Bauhaus: Gotham

I went to the reunion (resurrection) tour in 1998, and that was the only show I have ever seen of these four men who absolutely defy age, pop culture, and loss of energy. I would challenge any band out now to have as much artistic talent as Peter Murphy displayed on-stage on Gotham. I've listened to them for quite a while before seeing them, and I might as well throw my CDs away because this video wraps all of their best and brightest (as bright as Bauhaus can be) songs up into a great ensemble of emotion. A must have for any fan...who doesn't already own 300 copies of it.

Bauhaus still looks and sounds great if this 1998 taping of their Roseland Ballroom NY stop on their reunion tour means anything. Frontman Peter Murphy is still as foppish, flamboyant and overly-theatrical a performer as there has ever been-- his Dyrvish-whirling, mirror-dancing and feather-boa waving are all over this taping. Daniel Ash is still one of rock's great underestimated guitarists, and in "In Fear of Fear" he even breaks out into a rocking, off-kilter saxophone riff. Bassist David J and Drummer Kevin Haskins hold there own quite nicely as well. Clearly, as a whole the Godfathers of Goth have improved with age, and even the silliest songs ("Dark Entries", "She's In parties", and the "Stairway To Heaven"-type opus of Goth-rock that is "Bela Lugosi's Dead") sound fuller, stronger, harder. The filming itself is no work of art-- choppy editing and eye-rolling visual effects might have given this taping a passing grade with kitsch-heavy Murphy and bandmates, but any non-fan would quickly lose interest. The backstage banter and brief conversations with fans aren't particularly enlightening, but there is a kind of priceless scene involving a long-lost and now-found article of clothing. Bauhaus fans enjoy, everyone else stay away.

Being a fan of Bauhaus, I really wanted to like this DVD. Maybe if I had seen it when it was first released I might have been more impressed. The reality is that this is a poorly produced DVD that needs to be remastered. The full frame (1:33) aspect ratio does not cut it, nor does the flat audio. The picture was grainy on my HDTV, and I had to crank up the subwoofer to hear David J's awesome bass lines.

I'm not a technofile, I still own lots of VHS tapes and am fine with analogue technology - but this disc looks like crap. The footage is grainy, and the visual effects are cheesy.

Otherwise, it's Bauhaus at the top of their game. "All We Ever Wanted" was definitely the highlight of their set for me. My only other complaint is the lack of extras, specifically additional songs. Are these the only tunes Bauhaus played on their reunion tour? I was really hoping to hear more than one song off The Sky's Gone Out (like "Silent Hedges," which appears on the soundtrack album, "Third Uncle" or the good version of "Spirit").

I don't think it would be milking their fanbase to release another live DVD, or at least remaster this one. Bauhaus deserves a better testament.

Although I'm a big fan of the group, I must say I was a bit disappointed by their reunion concert video called "Gotham". It isn't that they do not play their songs with involvement. It's the bad editing and filming that causes watching this one not so pleasant as it could be. It looks as the makers of the documentary we're thinking only how to get this over and go home. Great music is presented in a horrible TV look-a-like manner and that's the only reason I cannot give this one any better score than 7 out of 10. I wish I could, but I just can't. It's a shame that Murphy & Co. haven't choose any better filmmakers, who would properly present their reunion performance. Bela Lugosi's undead, but the director and editor should be buried six feet underground.