Line-up

Headliner
Gary Numan Last time in Portland: 7 months ago

Venue

1300 SE Stark St., 97214, Portland, OR, US

Gary Numan biography

Gary Anthony Games Webb, better known as Gary Numan, is an English new Wave/ post-punk singer and songwriter from Hammersmith, West London.

Born on 8 March 1958, Numan worked a plethora of odd jobs as a teenager while playing guitar in various bands. He started to rise to prominence as front man of the band, Tubeway Army. Together they were signed by Beggars Banquet Records in 1978, and released a self-titled album the following year. The following year Numan recorded and released a solo album entitled “The Pleasure Principle” which reached Number one in the UK followed by a sold out tour. In 1980 Numan topped the UK charts with his “Telekom” album followed by another major tour; however he announced to retire from touring.

The retirement didn’t last long. After experimenting with jazz, funk and rhythmic pop, he released “Dance” topping at Number 3 on the charts in the UK. Unfortunately the following album “I, Assasin” in 1982 didn’t fare as well as “Dance” which only peaked at number eight. Numan then issued a series of albums through his own label, Numa, starting with “Berserker” in 1984. He then ventured into film scoring in 1991 by working with Michael R. Smith for the film “The Unborn.”

In 2002 Numan found charting success with the release of the single “Rip.” He continued to tour and write new music, and in 2008 he announced the upcoming release of his album “Splinter;” however the album wasn’t released in 2013.

Live reviews

Some friends and I decided to go see Gary Numan at a small local venue. I remember as a kid, back in the 80’s hearing and seeing the video for "Cars". I thought it would be fun to see how his music evolved over the years.

There were only about 100 people at the small venue, mostly consisting of people in their late 20’s through people in their late 40’s. It seems as though he still has quite a cult following!

I was actually surprised at how much I liked his current music. Reminds me of Nine Inch Nails, due to his use of heavy synthesizers and haunting vocals. He did play a few classics, such as "Cars", "We Are Glass", "I Die: You Die", but what got the crowd really going is his new stuff from his current album, Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind).

His music is captivating, raw and hard. Lots of heavy guitar. He still looks great, and played the set with tons of energy. I’m glad that I went!

I am a renewed fan and part of his cult following. If you get a chance to see Gary Numan live, I definitely recommend it.

Anonymous