GARY NUMAN
Roundhouse, London
16th November 2013
It seems that a lot has changed in Gary
Numan's life in recent years. Relocation to LA, and an increasing
opening up to his fans, firstly through social media: followers of
his Twitter account were invited to his personal family photo album
as he travelled across the US with his wife, kids and a horse-sized
dog. His daughters even appeared in the music video to his latest
single, 'Love Hurt Bleed'. New album 'Splinter' continues this trend
being exceptionally personal and soul-baring, and sonically powerful
and anthemic. All of which raised expectations and curiosity to
witness New Man Numan live.
The change is visible even before he
walks onstage, as the lights go down and what looked like metal
scaffolding seconds beforehand turns out to be a massive electronic
led display, simultaneously connecting to Numan's tradition of
futuristic, sci-fi stage settings throughout the years, and placing
it in the here and now. Then he appears. Looking fit, invigorated,
hungry, assuming full command of stage and crowd immediately. This
has always been his natural habitat, but there is truly a sense of
resurrection. The songs from 'Splinter' are perfectly balanced
between Numan's industrial guitar sound of the recent decade and a
half and the searing, beaming, trademark synth sound. The result is
scintillating, almost shocking.
Numan is cavorting all over the place like a 20-year-old, giving it his all, light years away from his past aloof distance or pouting superstar persona. This is a real and as tangible as it gets. The old songs integrate seamlessly, classics like 'Metal', 'Down in the Park' and 'I Die You Die' all getting massively aggressive treatments. Without any theatrics bar the aforementioned light show, the forcefulness of delivery often equals that of Rammstein or NIN, Numan serving as Godfather asserting his hegemony. The aforementioned current single, which in its studio version sounds as if Numan momentarily fronted Curve (yes that's a good thing indeed), contends with the classics with its rousing dance chorus.
However, tonight is not just about muscle-flexing, but about
a full emotional spectrum, as evident with the rendition of 'Lost',
probably Numan's purest, most naked ballad ever, during which he
wells up and breaks into tears. When an artist gives everything, he
gets everything back. The Roundhouse is in absolute rapture. Coming
back for encore with 'Cars' and 'Are 'Friends' Electric?', Numan
seems to be enjoying delivering these two eternal crowd-pleasers more
than ever. This becomes all the more poignant as he changes the
lyrics of one spoken line in 'Electric', gesturing towards us and
saying “you see this means everything to me”. Spine-chilling. And
if that wasn't enough, Numan concludes by reminding us he is a
contemporary musician and not a nostalgia act by choosing to cap
tonight's set with 'My Last Day', 'Splinter's magnificently
melancholy closer. Unforgettable.
The change is visible even before he
walks onstage, as the lights go down and what looked like metal
scaffolding seconds beforehand turns out to be a massive electronic
led display, simultaneously connecting to Numan's tradition of
futuristic, sci-fi stage settings throughout the years, and placing
it in the here and now. Then he appears. Looking fit, invigorated,
hungry, assuming full command of stage and crowd immediately. This
has always been his natural habitat, but there is truly a sense of
resurrection. The songs from 'Splinter' are perfectly balanced
between Numan's industrial guitar sound of the recent decade and a
half and the searing, beaming, trademark synth sound. The result is
scintillating, almost shocking.Numan is cavorting all over the place like a 20-year-old, giving it his all, light years away from his past aloof distance or pouting superstar persona. This is a real and as tangible as it gets. The old songs integrate seamlessly, classics like 'Metal', 'Down in the Park' and 'I Die You Die' all getting massively aggressive treatments. Without any theatrics bar the aforementioned light show, the forcefulness of delivery often equals that of Rammstein or NIN, Numan serving as Godfather asserting his hegemony. The aforementioned current single, which in its studio version sounds as if Numan momentarily fronted Curve (yes that's a good thing indeed), contends with the classics with its rousing dance chorus.
However, tonight is not just about muscle-flexing, but about
a full emotional spectrum, as evident with the rendition of 'Lost',
probably Numan's purest, most naked ballad ever, during which he
wells up and breaks into tears. When an artist gives everything, he
gets everything back. The Roundhouse is in absolute rapture. Coming
back for encore with 'Cars' and 'Are 'Friends' Electric?', Numan
seems to be enjoying delivering these two eternal crowd-pleasers more
than ever. This becomes all the more poignant as he changes the
lyrics of one spoken line in 'Electric', gesturing towards us and
saying “you see this means everything to me”. Spine-chilling. And
if that wasn't enough, Numan concludes by reminding us he is a
contemporary musician and not a nostalgia act by choosing to cap
tonight's set with 'My Last Day', 'Splinter's magnificently
melancholy closer. Unforgettable.
Avi Pitchon