Siouxsie and the Banshees: New York City 9-5-04

I had never been to BB Kings before and was impressed as I walked in at it's size and how packed the 1st night of the 3 day NYC leg of the tour was. Ahh...but looks are decieving. I made my way immediately up to the front and to the side of the stage. I had perfect view. I made friends with a gal from VH1 and 3 concert goers from NJ. All very nice. I had a disposible camera. My camera recently broken. I had to try and take pictures somehow of my beloved ICON- Siouxsie. As I am a fan nearly 25 years now. Time ticked. 8:30. No diva. 9pm. nope. 9:30...finally. We were all soo restless. What a wait. That was all soon forgotten with Siouxsie's asian inspired oputfit and feathered headress and Siouxsie old skool makeup job. The band had extra members. Besides the usual fare of Siouxsie and her awesome drummer Budgie and Knox on guit...there was no Severin but twin backup singing ladies (who were very good) and Drummer from Japan (from the Hai recording) Leonard Eto(very good). Leonard and Budgie drum Siouxsie in and the place goes wild. Old Creatures classics were played besides nearly the whole Hai album (which was a mixed bag)- Red rooster, Standing there (a personal fave). 4 Siouxsie hits were played...not enough for this old skool crowd (and we were)...Christine, Happy House, Not Forgotten, Kiss them for me. The other non-Hai tunes were-2nd Floor, Take Mine. A decent mix of tunes. Not enough SATB. Now there were some technical dificulties at BB Kings: a/c problems, mic problems, bouncers jumping into the crowd and hitting people in the face. Siouxsie was pissed and pepper spray squirted on route out of the club with a bloody faced kid as the encore. Nice. I won;t be going back to this venue. What a bad management job. I expect the annoyance from Siouxsie (cause that's part of what she thrives on), but if BB King himself took stock of what his club was getting a rep for....... alas...I'd go anywhere to see Ms. Sioux...even if it was only a mediocre show. One credit to her this time around...her voice sounds terrific and she is aging beautifully.