Steven Severin The Cabinet of Dr Caligari Tyneside Cinema 2 June 2013
On the face of it this seemed a strange sort of event. Certainly not the usual sort of gig I would normally go along to. From the Tyneside Cinema website: “Acclaimed solo artist and founder member of the legendary Siouxsie and the Banshees, Steven Severin returns to give audiences the rare opportunity to hear his electronic score for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Capturing the surreal and enigmatic nature of the original work, Steven Severin’s score provides a synthesised, highly atmospheric soundscape for one of the most important films in the history of cinema.” 
This was my second visit to the Tyneside Cinema this week, and Marie came along with me on this occasion. I have been a fan of the Banshees since the early days; I always thought there was so much more to their music than simple punk. There was a dark, discordant energy to the sound they made which also matched their image; and I would guess some of that was down to Severin as well as Siouxsie. I haven’t seen Siouxsie perform for some years now, and sadly I can’t make her performances in London this month. Anyway, I had been looking forward to this chance to see a Banshee perform in my locality. I am also a fan of horror movies, so coupling a classic film of the genre with a Banshee seemed pretty good for me. In fact, I’ve never seen the Cabinet of Caligari right through, so I was looking forward to the whole experience. The performance started shortly after the advertised time of 6pm, with the lights going down in the small cinema before Severin took his place at an Apple Mac on a table by the side of the stage. The film was shown right through in all its black and white and sepia glory, as Steven delivered his electronic score, which was as haunting and dark as the surreal and disturbing images which enfolded on the screen. The film lasts around 70 minutes, and at the end Severin left the theatre as the lights went up, and the audience applauded. He did, however, hang around to sign copies of CDs which were on sale in the foyer. A different sort of “gig”, which was a nice change, and which Marie and I both enjoyed.
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