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Peter Murphy at (le) Poisson Rouge

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Peter Murphy
(le) Poisson Rouge
New York, NY
April 22, 2016

Peter Murphy is an icon, a chameleon who often sheds one creative skin in favor of a deeper layer. The 58-year-old has worn many hats through the years, from reigning as the vocalist of Bauhaus, a solo artist, collaborator with Mick Karn in Dali's Car, in a cameo as "The Cold One" in 2010's The Twilight Saga: The Eclipse, portraying "Blown Away Guy" in the Maxell audio cassette ads in the UK and so much more. Now the man who earned the moniker "The Godfather of Goth" has brought his Stripped Tour to the Unites States with just three musicians on stage, playing re-imagined and straightforward takes on his extensive catalog.

Many of Murphy's 31 dates across the states in April and May sold out early, and additional late-evening shows were added to some cities to accommodate the need for tickets. Such as was the case at (le) Poisson Rouge in New York City. LPR is a music venue and multimedia art cabaret founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler, graduates of the Manhattan School of Music, at the former site of The Village Gate. Their intent is to zero in on artistry and to bring contemporary classic music into the club setting, a successful transition that does indeed foster the fusion of "popular art cultures" in music, film, theater, dance and fine art. It isn't unusual to have a classic show followed by a DJ set and indie concert all in the same weekend. After two shows on Thursday night, Murphy hit the stage on Friday evening refreshed and ready to rock.

The more scaled down approach worked well at LRP, as Murphy, statuesque and lanky stood on the stage surveying the large room in front of him, filled with tables in a cabaret setting. With a rose pinned to his right shirt sleeve, Murphy cut a strong figure, flanked by two of his longtime friends and musicians. Born in New Jersey, Julliard trained and New York City based, Emilio Zef China has shared the stage with Murphy for the past few years. Adding support on bass and electric violin, China has played with Murphy's live band since 2011. John Andrews of Loudboy is a New York City based guitarist and singer who was part of Murphy's Ninth (Nettwerk Music Group, 2011) album band as well as the Ninthlive touring ensemble.

The dark club was filled to the brim on this warm, Friday evening. The crowd, which filled every possible seat and had overflowed into the aisles was also packed was three deep in the bar area, held onto every word the iconic singer uttered. In between interesting takes on Bauhaus and solo songs such as "Strange Kind of Love" with a snippet of "Bela Lugosi's Dead;" "Gaslit;" "King Volcano;" "The Rose;" "Marlene Dietrich's Favorite Poem;" "Kingdom's Coming;" "All Night Long;" "Secret" and "Never Fall Out" as well as the obligatory covers of David Bowie ("The Belway Brothers") and Iggy Pop ("Sister Midnight"), Murphy was in a jovial mood. The singer told a number of humorous stories. One was about his ballet dancer wife who he claims is an English Dame and how he just wants her to make dinner. Another story, which he told with an impish look on his face and a gleam in his eye, was about how New York, though wonderful "is just too damn expensive. You get duped into spending a small fortune to live in a tiny box."

The audience on this evening was completely amped-up. This was a group of die-hard fans. They sang along with Murphy on every song. It didn't matter whether the arrangement was similar or even close to the original. Even in their re-imagined, stripped format the majority of the songs were pure Peter Murphy—melodic, moody and almost as though they were plucked from another era. Once the song had begun and was recognized, the crowd was right there with Murphy making each song an audience participation event.

As always when Peter Murphy performs, there was a large theatrical element to the performance. The small stage was stark. Murphy commanded the center, while China stood to his right and Andrews was positioned on his left. The show began with little fanfare. Suddenly, Murphy had appeared on stage. He had quietly entered from stage right, growled the opening lyrics "Calling Sister Midnight/You've got me reaching for the moon" from "Sister Midnight" into his microphone as the lights came up and the startled audience applauded. With regard to the red rose that Murphy had banded to his right sleeve—he made no mention of it. In fact, it played no part in the show until he peeled it and showered himself with the pedals during "The Rose." As the show unfolded, Murphy pranced and stalked the stage like a big cat ready to pounce upon its prey. He preened and posed as the night went on, swan diving forward, as if guided by the music. When it came time for Murphy to play his 12-string acoustic guitar, a great and flamboyant production was made out of bringing his stood to the front of the stage. The crowd of devotees loved it and ate it up. Additionally, he swept his hands theatrically when introducing China and Andrews. And of course his initial exit was well staged and choreographed. During "Gaslit," Murphy pranced and danced across the stage before exiting behind China through the door from which he had entered to begin the show. This was done while the band played on and his vocals continued—the vocals that slowly but surely got softer and softer until they faded into the ether.

Murphy, who has been seducing his fans with his deep baritone voice since the late-1970s hasn't changed. Though the members of his band (from Bauhaus to solo artist) and some of the songs he performs have both evolved, "The Godfather of Goth" still delivers the same goods—thrilling, moody, sometimes gloomy, melodic, mystical prose that at the same time celebrates both the beauty as well as the unsightly and dangerous energies that permeate life. His fans are drawn to this romantic, musical and expressive fusion like flies to a fire. On this night he delighted his dedicated fanbase.

Photo Credit: Christine Connallon
[Additional article contributions by Christine Connallon].

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