I Cry, I Pray, Mon Sioux

I first saw Siouxsie with the Banshees in 1992, sixteen years ago from today almost to the day. It was my second concert, the first I attended without an adult. Years later, when I spent 1998 attending every Creatures show in Los Angeles, I thought that as good as the shows were, they couldn't compare to that moment six years earlier when I went to a concert and felt inspired to do something, to be a part of the music. I hadn't seen either the Creatures nor the once reunited Banshees play since then, figuring it couldn't get any better. Then, almost a decade after that Creatures show at Variety Arts Center when my friend Frankie and I had to divide our DJ sets into 20 minute intervals and run up and down five flights of stairs so that we could catch part of the show, Siouxsie was on her own and in L.A., on stage at the Henry Fonda Music Box and I was there, no longer barely legal and no longer dressed in fishnets, and it was still everything that I could have imagined.

The Fonda was ex-goth central tonight. There was a handful of people of who looked exactly as they did back at the last Creatures show I attended, but those folks were mixed with moths, rockaghoulies, gravers and those teenage goth boys who grew into very hot, very gay men.

I went with my friend who had earned the alias Third Eye by the end of the night and we met up with Russell, who I have known since he was 13 and I was 18 and we were regulars at the goth clubs, and his friends. As you can see, we aren't so scary looking anymore.


Photo by Cody Wayne


We were supposed to dress in theme-- "Red Over White"-- so as to pay tribute to one of Siouxsie's many amazing b-side. However, Russell decided to get a tattoo that day and his red Vivienne Westwood sweater would have been too uncomfortable rubbing against the fresh ink. By the way, this tattoo says "Tootie."

"It's my grandma's name," he explained.

"Oh, I thought it was a Facts of Life reference," I answered.

"See, that's why I got it. It will be the perfect conversation starter for the rest of my life."

Russell had found a Siouxsie setlist early Friday morning and posted it on MySpace, so as to keep us all from being surprised. In fact, Siouxsie didn't stray too far from that list, but the order was changed up a bit and there was one big surprise at the end of the show.

Siouxsie opened with new music and a new look that was sort of like her Superstition-era style, but hotter. She was like Emma Peel with her black/white/gold/pink harlequin patterned catsuit and long, teased hair and she danced in that loose-limbed fashion that goths often try and fail to emulate (it usually helps if you aren't wearing a corset). I must admit feeling a pang of jealousy. It's a look I have always wanted to achieve, but knew that my figure was too lumpy and my hair too limp to make it work. And the high kicks in heels thing would just land me in the hospital.

I tried to get a decent shot, but I ended up fussing too much with the camera settings and came up with this.



Relatively early on in the set, Siouxsie played a trio of oldies, starting off with "Dear Prudence," the Beatles cover that has sort of become hers. She followed this with "Hong Kong Garden," at which point, a crazed graver began dancing into everyone around her. Since when do gravers mosh? Her dreadlocked boyfriend had to restrain her after she knocked over three or four $10 cocktails. Concluding the fan-favorite portion of the show was "Night Shift." That's about as boo-spooky Siouxsie as you can get without delving into Join Hands.

When Siouxsie gravitated back towards the new music, the bulk of the crowd of people around me began gabbing like they were out on the smoking patio. Sacrilege!

Siouxsie closed the main set with "Into a Swan," off her latest album, which was fitting given the circumstances of the album and this tour. Although Siouxsie has always been an icon in her own right, this is the first time in her 30+ year career that she hasn't been part of a band. Anyone who saw the Banshees or the Creatures live could tell you that the concerts were never about Siouxsie. She may have been dancing up at the mic, but the performance was still about the unit rather than a sole performer. Even though Siouxsie tours with a band now, it's still her backing band. She's in the spotlight and she's the one who will either receive praise or criticism. Much like the line in the song, Siouxsie is transformed.

For the first encore, Siouxsie played "Nicotine Stain," a very early Banshees track, and "Cish Cash," her collaboration with Basement Jaxx. Then, for the second encore, she stunned virtually everyone in the audience by covering "These Boots Were Made for Walking."

Siouxsie is still so freakin' cool.

Photos by Liz O. except where noted.