Gothic Bauhaus rocks on

Halloween arrived in Detroit exactly two months early this year as gothic-rock's original architects Bauhaus brought their appropriately titled Resurrection tour to the State Theater in Detroit.

With reunion tours being all the rage in the late '90s, everyone from '70s titans like Kiss and The Eagles to unlikely counter-culture vets like The Sex Pistols and Culture Club have been jumping to cash in on the trend. It is hardly surprising, then, that Bauhaus should join the club.

In the early '80s, Bauhaus combined the energy of punk with the chilling new-wave melodies of Joy Division and the glam-rock theatrics of David Bowie, decorated with horror show lyrics and, along the way, became one of the era's most influential bands. Alongside Siouxie and the Banshees and the Cure, Bauhaus were heroes to black-clad sulking teenagers worldwide.

Courtesy of RCA The '80s rock group Bauhaus reunited for their Resurrection tour at the State Theater in Detroit this past week.

But by 1984 the group had splintered. Singer Peter Murphy carried the dark torch into a series of mediocre solo records that, at best, weakly imitated Bauhaus' style. The rest of the gang, guitarist Daniel Ash, bassist David J and drummer Kevin Haskins soared to greater creative heights as the dance-oriented Tones on Tale and later on, as the splendid Love and Rockets.

Recently, though, Murphy and the others have apparently mended the differences that caused the breakup and prevented any sort of reunion prior to now. Regrouping for the Resurrection tour, Bauhaus is currently making its first string of live appearances in 15 years.

Not surprisingly, then, the State Theater was packed to capacity on Aug. 31, 1998. Awash with attendees donning black leather, Doc Martins, fishnet stockings and white pancake makeup, complete with red velvet curtains and eerie Victorian chamber music. It was almost a scene from Ann Rice's vampire chronicle.

Amid the inevitable billowing clouds of fog machine extract and seizure -inducing strobes, the band roared onto the stage with "Double Dare," one of its loudest and most sinister songs.

Murphy was not even on stage during this number, but made his appearance via a television monitor mounted on the middle of the stage. How post-modern!

Much to the excitement of the crowd, Murphy leaped onstage, joining in for the next song, the brilliantly anthemic "In The Flat Field." With his tall, painfully thin and pale frame dressed up in the 19th Century garb - black of course - he resembled some sort of bizarre cross between David Bowie and Count Dracula.

In true reunion tour fashion, the rest of the show continued song for song like a best-of collection. The band churned out favorites such as the haunting ballad "Hollow Hills," the psychedelic "She's in Parties," and the new-wavish "Terror Couple Kill Colonel" with surprising precision and, through sheer energy and skill, kept things from sounding overly nostalgic.

After an hour or so, Murphy and the gang left the stage only to come back on to greet the raving audience with the inevitable hits.

"Kick in the Eye" came first, parading through the speakers with its bouncing bassline and early '80s techno-funk beat.

Next on the agenda was a cover of "Ziggy Stardust," which gave Murphy the perfect opportunity to indulge his Bowie obsession by playing out the title role.

Leaving the stage for a second time, everyone in the crowd knew that they had to come back to plat their signature tune, "Bela Lugosi's Dead."

And play it they did - in full theater style. Daniel Ash waltzed on stage sporting an Abe Lincoln style black tophat while Murphy was decked out in a fill-length velvet cape, thus completing his vampire costume.

Topping the show off at an hour and a half, Bauhaus had been able to squeeze most of the vital moments of their back catalog into the show. But with tickets at $30 a pop and no opening act, fans were left craving a bit more, especially since this was a band that many of them had been waiting many years to see.

The songs were played well though, and it was a treat to see such an influential band regroup for a stroll down memory lane. Now if we could only have The Smiths ...

09-09-98