He carved his signature upon the synth-pop revolution quite heavily, for Gary Numan is celebrating his 45th anniversary tour and parking his time machine in Rock City. Reminding us why he’s a testament to alternative subcultures, we welcomed him onto the stage…
GARY NUMAN
With a devoted queue bolstered by leather jackets, teased hair, and eyeliner that hadn’t smudged since the line began at 11am, it was for all intents and purposes a sold-out show. A don’t-move-from-your-spot-because-you’re-not-getting-it-back show. There’s a distinct lack of a support act tonight, yet if the occasional “Nuuuumaa-aan!” chants are anything to go by, the suspended wait only invigorates the crowd more.
Smoke billowing from this crypt of new wave nostalgia, the opening chords of Replicas induces us within a two-hour homage to some of his most transformative work for the genre. Gary Numan takes to the stage silhouetted within a triangular lighting rig; how apt a motif, for this soundscape of pointedly trancelike. A distinctly sharp demeanour is punctured by the occasional smile, all the reassurance we need that tonight is one to be remembered.
Me! I Disconnect From You is rather tongue-in-cheek, with the crowd’s raucous hammering of stomps and claps anything but disengaged. Our movements are eclipsed into the percussion heavy Do You Need The Service? whilst Numan himself jolts his body around with an angular glide in his step. His adenoidal voice reverberates around the room; a setlist textured by the backdrop of 1979 industrialises the framework of the venue tonight. Numan is performing tracks from Tubeway Army’s Replicas and his solo project The Pleasure Principle, a rich prospect to breathe new life into these classic arrangements.
Criss-cross lighting beams rigidly pulse in time to Praying To The Aliens and harks back to his effortless niche of futurism. These electronica intricacies of instrumentation allow for the band to truly flesh out these songs with depth – their cohesion particularly stands out on the rendition of Airlane.
“IS HE NOT GOING TO SPEAK THE ENTIRE SHOW? OH… THAT’S ACTUALLY PRETTY COOL.”
For his part, Numan is tangibly theatric in his posturing and just as in your face without words. He doesn’t address the audience throughout the set’s duration, instead letting his music do the talking for him. Truly becoming The Machman and conversing solely through the cymbal crashes, guitar twangs and electro-funk of the song, the crowd seem to appreciate the momentum of the show.
Encore inevitable with Cars, the self-described “pretty average song” receives a little more than an ‘average’ response from the audience. They’re revving up their enthusiasm for Are ‘Friends’ Electric? and for an already timeless masterpiece, it’s still ahead of its time regardless. You can practically see the electricity in this room and whether you’re here with friends or not, you leave tonight feeling a little more weightless.
GARY NUMAN PERFORMED SATURDAY 1ST JUNE
WORDS: TALIA ROBINSON
ROCK CITY NOTTINGHAM
We’re not only Nottingham’s favourite venue and nightclub – we’re the UK’s best live venue with a rich history of performers that have played here. It was an honour to welcome back Gary Numan to our stage for another brilliant show!
Also while you’re at it, why not check out our gig guide and see if any other of your favourite artists like Gary Numan are playing soon! We also have our club nights on a Thursday (Tuned), Friday (Get Lucky) and Saturday (Rebel Rebel) so check those out too!
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