When the houselights went down Saturday night, the Masonic was almost pitch-black in the moments before Bauhaus took the stage. The crowd, mostly in black, disappeared in the oppressive gloom. Stage lights soon illuminated the quartet, also dressed in black but with guitarist Daniel Ash resplendent in a pirate shirt, sunglasses and bedazzled long coat, which glittered spectacularly in the dramatic lighting.

There was a natural drama to the fact that the legendary band has only played a handful of shows in the last 10 years, and hasn’t played in the Bay Area since 2006. But part of the drama was evoked by the proto-goth band’s theatrics. The set began with Ash’s snarling guitar feedback before the band launched into a spastically noisy cover of John Cale’s “Rosegarden Funeral of Sores.”

Looking at times like Yul Brenner from the Broadway production of “The King and I” and at others like evil emperor Ming the Merciless from the ’80s “Flash Gordon” movie, Peter Murphy, now with shaved pate, stalked the stage with cat-like energy during Bauhaus’ 75-minute set. Bowing before the crowd with his arms outstretched behind him, Murphy stared down the crowd with Hamlet-like intensity.

Bassist David J and his brother, drummer Kevin Haskins—both wearing sunglasses—formed a colossal rhythm section that pummeled the audience during Bauhaus’ more-punk-influenced songs like “Double Dare” and “In the Flat Field,” off its first album. But on the band’s glossier, poppier songs like “She’s in Parties,” from 1983 album Burning From the Inside, Haskins and David J offered up more refined, reggae-influenced grooves.

During the razor-sharp and minimalist funk of “God in an Alcove,” Murphy smacked a gold crown against his thigh like a tambourine before crowning himself with it later in the song. During “Stigmata Martyr,” Murphy posed like Christ on the cross with the microphone stand on his shoulders.

While Murphy seemed determined to deliver much of the evening’s drama, guitarist Daniel Ash conjured most of the evening’s sonic chaos. Ash’s guitar pyrotechnics offered up everything from punk white noise on “Dark Entries” to his signature spaced-out guitar echoes on the band’s signature tune, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.” Ash swapped his guitar for a saxophone to provide some solid wailing on “In Fear of Fear,” and swapped his electric for an acoustic on “The Passion of Lovers” and the haunting “Silent Hedges.”

Murphy pulled double duty, playing a melodica during “She’s in Parties” and synthesizer on “In Fear of Fear.”

“Happy days are here again,” Murphy said before hoisting a pair of drumsticks skyward and adding some percussion during a dub-heavy jam on the outro of “She’s In Parties.”

Bauhaus ended the evening with an encore composed of three covers.

“Aren’t you just lovely,” Murphy said upon returning to the stage looking like an evil Indiana Jones in a black fedora and carrying a scepter.

He led the band through a blistering cover of Iggy Pop’s “Sister Midnight.”

The last two songs paid homage to Bauhaus’ British glam roots. T Rex’s “Telegram Sam” and David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” drove the audience into a frenzy with the band’s rock and roll theatrics.

Earlier in the evening, Vinsantos, who on her Bandcamp page describes herself as a “GAY Witch Drag Artist living in New Orleans,” started the evening’s festivities alone on stage and flanked by a number of synthesizers. Vinsantos’ new-wave vibe included a monologue between songs where she pondered her legacy.

“When you walk out of here tonight, take your legacy with you and try to do some good in the world,” she said.

Vinsantos then explained that Bauhaus had requested one more song from her but that she needed the audience to call her back onstage so that she could get enthusiastic about it. Attendees obliged and Vinsantos returned to close out her set with a touching rendition of Bauhaus’ piano ballad “Crowds.”

See photos from the second night of the two-night stand in San Francisco.