Watch Bauhaus Reunite In Los Angeles, Playing First Shows in 13 Years
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This past weekend, all four original members of Bauhaus, the foundational early-’80s UK goth greats, reunited in Los Angeles. Bauhaus played last night at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles — their first performance in 13 years. (There’s another show coming up tonight and then a 12/1 performance at the same venue, though the band hasn’t announced anything beyond that.) And from all available evidence, they looked and sounded strong.
In last night’s show, Bauhaus played 19 songs, including all the big ones that you’d expect: “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” “Dark Entries,” “She’s In Parties.” But they also featured a couple of relative rarities — “Spy In The Cab,” from their 1980 debut album In The Flat Field, for the first time since 1983, and “The Man With The X-Ray Eyes,” from 1981’s Mask, for the first time since 1982. They opened the show with their cover of John Cale’s “Rosegarden Funeral Of Sores,” and they closed by covering Iggy Pop, T.Rex, and David Bowie.
Bauhaus originally came together in 1978 and stayed together until 1983, long enough to release four albums. They’ve reunited a few times over the years. In 2005, they regrouped for a pretty famous Coachella performance, one that started with frontman Peter Murphy singing “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” while descending, upside down, from the stage rafters. That version of the band stayed together long enough to record a fifth album, 2008’s Go Away White, but they broke up again before it came out. The past few years have been turbulent for Murphy. In 2013, he was arrested for a hit-and-run, DUI, meth possession. Last year, he was ejected from his own show for throwing a bottle into the audience. And earlier this year, he suffered a heart attack, though it would appear he’s fully recovered.
The videos from the weekend’s reunion show Bauhaus sounding strong and cohesive, fully capable of conjuring an ominous atmosphere. Below, check out the setlist, via Setlist.fm, and watch some fan-made videos:
“Rosegarden Funeral Of Sores”:
“God In An Alcove”:
“Spy In The Cab”:
“Swing The Heartache”:
“Bela Lugosi’s Dead”:
SETLIST:
01 “Rosegarden Funeral Of Sores”
02 “Double Dare”
03 “In The Flat Field”
04 “A God In An Alcove”
05 “In Fear Of Fear”
06 “Spy In The Cab”
07 “Terror Couple Kill Colonel”
08 “Swing The Heartache”
09 “She’s In Parties”
10 “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”
11 “Kick In The Eye”
12 “The Man With The X-Ray Eyes”
13 “Stigmata Martyr”
14 “Silent Hedges”
15 “Dark Entries”
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16 “The Three Shadows, Part II”
17 “Sister Midnight”
18 “Telegram Sam”
19 “Ziggy Stardust”
