Monday, 9.6.04
New York
B.B. King Blues Club

A Review of, An Evening with Siouxsie, the Banshees and the Creatures.

By Michael Martarano

On Monday September 6, 2004 I had an appointment to go see a master at work and to once again to revile in the immense talent that is Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie. I entered the show with the expectation of witnessing nothing less then magic. The magic I have seen when I've seen Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Creatures perform.

The venue at BB Kings which to my tastes, smacked in the middle of Times Square with all it's corporate, tourist driven ambiance was a bit odd for me and a bit out of step for Siouxsie and Budgie. With a set that excluded the more musically inspired material of both the Banshees and The Creatures; Siouxsie's voice as well as most of the musicians instruments were muffled out by the immense amount of bass distortion due to overcapacity of the amps from the poor miking of the Taiko drum. When they started the intro with only the drums I could hear the tinge of static every time the Taiko was hit.

At some point there was a violin or cello being played but you could not hear it. There were also backup singers who you could not hear and when you did they sounded bland and untalented. They stood there smiling and moving their hips looking very uninteresting, more like rejected applicants for a Robert Palmer video then Siouxsie style Kabuki cabaret.

Their set seemed to be driven towards clubby gays who don't have a clue of Siouxsie and the Banshees before Superstition and only know the Creatures from when they went House. I'm sorry but Kiss Them for Me is a lame song and to any fan of their music, not just Siouxsie's image it's a song that makes us wince with embarrassment. Face to Face was written for the Batman soundtrack, UGH!

Prettiest Thing, Not Forgotten and Arabian Knights stood out in comparison to the slue of half baked songs. All this coming from a group who has two decades worth of brilliant material.

The poor choice of songs could have been overlooked if the sound were not so bad. The show was in all honesty a complete disappointment. When under the marquee after the show I asked peoples opinions. Three times I heard "It was better the last night."

What else can be said?