Peter Murphy in Seattle

Peter Murphy brought his current tour, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Bauhaus' first album, to a packed Moore Theater last night. His Bauhaus bandmate David J was along for the tour on bass. A guitarist and drummer rounded out the quartet; he introduced them to the crowd, but I couldn't make out their names.

It was hard to make out a lot of the details of the music, as well. Sound quality at the Moore Theater often leaves a lot to be desired, especially in the balcony. But Peter was in remarkably strong voice. His singing cut through the loud blur of noise like a chainsaw. And, contrary to reports of his erratic behavior at a couple of his own shows on this tour, he was in a light, funny mood, joking with the crowd and teasing people in the front rows. And he and David both looked great.

SETLIST:
Double Dare
In the Flat Field
A God in an Alcove
Dive
The Spy in the Cab
Small Talk Stinks
St. Vitus Dance
Stigmata Martyr
Nerves
Burning from the Inside
Silent Hedges
Bela Lugosi's Dead
She's In Parties
King Volcano
Adrenaline

ENCORE:
Kick in the Eye
The Passion of Lovers
Telegram Sam
Ziggy Stardust

The opener was a British trio called Desert Mountain Tribe. They sounded as if the promoter had called central casting and asked for a generic indie-rock band, heavy on the Joy Division with a side order of Bunnymen. After three songs, we shrugged and went to the bar until the headliner came on.

On album, Desert Mountain Tribe sound like the Black Angels if that band knew how to write more than one song, with a less gruff Ian McCulloch on vocals. I kind of like them, but I have no doubt they'd be pretty monochrome live.



Post Edited (01-21-19 16:34)

Hmmm, so DMT is better on record? I'll have to reconsider the band, then. This is the sort of sound that I generally like, but based on what I heard, I'd have to be convinced that this band has more than one trick up its collective sleeve. (And it's a pretty low-impact trick at that ... like pulling a rabbit out of a hutch.)