Concert Review: Peter Murphy @ Emos
Jul. 15th, 2008 11:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
errantemberPeter Murphy @ Emos 7-11-2008
While a ten plus year veteran of the Gothic/Industrial scene, I can't say I've made it a priority to follow the seminal career of Peter Murphy. I've danced countless times to "Cuts You Up," and was aware that Murphy's fame came originally from Bauhaus, even if "Bela Lugoci's Dead" was the only song from that era that I could name off the top of my head. I almost missed Murphy this time around, a last minute tip from a friend averting disaster.
I was surprised to see someone as well-known as Murphy playing somewhere as small as Emos. The seemingly undersized venue was nothing but good for the small army of devoted fans that packed the hall. Easy spaces were available less than 10 feet from the stage throughout the show. Murphy was in fine form, with an arresting stage presence that slowly insinuated its way deep inside your pants. Perhaps the most visibly gay person ever to grace a stage, his snakelike, entrancing movements provided an excellent example to the repressed among us of how to let go.
The rest of the band was also in top form, delivering a killer mix of musical skill, showmanship, and vibe. Waiting until the encore to deliver the obligatory "Cuts You Up" performance, Murphy introduced their roady as song was starting, the faded into the background, forcing said roady to begin the vocals himself. The fact that he flubbed them before a third-verse rescue by the rest of the band just made the experience more stupendous. He peppered the show with these little stunts. Along the way, he included a full range of songs from his career, including both pre-and-post Murphy Bauhaus.
Murphy is one of those consumate showman who totally has the audience in the palm of his hand, yet doesn't abuse that power. Instead, he shares it, elevating the audience into his transcendent, sexy, vaguely disturbing world. From my 15 feet away, this concert blew my back-of-Austin-Music-Hall Cure experence out of the water, and for about $80 less.
While a ten plus year veteran of the Gothic/Industrial scene, I can't say I've made it a priority to follow the seminal career of Peter Murphy. I've danced countless times to "Cuts You Up," and was aware that Murphy's fame came originally from Bauhaus, even if "Bela Lugoci's Dead" was the only song from that era that I could name off the top of my head. I almost missed Murphy this time around, a last minute tip from a friend averting disaster.
I was surprised to see someone as well-known as Murphy playing somewhere as small as Emos. The seemingly undersized venue was nothing but good for the small army of devoted fans that packed the hall. Easy spaces were available less than 10 feet from the stage throughout the show. Murphy was in fine form, with an arresting stage presence that slowly insinuated its way deep inside your pants. Perhaps the most visibly gay person ever to grace a stage, his snakelike, entrancing movements provided an excellent example to the repressed among us of how to let go.
The rest of the band was also in top form, delivering a killer mix of musical skill, showmanship, and vibe. Waiting until the encore to deliver the obligatory "Cuts You Up" performance, Murphy introduced their roady as song was starting, the faded into the background, forcing said roady to begin the vocals himself. The fact that he flubbed them before a third-verse rescue by the rest of the band just made the experience more stupendous. He peppered the show with these little stunts. Along the way, he included a full range of songs from his career, including both pre-and-post Murphy Bauhaus.
Murphy is one of those consumate showman who totally has the audience in the palm of his hand, yet doesn't abuse that power. Instead, he shares it, elevating the audience into his transcendent, sexy, vaguely disturbing world. From my 15 feet away, this concert blew my back-of-Austin-Music-Hall Cure experence out of the water, and for about $80 less.
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Date: 2008-07-16 03:53 pm (UTC)It was so awesome!
Date: 2008-07-16 04:15 pm (UTC)*squeeeeee!*
It was nice to see so many folks I knew there, too. :)
& the fans were so awesome. It was crowded but nobody pushed or acted ugly, everyone was really really nice. There was a good feeling of open-hearted unity in the crowd, not to be too new-age bs-y about it.