Live From Abbey Road (Show 4, Series 2 - 18/07/2008)

This week was Panic At The Disco, David Gray and Suzanne Vega. Mixed feelings about this weeks show. About half way through it was looking like the best of the series so far but then a strange thing happened. I was really looking forward to Suzanne Vega who is one of the most important musicians of my generation (thirty somethings) and for reasons I don't understand, the best artist to feature turned into a real disappointment. I guess the weight of expectation was too much.

Set:

Panic At The Disco

• Nine In The Afternoon
• I Write Sins Not Tragedies
• The Weight

David Gray

• You're The World To Me
• Breathe
• The Other Side

Suzanne Vega

• Tom's Diner
• Luka

Panic At The Disco were very good. Unlike some of the other young bands they had more of a natural demeanour instead of arrogance. Again they looked like a proper live band in a studio environment and they were not overwhelmed by the location. Apparently they mixed their last album at Abbey Road. Anyway the young American band gave two decent renditions: the warbley vocals and emo-pop of Nine In The Afternoon then the superb I Write Sins Not Tragedies - a great vocal arrangement like Coheed & Cambria without the ferocious intensity. The band talked openly about their current learning process and how mistakes are made because they are still learning. Bands these days are expected to be as perfect as much earlier bands who were successful later in life. Their third song, curiously, was a cover of The Weight. As the singer says at the end, it felt a bit slow and clunky. The vocals were excellent though.

I have a soft spot for David Gray thanks to a Glastonbury festival experience I had. It was just one of the perfect moments when the rain stopped, the sun was setting and time stood still. I have been a fan ever since. He is very honest and has been unfairly criticised for moaning about how one album and one song can make your career. So it was too much to ask for a Babylon. He talked about life after White Ladder and how having a hit record doesn't mean you can do it again. You have to work for it all the time. Instead Gray kicked off with the excellent You're The World To Me. The band positioning was interesting, all facing in to each other. Gray performed standing on a tartan rug presumably so that his stomping feet wouldn't mess up the amps. The more intimate Breathe was amazing - again Gray faced two other band members and the dynamic deep guitars worked well. He gave a quick explanation of the song conception beforehand: of two Iranians who came to his house to talk about human injustice and the torture and murder of dissidents. It worked brilliantly. Gray finished with The Other Side, from simple piano to full band and frantic ending. He says that his lack of belief turns the song into a desperate plea.
Now to Suzanne Vega. She talked about how she considers herself a writer above anything else, a writer of poetry but not a poet. She introduced Tom's Diner as the song which invented the mp3 - the guys perfecting the technology used the original a cappela version to test the mp3 format. So she performed a more modern arrangement with full band - it has quite a strange dub / electronic feel. Then she performed Luka, a classic song. Vega explained that it was designed not be be dour or cheerful but matter-of-fact, like a child would regard the experience of being abused. The song was recorded and refined many times before they got it right. And then...the show ends.

Yes, the show ends after two Suzanne Vega songs as if they ran out of time. It left me completely stunned. I would like to know why such a great musician was given the least time and only two songs. Such a big shame.