Strange to be able to walk to see Peter Murphy in my Brooklyn neighborhood. More strange, that he, the headliner, went on at 8:15, though he did play a long set. Whereas I was happy to see one of my favorite musicians without bias, my friend Nicole came with her thinking cap. “He’s singing over tracks, there’s no synth, he’s on time delay.” I’m just thinking .. He sounds great! He wasn’t lip sinking! He could be standing up there alone with everything pre-taped… I’d be happy. He wasn’t happy with the sound.. but it did sound great.

The venue: the Brooklyn Well has an outdoor stage with a sizable standing area and a cavernous interior bar area, complete with porto potties and a food menu which includes pulled pork sliders. The place is literally walled with pallets of bricks and building materials… interesting?

Peter Murphy’s voice was spot on, he was in a good mood, dancing around. I had seen Bauhaus most recently at the Nokia Theater in NYC several years ago, and at that show, Mr. Murphy just stood pretty still on stage. Maybe he wasn’t feeling well that night? I remember being extremely disappointed. I’m a super fan. So I was happy to see there was once again sparkle in Peter Murphy’s step on Sunday night. He even suggested that he felt like Elvis up there. His fans in the front were dedicated… leave it at that.

The set consisted of a mix of tunes from his whole catalog and Bauhaus’s too. (list at bottom)

I have to say I was a little surprised that he ended with “Ziggy Stardust.”

Gosh.. I could think of 50 songs I’d rather hear… I know everyone loves it but, I’d rather some obscure Bauhaus tune,or uh.., “Indigo Eyes.” Sadness, he didn’t sing it.

Nicole, who came with me, is über perceptive, and pointed out that Peter Murphy was wearing a thong. He’s always rocked a thong, Nicole! Forget the man boobs that he self-depricatingly pointed out. The guy is 55 and can still rock a thong!

Oh yeah, and the phrase “the beautiful downgrade” from “Silent Hedges”… is it a down grade to play weird venues as if they are way, way, way Off Broadway? Has Peter Murphy been reduced to playing cafés and obscure locations in Brooklyn? What’s next? Hey, you can play my living room ANY DAY OF THE YEAR PETER… I’ll follow you into oblivion.

Words and photos by Kristina Kozak

Set list, from Bauhaus to 2011′s Ninth

velocity bird
flat field
peace to each
memory go
silent hedges
(a very brief Bela Lugosis’ Dead)
rose hunter
strange kind of love
cuts you up
subway
gaslit
I’ll fall with your knife
The prince and old lady shade
stigmata
uneven and brittle
marlene dietrich’s favorite poem
all night long
20th century
deep ocean vast sea
dark entries