Tonight’s adventure brings me to the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco, California. Located in the Nob Hill district, The Masonic is actually just that, the Mason’s Grand hall of California. This beautiful venue, with its high domed ceiling and wrap around balcony, looks as good as it sounds. This venue even has it’s own, somewhat overpriced, parking garage.
Vinsantos DeFonte was up first. This New Orleans based artist mixes drag with storytelling then stirs in a little cabaret. This was a very darkly lit performance but, as dark as it was, the story telling had a bit of humor involved, Having grown up in the Bay Area, this was a bit of a homecoming according to them. The music was dark and brooding and the audience seemed to really enjoy it. Look for their new album produced by Bauhaus’ own David J coming out soon.
Setlist
Encore:
Bauhaus hit the stage to a roar of the crowd. This set was different than the one I experienced at the Cruel World Festival (see my coverage for that HERE). This was a more intimate outing. The guys sounded amazing and there was a lot more crowd interaction by Peter Murphy with the audience singing the chorus’ to several songs. My standout songs were “A God in an Alcove”, “She’s in Parties” and, of course, the legendary “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”.
The encore featured a wardrobe change and three cover songs that have become all Bauhaus. “Sister Midnight”, “Telegram Sam” and “Ziggy Stardust” was the perfect choice of songs to the night. Daniel Ash went from a frilly white silk shirt to a heavily studded leather jacket and Peter Murphy went from a shirt with large rhinestones to a basic black Bush Ranger jacket. He also added his cane that was so prominent at Cruel World. While some bands rely on chemistry to make the music they do, Bauhaus is all magic. That is the only way to describe how these musicians came together to create what they did. It’s no wonder I have been listening to them for around 35 years!
Bauhaus band members:
Daniel Ash – guitar, saxophone
Peter Murphy – vocals, occasional instruments
Kevin Haskins – drums
David J – bass
Setlist
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Photographer of about 10 years, I have been shooting concerts for about 8 of those years. I started to get serious about concert photography about 6 or 7 years ago and now try to shoot as many as I can. I shoot mostly rock but, have done some country and big band stuff. I love music and since I am nowhere close to being a musician, this is a way I can be a small part of what, in the words of Henry Rollins, “gets me through the highs, the lows and everything in between”.
