Sliding up the A19 to Middlesbrough in a blizzard wasn’t
exactly fun. Nor was queuing outside The Empire in sub—zero temperatures,
especially when the doors had opened half an hour earlier. Once inside however
spirits lifted.
Opening proceedings Los Angeles shoegazers Nightmare Air
prove, once again, that it’s always worth watching support bands. Amongst
clouds of smoke and lights switching between neon blue and sensor defying red
they deliver a superb blend of loud, swirling guitar sounds from Dave Dupuis, heavy drum beats from Jimmy Lucido and
Swaan Miller’s driving bass rhythms all overlaid with Miller’s softly piercing ethereal
vocals. Plenty of distortion, plenty of effects, the majority of their set is
taken from new album Fade Out – a
more mainstream, commercial, almost poppy album than predecessor High In The Lasers that certainly
delivers some big, catchy tunes. ‘Who’s Your Lover’, ‘Fade Out’, ‘Strange
Things’ hook you in as they build from quiet openings to sudden thumping beats,
rumbling bass lines and goth tinged guitar riffs. Miller shares vocal duties
with Dupuis on the sublime ‘Sweet Arrows’ and again on set closer ‘Icy Daggers’,
one of only two songs from High In The Lasers and a full on, thrashing guitar
finale.
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| Nightmare Air |
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| Nightmare Air |
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| Nightmare Air |
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| Nightmare Air |
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| Nightmare Air |
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| Nightmare Air |
Gary Numan seems to be on a career high at the moment with
latest album
Savage (Songs From A Broken
World) charting at no.2 in 2017. Tonight’s stage set has a spectacular light
show. Dazzling, piercing colours so bright your eyes hurt before everything
plunges into a wash of red or near complete darkness. It matches his stage
presence and music perfectly. With a well-known dislike of dwelling on the past
tonight’s set consists of just four songs from his early days of electronica stardom.
Even these - ‘Down In The Park’, ‘Cars’, ‘Me, I Disconnect From You’ and ‘Are
Friends Electric’ - are delivered with an dark edge and harder more industrial
sound.
Savage makes up the bulk of
the evening – focusing on a barren, post-apocalyptic world resulting from
climate change – these are dark, muscular, guitar heavy yet still synth driven
songs that see Numan throw himself completely into each and every one. ‘Ghost
Nation’, ‘My Name Is Ruin’ and ‘When The World Comes Apart’ drive straight into
you with thumping beats and layers of synths. ‘Halo’, ‘Here In The Black’, ‘Haunted’,
‘Love Hurt Bleed’, ‘The Fall’ span a number of previous albums but all slot
perfectly into the set. Hard, soaring, potentially stadium filling songs.
Anyone expecting a greatest hits package may have been sorely disappointed with
tonight’s song choice. I doubt there were many. Numan has a huge number of
devoted followers, a significant number of whom are here, hanging on every word
of every song, singing along with eyes full of nothing but adoration. No one
could have been disappointed with the show Gary Numan and band put on. Visually
spectacular, energetic, tight and note perfect together with that so distinctive
voice (also note perfect). Not a minute wasted, absolutely no talking between
songs except a quiet “Thank you” before returning for a two song encore. ‘Prayer
For The Unborn’ and ‘My Last Day’ slow things right down yet, in their own way,
are no less emotionally powerful.
Well worth the slow drive home in the continuing blizzard.
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| Gary Numan |
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| Gary Numan |
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| Gary Numan |
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| Gary Numan |
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| Gary Numan |
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| Gary Numan |
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| Gary Numan |
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| Gary Numan |
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| Gary Numan |
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| Gary Numan |
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