DREAMSHOW - ADVERTS/REVIEWS
 
 
  Q Magazine 09/05  
 
 
  Filmed onstage at London's Royal Festival Hall in October 2004, Siouxsie Sioux still cuts one of rock's more compelling figures: thick goth make-up, feather headdress and a haughty way of moving that's part goose-stepping showgirl, part Balinese temple dancer.  With an orchestra and Kodo drummer adding extra grandeur to such Banshees' classics as Christine, Happy House and the swirling Spellbound, it's enough to make even the most hardened of punks feel a bit frisky.  
     

 
 
 
  Metro 03/09/05  
 
 
  They like to throw around great titles in the music biz:  King Of Rock 'n' Roll here, Godfather Of Soul there, and so the fact that Siouxsie Sioux carries two - Punk Queen and Ice Queen - doesn't necessarily mean a great deal.  However, the fact that she's been performing since the early 1970s while the rest of her great punk peers had long since packed away the eye make-up and safety pins, is clearly significant.  Siouxsie: Dreamshow captures Siouxsie as she returns to the stage once again for a special appearance at the Royal Festival Hall.  Backed by the Millennium Ensemble (you'd think it bizarre but it really does work), Sioux swings from seductive and sexy through to screaming and howling as she belts her way through a 27-song journey of her classic tunes.  All the hits are there, from Dear Prudence to an incredible version of The Rapture - fans will be pogoing in delight.

Extras:  Five songs live at the 100 Club, behind the scenes and an interview.  Mark Evans 

 
     

 
 
 
  Observer 25/08/05  
 
 
  Dreamshow DVD Advert - Click Here For Bigger ScanSiouxsie goes solo and lives her dream of playing with a full orchestra, who battle it out with the relentless clamour of Kodo drummer Leonard Eto. Filmed at last October's Royal Festival Hall residency in front of a crowd of keen ageing punkers, Siouxsie breathes new life into 27 Banshees and Creatures tracks. A rare showing of "Obsession" is one of the many treats; what's more she is still looking incredible after 28 years in gothic finery. Arguably Britain's greatest female punk icon."  
     

 
 
 
  Boyz 25/08/05  
 
 
  Dreamshow DVD Poster - Click Here For Bigger ScanSioux Me?
There can be few modern music icons  as influential as Siouxsie Sioux - in fact, she even won the recent icon award from Mojo magazine to prove it.  Hand in hand with that of course comes the fact that she's one of the greatest alternative gay icons too.  It's timely then that this week should see the release of Dreamshow, the DVD of Siouxsie's shows of the same name at the Royal Festival Hall.  With backing from the Millennia Ensemble (including her drummer husband Budgie), Siouxsie performs a selection of hits, album tracks and rarities by both the Banshees and The Creatures (while dressed in a variety of stunning costumes, naturally).  Plus, there's an interview with Siouxsie and Budgie and footage from their homecoming gigs at the 100 Club.  It's an amazing DVD, and proves why Siouxsie's such an enduring and adored star.  We're looking forward to her up-coming solo album already... 		 
     

 
 
 
  DVD Monthly 25/08/05  
 
 
 

Still kicking ass with dignity

London's Royal Festival Hall may be a far cry from Siouxsie's less glamorous beginnings at the 100 Club, but then, it's been nearly three decades since Susan Ballion and her Banshees first formed (with a pre-Pistols Sid Vicious on drums).

Recorded last October, Dreamshow captures Siouxsie Sioux on her first ever solo tour (though Banshees/Creatures original member and co-songwriter Budgie is still banging away on drums).  The disc features a lengthy 27-track live set consisting of classic Banshees tunes and Creatures tracks, complete with an impressive orchestra and a voice that's still sounding great.  While it's not exactly the rough and raucous sound you'd expect from a gal who kicked off her career in the UK with 'Hong Kong Garden', the show is a stylish and often beautiful event that sees the first lady of punk delivering her very best tunes with an orchestra assisted harmonic twist, while still retaining the evocative, sexy and seductive tone she's renowned for.  The '100 Club' bonus five-track live set does away with the glossy visuals and theatrics, and opts for a shoddier approach that aptly suits the mood and environment of the place where Siouxsie & The Banshees first stunned audiences with a 20-minute rendition of 'The Lord's Prayer'.  Tracks include 'Hong Kong Garden', 'Christine', '2nd Floor', 'Happy House' and 'Not Forgotten'.  The interview segment with Siouxsie and Budgie is a short but sweet supplement, though the five-minute rehearsal and soundcheck material merely functions as packaging padding.  Still, if the spirit of punk still lingers within you, you'll want this DVD, special features or no special features.  Movie: 7/10, Extras: 5/10  Lee Giffiths 25/08/05

  
     

 
 
 
  Unknown Source 2005  
 
 
  Epic performance from punk's first lady.

"I may be an ice queen but I like it fucking hot!" purrs Siouxsie Sioux in the general direction of the Festival Hall's fan man.  She may look like a porcelain Geisha but she's still a potty-mouth.

Siouxsie and Budgie have come a long way since the Banshees first appeared at the 100 Club almost 30 years ago.  Which is why they're now billed as neither Banshees or Creatures but simply Siouxsie Sioux - able to draw on material from all eras without any confusion.  And for two nights last October they took that eclecticism one step further, performing with a band, orchestra and Taiko drummer Leonard Eto to a packed Royal Festival Hall.

The best of both shows are crammed onto this DVD as well as interviews, rehearsal footage and five highlight tracks from the previous week's sweaty, punk return to the 100 Club.  The contrast between shows is incredible - the 100 Club footage is in shaky monochrome and super-loud, while the RFH shows are shot in lush colour, wonderfully lit with plenty of crashing zooms on Budgie and wide, aerial shots showing the breathtaking scale of the production.  Both set-ups being perfect for that unmistakable booming voice and songs which are as hypnotically melodic as they are original, however they're arranged.

4/5

Suzy West

 
     

 
 
 
  Record Collector 08/05  
 
 
  First solo flight of the Banshee.

For a moment, Siouxsie Sioux's first solo venture seemed to be going hideously wrong.  "This hall's a fucking dump - and I'm done!" she told a packed crowd midway through the second of two sell-out nights at London's Festival Hall last October.  An "Arctic draught" prompted the singer's Dietrich-like outburst, leaving everyone anticipating a, "We're very sorry, but..." announcement.  Happily, the heating was turned back on, and Siouxsie returned to complete a triumphant week of concerts that kicked off with three sweaty nights at London's 100 Club.  Inevitably, her Banshee past provides a fair percentage of the material.  But with the Millenia Ensemble and Kodo drummer Leonard Eto joining a vastly expanded line-up that included ex-bandmates Martin McCarrick, Knox Chandler and longtime partner Budgie, Dreamshow invests the mix of hits and obscurities with exotic flavours.  The Creatures' material is more dramatic still, the maddening powerful cross-rhythms a perfect complement to Sioux's diva-warrior pose.  Bags of extras, too.

Mark Paytress