Siouxsie at The Roundhouse

My second audience with Siouxsie in as many weeks and she was magnificent. Truly. I'm so pleased I was there.

First up was Comanechi, a girl drummer/boy guitarist duo who, basically, made a lot of noise, walloping those drums and shouting into the mic, but (dare I say it?) they were fabulous! I have seen the future of rock'n'roll and they can almost play their instruments. By the third song I was grinning madly to myself for the joy of that pair being on stage for the hell of it and having fun. I loved them! I asked for their CD at the merch stall but they didn't have it. And what's with these boy/girl duos with drums and guitar (like Blood Red Shoes who I saw a few weeks back supporting Maximo Park)? Is there a Dresden Dolls duo influence here?

The second support was Akala, another duo (both male), a singer and a drummer and the drummer also pressed the button on the tape machine or whatever to play the music he drummed along to. They were sort of wrappers or hippity hop, a little bit political but intelligent and a bit fun. They're not the future of rock'n'roll but were good anyway.

And then came Siouxsie. The band took to the stage and started playing the long introduction to 'They Follow You' and then there she was, looking great in a silver and black cat-suit affair like her harlequin suit, all stillettos and legs kicking and arms twisting with that mane of black hair. Followed with 'About To Happen' and 'Here Comes That Day', we were treated to virtually all of the new album except 'Heaven & Alchemy' interspersed with a few Banshees classics. No 'Dear Prudence' this time but we were treated to great versions of 'Arabian Knights' and 'Spellbound'. The set culminated with a tremendous version of 'Into A Swan'.

Then *clap clap clap* for the encore and Siouxsie returned to tell us that she performed the next song the first time she played at The Roundhouse. That means it must be an oldie, I thought, expecting 'Hong Kong Garden', but no, the disjoined riffs and wailing vocals ushered in 'The Staircase (Mystery)', surely a rare treat in anyone's book. Then she proceeded to baffle the auience around me by playing 'Kish Kash', her song from a few years ago with Basement Jaxx and a favourite of mine. And as they started to leave the stage, Siouxsie said something like 'I can't face those stairs again' (to get off the stage) and pushed the guitarist back into place to continue the encore. Getting hold of her finger-bells, they launched into 'Israel' followed by 'Hong Kong Garden' and 'Hello, I Love You'.

Siouxsie was in magnificent form, a dervish one moment and a panther the next, a ballerina in killer stilletto boots, high kicking and hopping round the stage, arms whirling and gesturing, one leg on the monitor throwing back her mane of black hair, every eye in the place rivetted on her. I was entranced. Highlights for me were the wonderful 'DroneZone' with Siouxsie prowling round the stage, 'Arabian Knights' and 'Spellbound'. But the ultimate was 'Into A Swan'. It all came together as perfection for that song, the band sounding excellent and Siouxsie in her element, throwing dramatic poses, arching her back and making swan-shapes with her arms, hands interweaving. Something about that performance had me open mouthed in astonishment. It was beautiful, there's no other way to describe it. At least it was beautiful to me.

Does it sound odd to say I feel proud of her? She's not doing nostalgia, she's still challenging and producing excellent music. I saw her on Jools Holland the other night and she blew the other guests away with a flick of her hair. Hers was the most radical music, she was the most dramtic with the biggest stage presence and she was clearly putting everything into her performance. That was full-on Siouxsie and those other bands better not forget that lesson. If they're still doing it in 30 years time I'll be astonished.

Thank you Siouxsie, I'll remember the gift of 'Into A Swan' for a long time.