Gary Numan

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
The Fabulous Forum
Perkins Palace
House of Blues, Anaheim

So yeah, I've been like one of those Numanoids from way back when. The first time I really heard Gary was on his Saturday Night Live performance back in the late 70s. That was the beginning of the end of the world of pop music for me. No more Elton John or whomever else, just punk rock and other stuff made by guys in makeup. So now it's thirty-some-odd years later and I'm still excited about a just announced tour date later this year. Yippee. 

In any event, shortly after that SNL performance I went out and bought the two records Gary had already made in addition to his new one which included his soon-to-be big hit in the U.S., Cars. Which after being played over and over again and now making it's way into just about every traffic report on the radio I am truly sick of hearing. It's not like that song was anywhere near the best music he made anyway, lol. So shortly after I got those records and stuff, he went on tour and I went to my very first rock concert at the Santa Monica Civic to see Gary. Crappy seats unfortunately, but the show still kicked ass. Even then Gary put on one hell of a show and had a bitchin' stage design more suited to somebody a lot more popular than he was at the time. 

The next year I saw Numan at the Forum which I think he sold out, primarily due to his now big hit Cars. Even crappier seats than the ones at the Civic. Being a kid with no money of your own and no idea how to really score tickets sucks. This time Gary's stage production was even bigger than the one the previous year and to this day remains one of the finest rock stages I've seen.  Visually, it was hands-down the most visually exciting concert I've ever seen. Unfortunately, large venues suck the life out of a concert unless you're way way way up front in the rich people seats. 

A couple of years later I saw Gary at a small little place called Perkins Palace in Pasadena. Gary's popularity in the U.S. had pretty much faded by this time as well as his elaborate stage productions. He still put on one kick ass show though and it was kewl to see that he was able to still put on a performance without all the lights, smoke and mirrors. The seating at this show also sucked, for me at least, since even though I now had money and could get better seats, the sold me one that had been ripped out to put in the sound board. Fuckers.

Jump to the future ... way into the future.

Gary comes back. To the House of  Blues in Anaheim this time. Go figure. I get all wet and giggly like a fucking girl at the news and run down to the HOB to pick up a ticket. Gary's way better up close and personal let me tell you. Oddly from a guy who had put on a lot of performances acting more like a robot than a human, he came across at this show way more lively than he was at any of the other shows I'd seen him at. He had a totally new band at this time of course and had brought the guitars out front and toned down the pop-synth silliness. He played a good selection of stuff from his 30 year career, mostly the favorites guys like me know and love along stuff from his latest album at the time. There were a lot of 80s "I loved that song Cars" bozos there, but I did have at least a little freak company from the other folks who at least knew what Gary had done before and after Cars, and probably even knew that Bauhaus wasn't just a German design movement.

All in all, Numan puts on one hell of a show. And while his days of large stage numbers are gone forever it's still a rare treat to see him live in the States. Check him out if you get the chance, I guarantee you won't regret it.

The Latest in August, '06
So Numan finally cam around again after a couple of years absence and didn't disappoint. I really had to struggle and push to get myself to this show, being on a weeknight and a two hour drive away from work. The 8 p.m. door time helped considerably. One opening act warmed up the slightly tepid crowd consisting of mostly old guys in t-shirts with a sprinkling of younger folks in more appropriate (read black, latex or punk) attire. They had a few people there who were obviously really, really big fans from the 80's who never quite grew up, including the one really tall guy with a top-knot pony-tail bald-head thing going on who kept crying and weeping like a girl all night long. So Gary played for a good one hour before exiting the stage for a few minutes to come back and do a twenty-five minute encore. His play list pulled heavily from his latest CD and of course included the old standards. Cars was played of course and Gary sat on the drum riser for almost half the song laughing. I guess he can't escape having to play it, lol. I can't recall him playing anything from any of his albums from Telekon to Pure, but I guess you have to draw the line somewhere. His band this time around included a guitarist, a drummer, and two guys on keyboards, one of whom also played bass. Gary's become a lot edgier and relies more on guitars than he used to and it makes for a somewhat more aggressive show. All in all it was another treat to check him out, he still has what it takes, even without the fancy light shows of years long gong. The only other highlight of the night were the three gals kissing and fondling each other next to the bar half the night, and the two in fishnets dancing in front of me ... but those are stories for another time and place.

You can find the Gary's homepage here.