rlr@pyuxn.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (07/18/84)
> Anybody catch a Siouxsie & the Banshees Show ????? She's touring > but not too many dates. Andrew X. Hudson Performance: Quality: 3 1/2 stars Quantity: 0 stars Sound: Quality: 0 stars Quantity: -10 stars Summary: Good performance. Not enough *of* it. Terrible sound. Too loud. Anyone who has ever submitted an article calling one of Billy Joel's albums "punk", or calling Asia "progressive rock", or in general communicating with me about music in any way, usually gets some listening recommendations from me that describe some good creative "new music" music. Unless the listener is in need of remedial assistance (i.e., hasn't heard of Talking Heads), my recommendations usually have three names in common: the Buzzcocks (buzzsaw guitars playing Beatlesque songs), Magazine (the first REAL progressive punk band), and Siouxsie & the Banshees (psychedelic punks that presage the Psychedelic Furs and Joy Division). Alas, the Buzzcocks and Magazine are no more. (Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley are still working on their own.) Having never gotten the chance to see Magazine (I caught the Buzzcocks on their last tour), I wasn't about to miss seeing the Banshees this time around. Siouxsie & the Banshees are a dark sounding band, to say the least. The sounds they make with just a three-piece instrumental line-up are ominous and powerful. One of the original punk bands (Sid Vicious was their first drummer), the Banshees provide an almost psychotic lyrical background to accompany their music, from a warning in a children's playground (Playground Twist), to the wailings of an insane asylum (Happy House), to a touching portrayal of a schizophrenic girl (Christine--"She tries not to shatter kaleidoscope style, personality changes behind her red smile, every new problem brings a stranger inside, hopelessly forcing one more new disguise"), to the vicious cycles of abused children growing up to be the abusers (Circle). The mood of their overall sound changes from song to song: first, loud and brash, like their incredible very original cover of "Helter Skelter"; then soft and purring, like the song "Christine", then electronically ominous as in "Red Light" (with its use of Polaroid instant camera as a rhythm instrument predating Duran Duran's "Girls on Film"), then like whirling dervishes in "Arabian Knights"/"Spellbound"/"Israel". (The last three, all recorded for the "Juju" album, probably represent the public's conception of a Banshees "sound", but their best album (my opinion) was the previous one, "Kaleidoscope", which boasts "Christine", "Happy House", and "Desert Kisses".) Anyway, back to the show. First the good news. They played rather well. A good chunk of their new Geffen album, "Hyaena", including "Dazzle" which opened the show, plus "Christine", "Red Light", and "Desert Kisses" from Kaleidoscope, "Spellbound", "Into the Light", and "Arabian Knights" from Juju, plus "Painted Bird" from their last album "Kiss in the Dreamhouse". Their encore was a screeching torturous version of their cover of "Helter Skelter". Siouxsie was exotic in her red flowing costumery, and her voice was strong and direct. Apparently she has recovered from her earlier throat problems. Budgie's drumming was very intense, and I discovered what an important part of the band's sound he really is. Steve Severin's bass playing was competent, and drafted guitarist Rob Carruthers of Clock DVA did a fairly good job emulating the John McGeoch sound of earlier Banshees work. Now for the bad news. Aside from the tirade I originally intended to spew forth about assholes who stand at concerts with assigned seats, forcing everyone in front of everyone to stand, not just on the floor, but on the arms of their chairs in order to see, there is other bad news as well. First, the sound was absolutely awful, and to compound it all, it was oppressively loud. Second, the entire show lasted an hour and (small) change!! Sorry, Siouxsie, this isn't 1977, when an hour show by a punk band was considered working overtime... The acoustics might have better further back (we *were* sixth row right side, far too close to the speakers), and they performed well, so you might still want to catch them if you're into the band. If not, pick up a copy of "Kaleidoscope", or even "Juju", or (if you can't get to a good cut-out record bin) "Once Upon a Time", a PVC collection of Banshees singles that will show you their best work. Their new release on Geffen, "Hyaena", which contains their haunting cover of "Dear Prudence", the lush exquisite "Dazzle", "Swimming Horses", "Belladonna" among others, is probably more readily available in the more mainstream record stores. A trip to a more adventurous record store might net you a cut-out copy of one of their earlier albums, like Juju or Kaleidoscope. (At home you can control the volume...) -- If it doesn't change your life, it's not worth doing. Rich Rosen pyuxn!rlr
lcliffor@bbncca.ARPA (Laura Frank Clifford) (07/19/84)
I also saw Siouxsie in Boston (and was lucky enough to have first row seats!). I second the recommendation. However, I did think it strange that Siouxsie did not do "Swimming Horses", her current 'hit' single, or "Israel", undoubtedly one of her most powerful songs. She did particulary well with "Red Light" and "Exposed". Loved her "Thai-ish" dancing style, although she looked more like a Nazi-punk's erotic dream in black sleaze in Boston, rather than exotic and red in N.J. Last year's show at a much smaller club was far superior in sound (the band sounded incredibly tight). Rich - how's her FIRST album (before Kaleidoscope) - I always hesitate to buy it as a $15 import?
rlr@pyuxn.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (07/20/84)
> I also saw Siouxsie in Boston (and was lucky enough to have first row > seats!). I second the recommendation. Loved her "Thai-ish" dancing style, > although she looked more like a Nazi-punk's erotic dream in black sleaze in > Boston, rather than exotic and red in N.J. My loss. Makes me wish I'd gone to Boston instead of Beacon Theater in NYC (not NJ). > Last year's show at a much smaller club was far superior in sound (the > band sounded incredibly tight). {NOT SURPRISING... -ED.} > Rich - how's her FIRST album (before Kaleidoscope) - I always hesitate > to buy it as a $15 import? The Banshees had two albums before Kaleidoscope. The first was *The Scream*, which contains "Hong Kong Garden" and "Mirage" (both available on the PVC collection "Once Upon a Time"), "Metal Postcard", "Switch", and the aforementioned cover of "Helter Skelter" (exquisitely painful). Their second album, *Join Hands*, is even harder to find than the first. I don't own it, but my friend does. He bought it after we had heard this exceedingly long and bizarre song that sounded like the Lord's Prayer at a club in NYC called Hurrah (now defunct). It was playing in a record store (Metro Records) and my friend asked "What is that? It's horrible" and then bought it. (He does things like that--You think *I'm* musically off the wall? This guy finds dirge punk uplifting!) Thus I received my first indirect exposure to the Banshees. Is anyone out there familiar with the EP by Siouxsie and Budgie (?) called "Wild Things by the Creatures", or with the live album released after the import single "Dear Prudence" came out? Any comments would be appreciated. Nice to see that Andrew Hudson (ccivax!abh) now uses selected lines from "Christine" in his signature file, joining George Sherouse's "Devotoism" from Magazine's "Song From Under the Floorboards". Just be forewarned, that adventurous and unusual signature lines often generate very weird responses... -- Now I've lost my train of thought. I'll have to catch the bus of thought. Rich Rosen pyuxn!rlr
lcliffor@bbncca.ARPA (Laura Frank Clifford) (07/23/84)
The Banshees' double live album is pretty good - I particularly like the "Rites of Spring" intro to Israel. I DO disagree with you about "Helter Skelter" though - I've only heard it on the live album and think it's just godawful noise.