Naked Highway and Primal Digital presented SIOUXNYC, a tribute to the legendary UK punk/goth band Siouxsie and the Banshees on Saturday August 18, 2001. The night celebrated the 25th anniversary of the group's inception.

     "The idea for the show was quite spontaneous," says Naked Highway's Sy Bokhari. "Although there had been a slew of fan gathering in Atlanta, Boston, France and the UK to name a few, there had been none in New York City. Originally, a few fans and I were going to get together at a bar somewhere in the East Village, but it just grew into an entire night dedicated to Siouxsie; complete with cover bands, DJs and an open bar!"

     Attendees also received free giveaways, including copies of the new issue of READ Magazine and promos of the new Naked Highway CD "Hyperbollocks."

     The event took place at Primal Digital Studios in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn. Primal Digital is quickly becoming a strong force in the blooming nightlife of DUMBO. In addition its ProTools recording studio, Primal Digital also serves as a versatile performance space for young independent artists, whether they are musicians, painters, filmmakers or writers. Bi-weekly events are hosted at "Primal Digital Wednesdays."

     DJs Andy Comer, Eva Aridjis, and Nancy Costa kept the crowd moving to an eclectic mix of classic post-punk/new wave tunes set against a montage of Banshees videos and live clips. The bands took the stage a bit late on account of the police showing up. Apparently, someone called and told them that there were animal sacrifices taking place! Primal Digital's Director of Operations Julian Lauzzana used his persuasive ways to avert what could have been a nasty situation.

     "SIOUXNYC really showed what an eclectic bunch of people Sioux fans are," noted an attendee, who drove all the way from Philadelphia to catch the show. Each act covered the Banshees from the perspective of various genres, from funk to techno to straight-up rock.

     "We let the artists have carte blanche as far as set lists and length," stated Sy. "My only request was that their interpretations should be 'very different' from the original arrangements. I absolutely hate it when bands do covers that are carbon copies of the originals - after all, it's not Siouxsie karaoke night!"

     Primal Digital house band The Cogs graced the stage first. Singer and guitarist Raul Gonzalez stated, "I wanted to give back to Siouxsie what she gave to Iggy [Pop]." Raul opened the set with "The Passenger." The Iggy Pop classic was a hit for the Banshees in 1987. Julian Lauzzana, armed with his clarinet, and drummer Mert joined Raul on stage and the song quickly morphed into an improvised-funk set aptly titled What Would Siouxsie Do?

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