SIOUXSIE Eiffel Tower Paris September 28th
4/5
Unveiling material from her long-anticipated solo album in the intimate (and
frankly, breathtaking) setting of the first-level bar of le Tour Eiffel as part of
the Coke Music Discovery sessions, you'd be hard-pushed to top Siouxsie for sheer
sense of occasion; poised in the chilly Paris night several hundred feet over the
city centre, tonights venue is so far removed from the humdrum dive-bar location of
your usual rock-circuit bash, it's something of a masterstroke. As the intro-tape of
Morricone's Ecstasy of Gold gives way to the insistent dance-punk groove of album
opener 'Into A Swan', Siouxsie executes an immaculate grand entrance. Zippered into
an outrageously slinky metallic catsuit affair, with her signature shock of black
hair( that launched the look of a thousand Goth girls) and cats-eyes warpaint,
Siouxie's unassailable stage presence is as captivating and startling as it ever
was. High-kicking playfully over the heads of an adoring front-row, Siouxsie stakes
a claim on the here-and-now without so much as a backwards glance to Banshees days
and her influence on Gwen Stefani and even old' Madonna herself are obvious here
tonight. Through a shimmering set of new material from this year's Mantaray CD, our
girl undulates like a cobra to the album's eastern-tinged rhythms, working the stage
with a winning blend of feisty assertiveness and spooky entrancement. Loveless
rides out the darker currents of disintegrating romance, while 'If It Doesn't Kill
You' smoulders with torchy regret; 'Sea Of Tranquility' glides on tropical
currents, 'They Follow You' flows sinuously. Bowing out with a jazzed-out reprise
of 'Swan' and an unexpected romp through the Doors 'Hello I Love You', Siouxsie and
her new musical ensemble take their leave and we spill out onto the observation deck
to contemplate Paris' grand night time vista. A landmark show in every sense,
tonight was a fitting launch pad for the new solo Sioux and a unique event
altogether.
Hugh Gulland
