Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Gary Numan at the 02 Academy, Liverpool. March 2018. Photograph used with kind permission by Dave Edwards.
The dust has barely settled upon the knowledge that the world is broken, not just torn at the seams, stretching thin like black tights that cannot contain the expanding skin or a ceiling under the pressure of water that has started to buckle and strain, the thin plaster becoming slack before coming cascading down upon the floor below; the world is broken and it is arguably in many ways, impossible to put right again.
We have only ourselves to blame for the wreckage, for the creeping sand of desertification that continues, for the rapid pace of change, the way we live now an anathema to the world. It is in this change that we seek not to atone and put right but instead turn to the invisible, the spectral and the sought out illumination of words written on temple walls; we find it is savage in response.
It is in this arena that the crowds come to praise the music, to give over something of themselves and in the heat and steam of the 02 Academy, as winter reluctantly yields to spring, as the might of the expanding sound first uplifts and then strengthens the resolve of the faithful, the Godfather of Industrial Metal, Gary Numan, comes forth and guides the crowd towards hope, sweat and a truly energetic and pulsating night of hammered down proclamation and absolute majesty.
A set that rampages from start to finish is not often enjoyed completely by the fan, even if it puts a smile upon the purists face, the interaction between the pulpit and the aisle a much appreciated part of the experience, yet as songs such as Halo, The Fall, Bed of Thorns, Pray For The Pain You Serve, Mercy, Love Hurt Bleed, My Name Is Ruin, and the fan favourites and classic Cars and Are Friends Electric? all that was needed to send the individual into a frenzied sense of passion was a look, a crafted beautiful smile through the storm of lights and the stare that chilled the soul with fervour and devotion.
There was no need to stop, no need to break, the album, as with previous studio recordings, carrying its own peculiar weight of sermon, rage and ardour, its own persona and personality; one that Gary Numan has opened up and explored with positive light.
As with other nights spent in the company of Gary Numan, the time spent goes too fast, moves like a whirlwind of sound that would tear apart the very nature of a tornado if it was left to its own devices, for those who made their way to look up at the pulpit shrouded in mist, exploration and lights, this was one of the finest examples of the legendary musician’s live sets, a memory to hold onto in a world broken by greed, held together by the hope that comes with love.
Ian D. Hall