Gary Numan at the o2 Academy, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall

Originally published by the L.S. Media. September 21st 2011.

L.S. Media Rating *****

Gary Numan has some of the most faithful followers in the music industry. From his beginning at the end of the 1970’s as the new pop hero with his new and experimental sounds and film noir look through to the present day where he is seen by some as the Godfather of Industrial Metal, they have stuck by him, added more along the way and through it all, Gary has been given everything back in stunning performances and music that can make grown men act like children in his presence.

With a new album to showcase to his fans, Gary Numan took to the stage and proceeded to show why he is given so much respect by all those who go along to a show. Gary may not say a lot on stage but his brooding, almost dark Faustian like appeal speaks volumes as he plays his way across several decades worth of music including several songs from the brand new offering Dead Son Rising.

It was from this that the vast majority of songs played in the opening segment of the show were drawn from. It’s almost impossible to think of Gary’s music without thinking of some dystopian nightmare world that exists in our memories, machines working constantly, droning and sparking life but with the generosity of spirit that Gary puts into the music and to the show.

Greeted like a long lost soul, Gary came on stage to the opener of Resurrection/Down in the Park and a wonderful track in The Fall. For anybody who hadn’t been able to purchase Gary’s new album, this was the perfect time to get a small taster. Some bands release albums just before a tour and with the busy lives their fans may live these days, it’s possible to go to a gig and see no one interacting with those on stage, mainly because the band hasn’t given time for the new songs to gel and stick in the minds of those attending the gig.

Not so with Gary Numan, every new track was greeted as loudly as much as the older, more yearned for songs. Gary played them all too perfection, mixing classics such as Jagged, I Die You Die and the stunning visual treat of Absolution with newer, more immediate songs such as Big Noise Transmission, Dead Sun Rising and the excellent When the Sky Bleeds, He Will Come.

Not once Gary or his rather superb band put a foot wrong and he came back on stage for the encores of Cars and Are Friends Electric? It was easy to see why the broad smile on his face is so infectious to his fans.

5 stars