Bauhaus

Goths of the netherworld, rejoice! Bauhaus, the legendary founding fathers of goth rock, have dug themselves out of their shallow graves and reunited yet again. Formed in 1978, the UK band broke ground with a gloomy mix of cathartic post-punk, groove-based glam rock and dub before breaking up five years later. By that time, their legacy was firmly in place, and it has continued to grow. Singer Peter Murphy went on to a successful solo career, while bandmates Daniel Ash, David J. and Kevin Haskins struck gold as Love and Rockets.

Surely a band so obsessed with all things dead and undead could never truly die, and so, after settling whatever differences that caused the band to break up (or maybe because Murphy and Love and Rockets were both at a creative standstill), they reunited in 1998 (the 15th anniversary of their demise) and toured the world. The result of that tour was Gotham, a live two-disc set recorded in New York that included new versions of the band's classic's ("Bela Lugosi's Dead," "She's in Parties" "Kick in the Eye") and signature covers (T. Rex's "Telegram Sam," David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust"). Bauhaus fans, like myself, took this bit of live memorabilia as an indication that it would never happen again. We were so wrong.

Last year, Bauhaus re-formed to play the Coachella music festival, then took off on yet another whirlwind headlining tour before being asked by Trent Reznor to support Nine Inch Nails's everlasting With Teeth tour. If you missed them the first or second time they were around, better catch them now before they start looking like black-clad decrepit old geezers (they're almost there). This time, when Bauhaus takes the open-air stage, we can see how these black leather- and vinyl-clad, inky-haired palefaces manage the blazing summer heat. Will they evaporate like vampires under the impenetrable sun? Stay tuned.