Peter Murphy at The Mod Club

It’s Saturday night at The Mod Club and The Goth-father himself, Peter Murphy, commands attention. Especially when he can’t hear his own booming, baritone voice with just the right volume and reverb. Or the backup vocals on his guitarist’s mic.

It’s bad enough that an enjoyable concert experience nowadays is mostly marred by cellphone-wielding photographer wannabes. But when it’s the sound technician that’s on her cellphone instead of paying attention to what’s really going on onstage, there’s gonna be trouble.

About half a dozen songs in, mid-song, he motions to a figure offstage to his left to turn up his vocals. After repeated attempts, he picks up something (perhaps a water bottle?) and tosses it overhand at the culprit. “She’s on her cellphone!” he exclaims. And without missing a beat, continues his song, as if it were a mere blip on his radar.

Peter Murphy’s stagemanship is understated yet effective. He lurked at the back centre of the stage for the first three songs, finally getting more intimate with the crowd after breaking out the acoustic guitar for “Indigo Eyes.”

From his days in Bauhaus to his many solo efforts since, there’s always a theatrical quality to his performances. Seeing him on this Stripped tour with just two others (Emilio China on violin/bass and John Andrews on guitar) was a rare treat. There were a few songs where a phantom keyboard/drum track laid down a sonic backdrop, but it didn’t sound canned or contrived.

Standout moments — aside from the nonchalant object toss at the sound technician — included a haunting rendition of “Marlene Dietrich’s Favourite Poem,”  and “A Strange Kind of Love,”  both from his 1989 solo album Deep. The latter’s violin solo got a great reaction from the receptive audience.

It’s a testament to his songwriting how these songs, now over 25 years old, still resonate, especially with this barebones instrumental accompaniment. The violin most definitely helped, playing eerily tight harmonies with Peter Murphy’s vocals.

For his second encore, Peter Murphy closed out the night with a rousing rendition of I’ll Fall With Your Knife.”

For the hardcore fan, the merch table had 2 offerings, each for a mere $100: Autographed, CDs of Bauhaus’ “Go Away White” hand-painted by Peter Murphy, and a Meet & Greet with Peter Murphy after the show.