She just kept doing her own thing, speaking her own musical language. Now she's back after a five-year hiatus with Songs In Red and Gray, written during her divorce from producer Mitchell Froom. Vega's sold-out show at the Bowery Ballroom on October 25, 2001 welcomed her back to the city where she grew up.

Suzanne Vega at the Bowery Ballroom NYC, 10/25/01, Photo by Glyn Emmerson Photo © 2001 NY Rock

"I'm not sure what to do with my hands," explained Vega in front of a gushing crowd. This past summer, Vega fell off her bike and broke her left arm. She's still recovering, and plays guitar for only four or five songs per night. Dressed in a long, black velvet jacket, the red head and her band began the evening with her first hit single, the aforementioned "Marlene on the Wall," and followed with "Small Blue Thing" and "Caramel." Time or recent events haven't hardened the wise yet child-like quality of her voice. In fact, her voice never sounded brighter. Bowing graciously, she was neither nervous nor detached, and her demeanor helped the crowd embrace each song.

While most people assume Vega to be a quiet, timid little bird, she's actually quite animated and funny. She told of how she recently played in front of a group of 8 to 12 year olds, and tried to explain to them what each song meant, tweaking her explanations to make them more understandable. "What if you woke up one morning and you were no longer a human being? What if you were a thing... an eyeball?" she asked them, to which the children responded with a deadpan "Eeeew." Vega read the now-infamous short story called "My Friend Millie" from her book of writings called The Passionate Eye, and had everyone cracking up. She recounted her days as "an Avon lady in military clothes," who quit the job after a week because she sold nothing and didn't wear makeup.

Vega was hardly how you expected her to be. The music swept away any lingering preconceived notions of her delicacy with the performance of songs from her new album Songs In Red and Gray. "Widow's Walk," "(I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May," and "Harbor Song" are more in the pop vein, but they retain her seductive, well-crafted style. The audience's positive response to the new songs was a testimony to their virtue. After the new tunes, Vega went back for older ones. The pulse and bang of "Blood Makes Noise" and "Left of Center" contrasted with the dreamy "In Liverpool" and "Gypsy."

Though written years ago, the guitar-driven "When Heroes Go Down" and "The Queen and the Soldier" eerily hinted at recent events, both public and private. The former is pretty self-explanatory, with the lives lost on September 11th, and the latter tells of a soldier tiring of his (or her, in this case) life role. Nearing the end of her set, Vega picked up her guitar and played "Luka." When the song was over, the applause lasted for so long that Vega chuckled and said, "I'm going to do another song." The other song was an a cappella version of "Tom's Diner," with the crowd clapping the beat and filling in the "da-da-da-da" parts. No matter where you looked, every face was smiling.

As Vega bowed and exited the stage, the applause grew to include foot-stomping. The band returned and performed "Soap and Water" and "St. Clare" – the latter is a song by Jack Hardy that Vega dedicated to the tragedy of September 11th. Jack Hardy's brother (and long-time bass player) Jeff lost his life in the World Trade Center attack. After another huge swell of applause, Vega returned for a second encore and ended the night with "Calypso" at the crowd's request.

The girl that grew up on East 109th Street certainly knew how to please her neighbors. And there's no denying her hometown loves her brilliant quirkiness. Flashing her dimpled smile, Suzanne Vega said, "New York's the one place I don't have to explain myself."