Former Bauhaus Singer Kicks Off Long Delayed San Francisco Residency
By Dave Pehling
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Legendary post-punk vocalist and one of the founders of the influential British band Bauhaus, Peter Murphy finally comes to San Francisco for his long awaited at the Chapel in the Mission District starting Friday night.
While the residency originally scheduled for the summer of 2017 was initially postponed due to health reasons after nodules were found on Murphy's vocal cords, it was subsequently postponed several times because of visa issues. The extended engagement presented by the Chapel, Amoeba Records and concert promoter (((folkYEAH!))) was set to feature Murphy headlining 17 concerts between March 5th and March 27th.
The latest scheduled opening night hit a snag on Tuesday when Murphy, who resides in Los Angeles, was stuck at LAX by flight delays and unable to get to San Francisco for the what was to be the residency's opening performance.
While there was a certain amount of disappointment expressed on social media over the latest delay, the Chapel offered refunds for the last-minute postponement to fans who were in attendance. The Should the World Fail to Fall Apart show has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 13, and will be free for all March 5th ticket holders. Management at the Chapel has also said in a statement that Murphy is now in San Francisco, eliminating any concerns over travel delays.
In addition to performing many of his classic solo albums in their entirety, Murphy will play a pair of "Mr. Moonlight" shows focusing on the music of Bauhaus and two special concerts closing out the residency paying tribute to one of the singer's biggest influences, the late David Bowie.
Murphy and his Bauhaus collaborators -- guitarist Daniel Ash, drummer Kevin Haskins and bassist David J -- laid the groundwork for post-punk and gothic rock for decades to come with the four studio albums they released between their founding in 1978 and the band's dissolution in 1983.
While the other members of Bauhaus would start the successful bands Tones on Tail and Love and Rockets, Murphy went on to launch a solo career in 1986 with his debut album Should the World Fail to Fall Apart to wide critical acclaim. Subsequent efforts like Love Hysteria and his biggest commercial hit Deep would expand his audience with some of his first solo chart hits.
While Bauhaus would eventually reunite for several rapturously received tours and one final album -- the celebrated swan song Go Away White in 2008 that led to a last acrimonious split -- Murphy has remained the most prolific member of the group, whether embarking on extensive tours or producing new recorded work. The singer released a live album in 2017 entitled Bare-Boned and Sacred from his recent Stripped Tour that featured Murphy performing with pared down backing of just a guitarist and bassist/violinist.
Murphy headlined a concert for that tour at the Chapel last December of 2017 and was taken by the venue. For the long-delayed residency, the singer will be performing one of the albums from his discography in its entirety each night in addition to playing other songs from throughout his career.
Addendum: Due to issues with his voice, Murphy decided before the Tuesday, March 19th concert that he was unable to perform the songs from Dust, so the early performance of that band was postponed until March 25th. That make-up show for ticket holders will include a special encore of David Bowie songs.
The residency schedule is as follows:
- Fri, March 8th 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. – Love Hysteria
- Sat, March 9th – Deep
- Sun, March 10th – Deep
- Mon, March 11th – Deep
- Wed, March 13th – Should the World Fail to Fall Apart (free make up concert for postponed March 5th show)
- Thu, March 14th – Deep with a special encore of selections from Love Hysteria
- Fri, March 15th 8 p.m. – Cascade
- Fri, March 15th 10 p.m. – Holy Smoke
- Mon, March 18th – Stripped
- Tue, March 19th 7 p.m. - Dust (POSTPONED)
- Tue, March 19th 9 p.m. - Ninth
- Thu, March 21st – Mr. Moonlight (Bauhaus set) with original Bauhaus member David J
- Fri, March 22nd – Mr. Moonlight (Bauhaus set) with original Bauhaus member David J
- Sat, March 23rd – Mr. Moonlight (Bauhaus set) with original Bauhaus member David J
- Mon, March 25th - Dust plus an encore of Bowie songs
- Tue, March 26th – A Tribute to David Bowie
- Wed, March 27th – A Tribute to David Bowie
In addition to these dates, the Chapel and Folk Yeah are co-presenting with Golden Voice one additional show at the Regency Ballroom on Friday, March 29th, marking the 40th anniversary of Bauhaus that will feature Murphy and David J performing the band's debut album In The Flat Field in its entirety along with an extended encore of more classic Bauhaus tunes. For more information and tickets to the residency, visit the Chapel website.
