Audio By Carbonatix
Peter Murphy
Granada Theater
Friday, March 18, 2011
Better than: Staying in and watching The Hunger.
Blue lights blinded the packed crowd at Granada Theater on Friday night as the King of Goth took his stance at front and center stage.
The one-time Bauhaus frontman may be 53 years old these days, but Peter Murphy’s style and execution were flawless.
Clearly, he knew what he was doing. Dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans, and wearing a blazer over a
black t-shirt, he strutted about the stage. Later, he switch out his blazer for a black hoodie that he
used for dramatic effect, ominously covering his head on several
occasions throughout the night.
Overall, Murphy simply enchanted the room, starting right away with opening song “Lowroom,” as he crooned into the mic, mic stand slung
over his shoulder, with his left hand
held closely to his lips.
Following a thunderous roar from the crowd, Murphy seamlessly
transitioned into “Velocity Bird” where he stalked about on stage, arms
extended, like a bird, or maybe even a bat.
Murphy’s four-piece backing band tightly carried him from song to song,
as he dabbled in material from 1979 onward, even covering Nine Inch
Nail’s “Hurt” and playing a track from his upcoming album, Ninth, which is
set to drop this June.
The underground icon even made sure to take a few minutes between songs to
chat with the crowd: “Are you understanding my English accent?” he
playfully asked, before making a statement about loving southern women.
Murphy ended his set with a two-part encore: The first was comprised of
“A Strange Kind of Love,” “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” “She’s In Parties,” and “Cuts You Up”; later, he returned for an explosive
rendition, of the aptly named Iggy Pop & The Stooges’ hit, “Raw
Power.”
Local act, Menkena opened the night, followed by London’s touring
openers Livan, whose frontman similarly slithered across the stage, clad in a blacker leather kilt and boots, and wearing suspenders over his shirtless,
gym-conscious-body. The rest of the band was, greasy, sweaty, dark
makeup-ed, and their sound was dark and clearly inspired by Bauhaus.
Critic’s Notebook
Personal Bias:
I’m a huge, Bauhaus fan.
By The Way: Other than Nitzer Ebb, I have never been to a show at the Granada where so many people are wearing black.
Random Note: I snagged a pic of Murphy’s set list, and, while he didn’t play
every song on it, it’s a good depiction of the night’s set (see below).
