When Susan Abbott isn’t performing for kids as Suzy Q the Clown, creating balloon animals and painting abstract designs and animals on their faces, she can be found at That’s Amore SF where she sings jazz standards.
Abbott, who uses the stage name Suzy Q, has held the Thursday night spot at the neighborhood’s woodfire pizzeria for the last three years. She performs classic hits by artists like Patsy Cline and Alicia Keys and is usually accompanied by keyboard players Francisco Rosales or Dave Austin.
“I’m singing the songs I love, old and new,” Abbott said. “I really put my heart into it and I love to be creative with the song. It’s not what you hear on the recording. I like to stretch out the song and make it my own.”
The San Francisco native and Ingleside resident doesn’t just sing but turns each performance into an interactive show. She uses her background as a theater kid, stand-up comedian and clown to work the crowd, asking patrons about their evenings or what they ordered and handing out balloon animals to kids during her set breaks.
That’s Amore owner Ahmad Murad appreciates her craft.
“She brings such great energy and really connects with the crowd,” Murad said. “This partnership came about pretty naturally. Suzy Q is a well-loved performer in the community and we knew she’d be a great fit for our space.”
The Ingleside Light caught up with Abbott to her standing gig and more.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Abbott greets patrons. | Anne Marie Kristoff/Ingleside Light
How did you get into performing?
I've always been into acting and singing ever since high school. I did a lot of theater. After high school, I went to San Francisco State and majored in theater arts but I didn't graduate. I got involved with other things and kind of dropped out of college and was working and then I got involved with stand-up comedy and I was doing that in the early 80s. I was doing really well but the whole thing kind of freaked me out. A lot of people doing drugs and stuff. I think I had the raw talent for it but I didn't have the mental fortitude to keep in that world then I got involved with singing in a band. I met a guy who became my boyfriend for a long time and he played piano and so we were doing rhythm & blues and blues and some pop. Whitney Houston had just come out with her first album and we were covering some of those songs.
There used to be a lot of clubs in San Francisco. There was like three or four venues just on Haight Street near Stanyan. There was a club called the Full Moon Saloon, and we played there a lot. There was another place next to it, which used to be a bowling alley but now it's called Amoeba Records, there was a cafe where we did a lot of music at. In North Beach, we did the Lost and Found Saloon and the Grant and Green Saloon and then The Saloon. My boyfriend was Black and he was involved with the Juneteenth Festival. We did that a lot in San Francisco and we traveled doing blues like across the Southwest and Oklahoma. After we broke up, I became a children's entertainer. I'm also a tour guide.
I got back into singing about 10 years ago from the Old Blues Band. One of the guitar players called me up and said “Hey we’re doing this New Year’s Eve gig but in Russian River.” I went up there and that kind of started me singing jazz again and doing some R&B and some classic rock.
Suzy Q and Dave Austin Performing at That's Amore. | Anne Marie Kristoff/Ingleside Light
Do you typically perform jazz standards or other genres as well?
It's easy listening jazz. You could say the great American songbook, plus fun songs from the 90s. I do some Alicia Keys, though, too.
I started singing some Hank Williams, “You're Cheating Heart.” I want to learn, I think it's called “The Lonesome Whippoorwill.” I do some Patsy Cline now. I like singing in foreign languages. I only sing two songs in Spanish right now but I totally love it. It is so fun to sing in a foreign language. I used to sing a couple of songs in Japanese. I was working with a Japanese guitar player so I learned these Japanese songs and that was great. That was really fun too. I haven't sung them in a long time.
What is it like to perform at That’s Amore?
It's a really unique experience where you can come and hear good live music and then also watch somebody twist a balloon animal in the middle of it all and have a really good, affordable, meal.
Anne Marie Kristoff (she/her) is a recent graduate from San Francisco State University's journalism program. She enjoys writing about the arts, entertainment and nature.
