Suede celebrated the debut of her latest self-produced CD, Dangerous Mood, and by the response of her adoring fans and the quality of the music, she has plenty to be grateful for. Twenty-five years in the business as an independent artist is quite a feat and a testament to Suede's drive, talent and respect for her audience base. Performing selections from a really fine CD adds to the merriment.

With superior accompaniment by local pianist Jason Martineau, Suede easily moved through pop, blues and swing, choosing songs that highlighted her vocal range and creative savvy. The set played to her considerable strengths—blues numbers like "Dangerous Mood," Randy Newman's "You Can Leave Your Hat On" and the closing encore of "Miss Celie's Blues" ("Sister")—to sweet ballads such as the Sammy Cahn/Gene DePaul "Teach Me Tonight" and Rodger and Hart's "My Romance." Suede is extremely comfortable onstage, honed by her constant touring schedule. An openly out musician/artist, she maintains a close affinity with her considerable lesbian audiences who delight in the subtle nuances of the slyly delivered lyrics to "I Like to Lead When I Dance" and George Gershwin/Buddy De Silva's "Do It Again." But great music is for everyone to enjoy, and Suede delivers big time.

The set smartly covered Suede's musical tastes from swing (a lovely opener of "Let Me Love You") to the romantic poetry of Tom Wait's' "New Coat of Paint" to a unique slightly gospel arrangement of Stephen Schwartz's showstopping number '"Defying Gravity" from Wicked. Based on this performance, I'd say Suede picked up some new fans, this critic included. She's smart, sassy, personable, and genuinely talented. She puts it all out there onstage. The lyrics to "Dangerous Mood" tell it all about a Suede performance: "Look out, baby, I'm in a dangerous mood/I had to steal a little time, baby, so I could spend it all on you".

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
April 7, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org