[kj] O.T. Stooges in NYC

[TB]

"Alex Smith" wrote:

>

> I managed to see Bauhaus on their *first* reunion tour (ugh, talk about 

> sounding "wrong" -- reunion tours should be a one-time-only thing, I 

> think). That was amazing (it was the show that ended up as the entirely 

> superfluous live album, GOTHAM). They played everything I needed to hear, 

> did it beautifully, looked fantastic and everything. If only they'd left 

> it at that.


I also caught the Bauhaus reunion tour that year during the 3 night 
Hollywood Palladium stand and it was a major revelation.  This was a band 
(along with the offshoot Love and Rockets) that I stupidly dismissed back in 
the 80's so going to that show was more out of curiosity than anything else. 
As you said, a perfectly executed live show and the band was in peak form. I 
also caught Bauhaus at the beginning of their 2005 2nd reunion tour and it 
was a radically different show. Absolutely no theatrical stuff and while the 
band and setlist was excellent musically, Murphy looked terrible with a pot 
belly and overall deshevelled appearance. And again I saw them at the end of 
the Nine Inch Nails tour and it was a marginally better show but Bauhaus 
performing outdoors on a Summer afternoon seems somehow wrong.


> Honestly, the only band I need new material from these days is the `Joke.


Agreed. Even if it's sub-par like Hosannas, they still top most of what 
anyone else is putting out these days.

Two bands that I thought did the reunion thing almost perfectly was Jane's 
Addiction and The Cult. Jane's, at least until they fell apart at the end of 
their final tour in late '03.  This was a band that I *did* follow and see 
live many times from their mid 80's club days right through their '97, 2001 
and 2002-03 reunions and for the most part every show I caught was at least 
very good if not great.  I was at the New Years Eve show at the beginning of 
'03 (a song or two which was documented on the bonus live dvd with the 
album) when they debuted several songs off the forthcoming "Strays" album 
and was blown away how good the new material was. And while the album lacked 
the druggy edge their 80's stuff had and seemed much too polished, I thought 
it mostly kept the promise such reunions should have as far as not being a 
cynical rehash of glory days long gone.

As for The Cult, while a lot of people hammered the 2001 "Beyond Good and 
Evil" album and tour, I thought it was a solid effort that didn't retread 
their past work, especially sonically.  I'm looking forward to the band 
hopefully releasing the rumored studio album they're working on at the end 
of '07.

Same with the '03 KJ album and (most of the) tour, btw.

T.B.