GARY NUMAN
The Brighton Dome
17/11/2009
Few people can genuinely lay claim to being electronic pioneers, but in 1979 Gary Numan, whilst figureheading Tubeway Army, earnt his place alongside the likes of Kraftwerk and Giorgio Moroder with his breakthrough hit Are 'Friends' Electric and its parent album Replicas. The album that followed, The Pleasure Principle, was just as successful, if not even more so and it's here at the Brighton Dome tonight that Numan debuts his new tour performing the hallmark album in its entirety.
Purists that grew despondent when Numan took on a more industrial approach after much namechecking from artists of that ilk, not least Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame, were transported back in time with no less than eight synths on stage and not an electric guitar in sight, save for a bass of course. With a stage set perfectly complimenting the music's often dark minimalism, Numan's show looked every bit the stark futuristic event that spurred on countless wannabes some 30 years ago.
The album's material still stands up well today and, despite a few first-night technical glitches - one even prompting the frontman to announce "that was rubbish" at the end of one number - still has a freshness to it. Those glitches aside though the live performance version itself was far from perfect. A couple of numbers seemed to only make it to the end through sheer determination and undeniably the albums most pivotal track, Cars, felt rushed and came across as an almost inaudible mess.
The album was followed by a b-side that only Numan seemed to care about and then nearly half the synths were quickly whisked off by stagehands to be replaced by an electric guitar for a rock show! Now diversity is certainly a good thing, however this seemed neither the time nor place for one after what the first 45 minutes of the show had set up. Down In The Park felt uneasy, and not in the way that it should, and the stop/start reworking of Are Friends Electric where one of the most familiar synth riffs, not of just Numans canon but of music in general, was replaced by a lulled piano turning the number into both a mood lifter and a vibe killer.
Numans old cohort Chris Payne joined the band midset on violin for a tribute to the late Paul Gardiner, another former member of his band. Hopes were raised for something interesting and exciting but instead we were treated to another of tonights many atmosphere death knells.
But Numans show is Numans show, he'll perform an old album from time to time its seems but his show is strictly on his terms. But then doing things his way was what made him unique in the first place. However tonight that uniqueness was lost in an event that appeared more a nod to those that came after rather than a reclaiming of his own ground. Tonight our pilot was very low on highs.
Photographs © Andy Sturmey
Purists that grew despondent when Numan took on a more industrial approach after much namechecking from artists of that ilk, not least Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame, were transported back in time with no less than eight synths on stage and not an electric guitar in sight, save for a bass of course. With a stage set perfectly complimenting the music's often dark minimalism, Numan's show looked every bit the stark futuristic event that spurred on countless wannabes some 30 years ago.
The album's material still stands up well today and, despite a few first-night technical glitches - one even prompting the frontman to announce "that was rubbish" at the end of one number - still has a freshness to it. Those glitches aside though the live performance version itself was far from perfect. A couple of numbers seemed to only make it to the end through sheer determination and undeniably the albums most pivotal track, Cars, felt rushed and came across as an almost inaudible mess.
The album was followed by a b-side that only Numan seemed to care about and then nearly half the synths were quickly whisked off by stagehands to be replaced by an electric guitar for a rock show! Now diversity is certainly a good thing, however this seemed neither the time nor place for one after what the first 45 minutes of the show had set up. Down In The Park felt uneasy, and not in the way that it should, and the stop/start reworking of Are Friends Electric where one of the most familiar synth riffs, not of just Numans canon but of music in general, was replaced by a lulled piano turning the number into both a mood lifter and a vibe killer.
Numans old cohort Chris Payne joined the band midset on violin for a tribute to the late Paul Gardiner, another former member of his band. Hopes were raised for something interesting and exciting but instead we were treated to another of tonights many atmosphere death knells.
But Numans show is Numans show, he'll perform an old album from time to time its seems but his show is strictly on his terms. But then doing things his way was what made him unique in the first place. However tonight that uniqueness was lost in an event that appeared more a nod to those that came after rather than a reclaiming of his own ground. Tonight our pilot was very low on highs.
Photographs © Andy Sturmey
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