Live Review: Peter Murphy, Familia, The Dark Shadows

With the black leather and hairspray crowd in early formation, The Dark Shadows strutted out onto the stage. The power trio's Damned-influenced, gothic punk rock grooves sounded as strong as ever and got the crowd moving easily. Guitarist and frontwoman Brigitte Handley's vocals moved from strength to strength, sounding like a huskier Siouxsie Sioux, demanding audience attention wherever she went. The gloomy, minor key music couldn't mask the fun time the band and audience were having.

Familia singer Ash Rothschild has been a part of the Sydney goth scene for over 20 years and made this clear as he took centre stage without hesitation. More straightforward rock than Dark Shadows, the throbbing bass-driven, three guitar sound sounded a little flat in comparison. The band was perfectly competent and Rothschild's voice sounded confident, but there was no avoiding the lukewarm reception. When the band did kick it up a gear and embrace the cheesier aspects of the scene, they proved they had chops, but this was just too little too late.

After nearly half an hour of technical delays, ex-Bauhaus frontman and 'godfather of goth' Peter Murphy strode onto the stage. Without makeup and dressed in jeans and a motorcycle jacket, the man hardly looked the image he's had for some 30 years. Though this changed immediately as he groaned and chanted like an invocation as the band eased their way into an explosive opening of Bauhaus' In The Flat Field. What followed was a smattering of Bauhaus classics amid less familiar solo tunes, belted out by a solid backing group and crooned out by a master. Despite the lush, depressive nature of the songs, Murphy himself was jovial, charismatic and charmingly funny. Anecdotes of tours, jokes about the cheesy nature of goth lyrics and shots at David Bowie's new single were littered throughout the evening. From the opening notes to the final howl of a Ziggy Stardust cover, it sounded like the crowd was back in 1982.

Peter Murphy may not be the most relevant of musicians playing the most relevant of musical genres, but it was pleasure – and for most the crowd – an honour to see a gothic icon after so many years, cheerful and proving he's still a (dark) force to be reckoned with.