With Blade Runner once again bringing post-apocalyptic visions to cinemas whilst modern society seemingly heads toward a dystopian future, 2017 is perhaps the perfect time for synth-pop eccentric turned industrial metaller Gary Numan's cyberpunk theatrics.
The night’s support came in the form of an obvious Numanoid, the Welshman Jayce Lewis, whose Trent Reznor meets Numan via Fear Factory electro-rock has led to success in India of all places. With all the right sounds and moody atmospherics, Lewis certainly looked and sounded the part, though his band’s lively and proficient set sadly lacked the delicious hooks perfected by his peers.
No such thing could be said for the headliner, with opening number Ghost Nation’s "When the sky came down" refrain setting the agenda of new record Savage in blisteringly loud fashion. Live, Numan has perhaps never been so "metal" (particularly in comparison with his numerous classic synth album tours of recent years), as this predominantly guitar-heavy, profoundly "big" set demonstrated.
To prove the point, the first old song to rear its head was a raucous take on Pleasure Principle classic Metal, followed by Telekon’s Remind Me To Smile, both made over to sound denser and maybe bleaker. The huge chorus of the hopefully-not-about-gonorrhea Love.Hurt.Bleed was, well, hugely satisfying, as the buzzing crowd showed in adoring fashion.
The backdrop switching from one Mad Max abandoned building to another, the Savage-heavy set churned on, the relentless gloom only tempered by the endearing sight of Numan senior dad-dancing along to his daughter Persia’s guest vocals on My Name Is Ruin.
Still, despite the quality newer material on show, the night’s real honours went to the fan favourite big-hitters. The hardy perennial Cars, that other Telekon classic, I Die: You Die, and the domineering, brilliant, Are Friends Electric? rounded the night off spectacularly.
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