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| Peter Murphy of Bauhaus at the Masonic (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
Goth-punk pioneers, Bauhaus, returned to the Bay Area last night to play the first of two nights at San Francisco's Masonic. This was the first visit by the full band since their last 2006 performance at Shoreline opening for Nine Inch Nails. Peter Murphy & bassist David J performed at the Regency Ballroom in 2019, but guitarist Daniel Ash and drummer Kevin Haskins have rejoined the duo for this 2022 tour.
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| Peter Murphy & Daniel Ash of Bauhaus at the Masonic (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
The band came on just after 9pm to a Masonic audience that was probably at around 75 percent capacity. Peter Murphy looked to be in great form and fully recovered from his heart attack several years ago. Murphy worked the crowd as a true performer would and stayed mostly at center of the stage, either working the crowd from the front, or perched on a small riser next to Kevin's drum kit in the back. A fog machine added to the mystic of the dimly lit show and the band sounded absolutely fantastic.
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| David J of Bauhaus at the Masonic (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
David J's textured bass lines form the foundation of Bauhaus' signature sound and combined with Murphy's emotionally dark vocals, it's hard to argue the lasting impact and influence the band has had on modern music today. And for some reason, I found myself thinking that the re-assembled four-piece sounded better last night than in all the prior times I've seen them and/or Peter Murphy in the past. I can't pinpoint exactly why, but Peter was in top form. His vocals sounded as crisp last night as they ever have in the past, and he was there to perform along with the rest of the band.
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| Daniel Ash of Bauhaus at the Masonic (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
The time away from touring and maybe each other have clearly been for the best, since they've finally come back together and are sounding great. The only, and I mean only, criticisms I had on the evening was the fact that the show was relatively short. They played an hour and then took a short break before coming back to play their 3-song encore. All-told, Bauhaus performed for about an hour and fifteen minutes. The other head scratcher was about the order of songs in their setlist... Not only could they have added songs to make a longer show, but I was curious why the fan favorite "Bela Lugosi's Dead" was smack dab in the middle of the set? I realized they left the encore for covers, but given the fact that, like it or not, Bela's their true signature song, I would have expected it at the end of their main set or reserved for their encore. Of all the songs, we in the crowd were most engaged during Bela -- even belting out the chorus at the end of the song which gave rise to one of Peter's few talkative moments of the show, simply saying "thank you for singing, that was beautiful" before introducing Daniel Ash as he picked up a 12-string acoustic guitar for "Silent Hedges".
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| Peter Murphy of Bauhaus at the Masonic (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
A great example of Peter's 'performance' was during "Stigmata Martyr" when Peter stood perched on the riser in the back of the stage and held the mic stand in a way that made him look as if he was nailed to a cross. And with the closing of the main set, "Dark Entries" certainly got the crowd moving, but it paled in comparison to "Bela".
After their short break, the band re-emerged with Peter saying "well thank you San Francisco, aren't you lovely" as they kicked off their encore with Iggy Pop's "Sister Midnight." I will say that Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" was a great way to close the show. Bauhaus originally recorded and released the cover back in 1982, so it's a song that's definitely associated with the band and frankly, Peter's vocals are eerily similar to David's, so if you closed your eyes, you'd be hard pressed to guess between the two of them.
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| Daniel Ash of Bauhaus at the Masonic (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
So besides those two nits of the show being relatively short and the placement of "Bela" within the setlist, the evening was fantastic and one of the best, if not the best performances by the band we've been able to catch. If you missed the show last night, be sure to make your way to the Masonic tonight for the second and last SF stop.
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