Vampiric figures traditionally recoil from the spotlight, but Peter Murphy may be a reluctant exception. The musician who most embodies vampire iconography in his stage persona has long demonstrated a conflicted relationship with fame. Peter Murphy’s mark on goth rock history is undeniable: anybody who spent their teenage years adorned in flowing robes and black eyeliner can identify the former Bauhaus front man at the first note of his sepulchral baritone. Murphy’s solo work, while not as immediately recognizable, is full of goth night anthems. Such infamy would seem counter to Murphy’s reclusive nature—a trait demonstrated by his choice to relocate to Turkey in the early ‘90s—but Murphy remains visible on his own terms. With his first album in seven years set for a June release and an appearance as a vampire in last year’s The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Murphy is once again emerging from the shadows.
The Twilight role was fitting for a man prone to entering the stage by lowering from the ceiling like a bat. But when it comes to his music career, Murphy is less eager to be typecast. Though his carefully cultivated image remains largely unchanged from the walking undead character he established over 30 years ago in Bauhaus, Murphy remains an unpredictable and compelling figure. An unceremonious end to 2006’s Bauhaus reunion and a recent public spat with Dead Can Dance’s Brendan Perry over failed tour plans, in which Murphy blasted Perry for “pretentious musical tourism,” have only added to his mercurial mystique.
As he departs on a new U.S. tour, Murphy remains mum about details surrounding his new album, Ninth, but is previewing material from it during his sets. It’s dangerous to speculate about what surprises the album will hold. From late ’80s and early ’90s modern rock radio-friendly anthems like “Cuts You Up” and “The Sweetest Drop” to 2002’s Dust, which eschewed goth-rock formula in favor of an atmospheric sound steeped with references to traditional Turkish forms, Murphy has routinely confounded and delighted his audience. But it’s this unpredictability and commitment to following his own muse that makes Murphy an enduringly compelling figure when many of his peers rest on their crimson laurels.
PETER MURPHY
Thursday, 8pm
Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz
Tickets $25 adv/ $29 door; www.riotheatre.com
