A MATCH, A FLAME, A BANSHEE HOWLS

This must be the sort of effect Cleopatra had on a room full of admirers; whatever one says is probably not enough. Siouxsie Sioux, the regal leader and prime mover of Siouxsie & The Banshees, is a woman of extremes, who plays upon her strengths to stop traffic. Onstage, she moves with a fierce grace, pinwheeling from end to end and front to back. In song, she soars and whispers the arcane rites of Banshees lyrics in a demanding, seductive growl, a night princess claiming her due from the assembled multitude.

I’ve seen it happen: men who’ve waltzed more than once around the track come to a dead stop when faced with Sioux. Never mind the ego, how might they possibly get a date with this alluring dark creature? Forget it, Siouxsie’s above-it-all manner seems to speak before a word is uttered. And they fade away, eternally disappointed, left to wonder about what they’ve missed forever.