Live Review: Peter Murphy, Nerve Quakes

Few bands can claim to be the epicentre for an entire subculture. Peter Murphy, however, rightly holds the mantle of the “Godfather of Goth”. As the frontman for Bauhaus, he was in the right time and the right place at the beginning of post-punk/gothic rock scenes, and their debut album In The Flat Field bounded onto the musical landscape. Murphy was able to take the dark solemness of Joy Division, the raucous aggression of the Sex Pistols, and the showman's sensibilities of David Bowie to create something not quite like anything before.

It was the promise of this seminal album played in full that got a sizeable audience to Capitol on a Sunday night (an impressive feat it seems these days). The crowd ranged from Baby Bats through to crusty old goths pulling on their well-worn PVC pants for another shuffle and stomp on the dancefloor.

Support for the night came from Perth’s own darkwave mainstays Nerve Quakes. Taking to the stage a mere 30 minutes after the doors opened, they were already playing to a half-filled room. These guys are a highly dependable band, always on the money. But with the number of years they have been playing, and with a host of support acts this year, we were hoping for more new material (especially considering the act they were opening for.) They delivered with fan favourites like The Uninvited and 1000 Years (which always feels like a cheeky nod to Bela Lugosi’s Dead) and had the crowd more than ready for Murphy to grace the stage.

We aren’t going to lie, In The Flat Field was a permanent soundtrack to our teenage years, so we had high hopes for this show. With half of the band's original line-up taking to the stage (David J Haskins returning on bass) this was most likely the closest experience to a true Bauhaus concert modern audiences were going to get. However, what we got was a powerful show marred by some of the worst live mixing we have ever experienced. Murphy’s vocals often jumped up and down in volume mid-song, sometimes becoming completely inaudible. There was a nearly permanent feedback hum running over the mix and at times the guitars would spike in volume, drowning out the rest of the mix.

However, when the mix balanced out it really was a sight to be seen. The Godfather of Goth pranced about the stage, full of swagger. Haskins' deep bass lines sounded just as good as the original recordings (those mournful, echoing strums in the intro to Bela Lugosi’s Dead reverberated around and through everyone present). It was dark, it was stark, and it was all we hoped it could be.

The crowd seemed truly forgiving of the mix, with those at the front groping at Murphy every time he leaned down at the front of the stage like the rock star he is. Everyone was shuffling in time with the band and singing along to all the classic tunes.

After the completion of the album in full, we were treated to a bunch of other Bauhaus classics and well-known covers. Burning From The Inside, Kick In The Eye, The Passion Of Lovers and a raucous version of Telegram Sam by T Rex kept the crowd enthralled. But it was the final song of the night, with a pitch-perfect channelling of David Bowie, that was the highlight for us. The Bauhaus cover of Ziggy Stardust has always been brilliant, but to see it live was truly memorable. With the final ringing lines of “Ziggy played guitar” echoing through the club, the band exited an enjoyable albeit flawed show.