Gig Review: Gary Numan.

GARY NUMAN

14 MAY 2011

FORUM THEATRE

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

If anybody out there had any doubt whatsoever that without Gary Numan the electronic music landscape would be unrecognizable today – then all that nameless person would have to do to be irrevokably convinced would be to have headed towards and gained entry to Gary Numan his own bad-ass self performing his seminal 1979 album The Pleasure Principle in its entirety; authentically re-constructed, to boot. This is the show I saw on the 14th of May – a soggy autumn Saturday evening, and the excitement level of my fellow attendees was cranked to eleven and beyond.

Opening band Severed Heads, one of the founders of the Australian electronic music scene, came out of self-imposed retirement for the express purpose of supporting this tour. Basically two blokes (one of whom was main man Tom Ellard) on keyboards and a loop machine with a projection screen behind them (on which grotesque computer-generated images seemingly created in the early days of digital graphics played), Severed Heads' sound was all spidery and jittery synths married with a disco drumbeat and bizarre sound effects and vocal distortions. The techno-flavoured music filled the ornately decorated expanse of the Forum Theatre, which was only half-filled with punters, who seemed only slowly to be getting into it. Sadly, it wasn't until their last song that Ellard said, "Well, here it is. The song you've been waiting for us to play," before launching into their best-known track, 1984's "Dead Eyes Opened." Suddenly, everybody on the dance floor began dancing, and the energy level spiked.

At 10.15, Gary Numan came out to play. The Forum was filled to capacity, and as soon as the opening notes of "Airlane" hit the crowd went fucking bonkers. True to promise, not only did he play the entire Pleasure Principle album in its entirety, it was played authentically, meaning there were no "improvements" (as if that's possible) or updated means of playing the music, or "re-mixes" or "re-imaginings." There was Gary and four other blokes on the stage. Four synthesizers. A set of drums. And the euphoria that can only be described by hearing Mr Numan and company play live one of the most important albums in existence period.


I'm telling you: the music was positively alive there in the expanses of the old Forum Theatre. The synths were crisp and exact, the drumming was dynamic and lively, and Numan's voice pierced the darkness with an immediacy and verve; it still resounded and sounded as fresh as it did when the needle first met the grooves of the vinyl way back when I got the album in 1985 as a fourteen-year-old scrawny brat.

The crowd lapped it up, looking as happy and contented as I've ever seen an audience be. There was the general feeling that this was more an event than merely a show; the euphoria was quite infectious and addictive and palpable! Punters held their bottles aloft as they sang along to such infectious classics such as "Conversation" ("WE ARE NOT GODS / AND WE ARE NOT MEN …") and "M.e.," which, being my favourite track off the album, was just freaking brilliant. What's that? Did the crowd go crazy when "Cars" played? You bet your sweet ass they did! And thus did Set #1 come to a close.


Set #2 was selections from the old (namely, 1978's Replicas) and the new (Jagged and Pure mostly). Kicking things off with the chilly and oddly spooky "Down In The Park," the second set of the evening allowed Gary Numan and his merry band of men to express the rockier and more industrial side of Numan's oeuvre. Chunky-ass guitars, heavy beats, and throbbing bass exemplified a rather meta-moment in Numan's show – Numan taking and perfecting a genre of music that owed its very existence to Numan's music in the first place. As my wife C. said to me during "Haunted": "Nine Inch Nails was inspired by him, no?" And we all know the answer to that. 2300 die-hard Numan fans with love and respect in their eyes and movements collectively lost their shit when Numan, bearing a mischievous grin, broke into "Are 'Friends' Electric?"


Damn right, Gary. The world of electronic pop music wouldn't be recognizable today without your prescience and forward-minded assault on the senses we know now as The Pleasure Principle. An absolutely enchanting evening.

setlist

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airlane

metal

m.e.

tracks

observer

conversation

engineers

complex

films

cars

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down in the park

the fall

when the sky bleeds

pure

haunted

everything comes down to this

are 'friends' electric?

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halo

a prayer for the unborn

i die: you die

Gary Numan Is Visiting OZ.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure today that I announce the dates for Gary Numan's 2011 Australian tour. Yes, the man who helped pioneer electronic music into what it is today is bringing his The Pleasure Principle Tour down under – and you know what that means. You got it – Numan will be performing his 1979 masterpiece The Pleasure Principle in its entirety, plus a special encore with selections from his entire career, from albums such as Replicas and Telekon through to Pure, Jagged, and the soon-to-be-released Splinter. So! Excited yet? As if that weren't enough, Sydney "Aus-electro" masters Severed Heads have been tapped to be the supporting act! How fucking awesome is that?


Here, for your reference, are the dates of his Australia/New Zealand tour. Please note that Severed Heads will not be performing at the Perth and Auckland shows.

12 MAY 2011 – BRISBANE – THE TIVOLI

13 MAY 2011 – SYDNEY – ENMORE THEATRE

14 MAY 2011 – MELBOURNE – FORUM THEATRE

16 MAY 2011 – ADELAIDE – HQ

17 MAY 2011 – PERTH – ASTOR THEATRE

21 MAY 2011 – AUCKLAND – AUCKLAND TOWN HALL

And, if you click here and subscribe to Red Ant Touring, who's promoting the tour, you can get yourself two free Gary Numan downloads, and three free Severed Heads downloads! So, you know, go and do it, already.

See you there, kids. Stay well, and talk to you later! From 1979's Replicas, with Tubeway Army, here is Gary Numan at the Old Grey Whistle Test in London performing "Are Friends Electric?". You can be sure this is going to be huge live. Cheers!

Gary Numan - Rescheduled.

It was a sad day for Gary Numan fans in North America last April when he had to postpone the United States leg of his The Pleasure Principle tour as a result of the spewing ash propelled by Iceland's temperamental Eyjafyallajökull volcano, wasn't it? Yes, it was indeed!

Luckily, he's officially come through with his rescheduling promise and, on top of that, he's expanded the original scope and will now be hitting fourteen cities, instead of the original two (plus Coachella) he had originally planned on. Rock on, Mr Numan, rock on.

Is your city on the list? Look below at the new and expanded dates of the 2010 The Pleasure Principle Tour of North America.

Oct 17. Orlando. The Club at Firestone 578 N. Orange Ave. Orlando. FL 32801 Tickets $20 Advance. $25 on the door.Oct 18. Atlanta. The Masquerade 695 North Ave. NE Atlanta. GA 30308 Tickets $25 Advance. $28 on the door. Oct 20. Washington DC. Black Cat 1811 14th St. NW Washington. DC 20009 Tickets $25 Oct 21. Philadelphia. The Trocadero 1003 Arch St. Philadelphia. PA 19107 Tickets $24 Advance. $26 on the door. **With support: Emillie Autumn** Oct 22. Boston. Paradise Rock Club 967 Commonwealth Ave. Boston. MA 02215 Tickets $25 Oct 23. New York City. Nokia Theatre 1515 Broadway @ W44th St. New York. NY 10036 Tickets $27.50 Advance. $29 on the door. **With support: Emillie Autumn** Oct 24. Toronto. Opera House 735 Queen St. East Toronto. ON. M4M 1H1 Tickets $27.50 Advance. $30 on the door. Oct 25. Detroit. Majestic Theatre 4120 Woodward Ave. Detroit. MI 48201-2027 Tickets $25 Advance. $28 on the door. Oct 26. Chicago. Metro 3730 North Clark. Chicago. IL 60613 Tickets $25 Oct 28. Denver. Gothic Theatre 3263 S Broadway Englewood. Denver CO 80113 - 2425 Tickets $23.50 Advance. $28.50 on the door. Oct 31. Seattle. Neumo's 925 East Pike St. Seattle. WA 98122 Tickets $23 Advance. $25 on the door. Nov 1. Portland. Roseland Theater 8 Northwest 6th Ave. Portland. OR 97209 - 3607 Tickets $25 Advance. $30 on the door. Nov 2. San Francisco. The Fillmore 1805 Geary Blvd. San Francisco. CA 94115 Tickets $27.50 Nov 3. Los Angeles. El Rey Theatre 5515 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles. CA 90036 Tickets $33 Nov 4. Los Angeles. El Rey Theatre 5515 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles. CA 90036 Tickets $33

So, there you have it! If you get a chance to attend, then I would highly recommend doing so. He doesn't tour all that often, and he puts on one hell of a show. He's Gary freaking Numan, for crying out loud!

And it's The Pleasure Principle in its entirety. You gotta admit, even if you're not especially a fan of synth-pop, this is a damn fine album. Anyway, for your amusement this first of July, here's a taste. This is Gary performing "M.e" from the aforementioned album at the Wembley Arena in 1981. I think, after thirty years, it's going to sound even better! (Not to mention it's my favorite track from TPP.)

I Nearly Married A Human: Gary Numan Live!

One unfortunate result of Icelandic volcano Eyjafyallajökull blowing its top and stranding thousands upon thousands of travelers was that Gary Numan -- he of "Cars" and "Are Friends Electric?" fame and noted idol of The Mighty Boosh's Vince Noir -- found himself stranded in the UK on the eve of his United States "mini-tour" touching down at the Coachella Festival and two shows in Los Angeles and San Francisco, performing his masterpiece The Pleasure Principle in its entirety, natch. In a heart-felt apology on his webpage, Numan mentions re-scheduling the Los Angeles and San Francisco shows in September this year, which is good news so hold on to those tickets if you got 'em, 'cos they'll be honoured at the rescheduled events. Also, he states, "we hope to make that September tour a much bigger affair than the three shows we had in place this time."

So that's good news. Can't wait to see you, Gary. On a related note, did you know that Gary Numan is a registered pilot? Now you do!

In 2008, Gary Numan launched a tour (though not of the United States) featuring the performance of Replicas in its entirety. I had a chance to see it at the IndigO2 Arena when I was in London, but sadly the Silver Jubilee Line was down, and there was no conceivable way to make it that far from West Hampstead. Luckily, cameras were present on the tour (professional ones!) and filmed the whole damn thing.

From Gary Numan's 2008 Replicas Tour, here is the man himself performing one of the strongest tracks off of the album, "I Nearly Married A Human." Enjoy, my friends!

Even Bears Love Gary Numan.

When will Howard ever learn that no one wants to hear his jazz/funk fusion tapes? Especially on a road-trip? Hell, even the bear in the back of the truck doesn't like it. Luckily for everybody involved, Vince didn't forget to bring his massive collection of Gary Numan tapes. Everybody likes Gary Numan. Even creatures of the ursine persuasion! Yay, Gary Numan! Here's Mighty Boosh, with "Mix Tapes".

Late on the Monty Python Monday!

I apologize profusely for having forgotten Monty Python Monday! Can you guys ever forgive me? For some strange reason I feel that I've dropped the baton and have lost the comedy, per se, that might have, for you, kept all the sad and lonely music I've been discussing somehow afloat!

Just kidding, guys. It's all good here. Just as I'm going to keep you all up to date on what's good and interesting in the world of synth-pop and electronica, I'm going to try to make you kids laugh, as well. I'm going to ease down on the Monty Python, and focus a little bit more on the Mighty Boosh! I've nothing for an introduction, except that there is Howard, and there is Vince. Vince likes Gary Numan (which automatically makes it suitable for my blog!), but for now they're pondering the expansive wastes of the ... tundra!!!

Enjoy!

Electro Classic Jukebox: Tubeway Army & Gary Numan.

Vive Gary Numan and his band from the late '70s, Tubeway Army. From 1979, at the Old Grey Whistle Test, here's his seminal classic, "Are Friends Electric?"