Bauhaus “In The Flat Field” 1980. 4AD Records. Last night we saw Peter Murphy perform at Turner Hall in Milwaukee as part of his ‘Stripped’ tour. Murphy charged his performance with regal and slinky energy, with perhaps a bit more sitting than 35 years ago, but he still busted out his crucifixion arms and black-booted goth ballerina toe kicks. His voice is still strong, too, filled with drama, dark brooding and maniacal sing-shouts. Too many show highlights to fully list but one particularly great song was “Hollow Hills.” Another fun moment was when Murphy started cracking up while singing – the source of his amusement was two young kids who were at the front of the stage and falling asleep toward the end of the show. He brought them onstage and gave the girl’s stuffed Pokemon a kiss, then sent the kids backstage for a more comfortable spot to rest. It was goth-adorable.

In The Flat Field is a masterpiece of an album. Allmusic says “Few debut albums ever arrived so nearly perfectly formed; that In the Flat Field practically single-handedly invented what remains for many as the stereotype of goth music – wracked, at times spindly vocals about despair and desolation of many kinds, sung over mysterious and moody music…” The title track “In the Flat Field” is one of my all-time favorite songs and this video of its live performance in ‘82 is worth watching over and over again.