Gary Numan at Trees
Gary Numan has officially made it onto my must-see list. This show was so spectacular, he ripped it up, threw it down and then picked it up and ripped it some more. I can't recall too many other artists that I've seen having a better time during a show. He was smiling, dancing, posing and Vogueing (I shit you not). He sang. He sweated. He played guitar. He danced. He and his band put on a hell of a show.
The light show was also incredible. For a rather small club touring act, the light show was arena-level. He had 4 light towers that were programmed to have different colors and behaviors during each song (which is the way I believe it should be). They were small and unobtrusive, but wow they sure packed a punch! Together with the lights that were already on stage that were also programmed, each song had it's own mood. Perfect.
I applaud the excessive use of fog. God I love the smell of that stuff. Thank you Gary for bringing back awesome memories of dancing in a fog-thick dark danceclub.
The entire band's costumes were very cool too - and again, the level of professionalism here is just top notch. They all resembled the costume he wears on the cover of his CD which I happen to have bought when I was in LA thankyouverymuch. Beige, linen, homemade post-apocalyptic looking, and each one was different.
According to the time printed on the ticket, the show was actually *early*. Ticket said 8:30. I arrived at 8:15 and the opening act called Me Not You was already playing. If I had been very interested in seeing them, I would have been upset. But I also did not check the website before going, and I bought my ticket months ago.
The level of professionalism here was beyond what I normally see for club shows. I've got to hand it to Gary. You get way more than you pay for with this show. Don't miss this next time.
My vantage point this time was a little further back. I'm still feeling the effects of my recent flu, so the idea of getting right up in everybody's business front of stage didn't sound terribly appealing to me, so I decided to hang back a little and watch from a distance. I still got to see a great show. At Trees, the stage is at an angle, so actually if you position yourself a bit left of center, you are really more or less center stage. Trees is one of my more favorite small venues, however I do think they have sound problems, as I believe this show was too loud (and no I am not old). It's so loud that it distorts, and the bass is too heavy. They need better balance on their sound if they are going to be that loud.
I ended up going by myself to this one...I knew a few people who were supposedly going (and found one about one after the fact), but we didn't get to meet up unfortunately. The place was so incredibly packed (sold out show), that once you got your spot, you were pretty much stuck there. Moving around was very difficult. Balcony was full too, which I also don't typically see.
I love his shows, but I am not really all that familiar with his actual song titles, so thankfully my friend Marcel dug that up for me:
Ghost Nation
Metal
The Fall
Everything Comes Down to This
Bed of Thorns
Down in the Park
Pray for the Pain You Serve
Here in the Black
Films
Mercy
Love Hurt Bleed
My Name Is Ruin
Cars
When the World Comes Apart
A Prayer for the Unborn
Encore:
M.E.
Are 'Friends' Electric?
Encore 2:
I Die: You Die
So the man had TWO encores. I thought that was unusual but also kind of cool. All together the show was just under 2 hours.
My favorite songs at this show were The Fall, and Love Hurt Bleed. It really sounds like Nine Inch Nails (which was also played as pre-show music). I love his more industrial sound that he's into lately. I actually like his more recent music much more than his 80's style. I was never a fan of Cars. During this show, Cars sounded way more guitar heavy and crunchy than it does on the classic recording. I'm not sure if I liked it better though. When he pulled out his guitar near the end of the show I was very happy. I love electronic music, but I love it even more when the artist plays guitar along with the electronic music (Hello: Martin Gore). He regarded it curiously at the beginning when he pulled it out...not really wearing it but just holding it like it was some alien thing that he didn't know what to do with. Very theatrical. And then when he played it, it was awesome. I must admit I was crushing a little on one of the guitarists - the one who appears most often on the right in the photos below. He was hella cute :)
I got a short video of The Fall: This video does not capture the kick ass amazing stomping bass! I had to stop recording because I couldn't keep from head banging.
And the Dallas Observer has a great slideshow too. Head on over there after you look at my pics
And here are my photos...click one to see a slideshow.
Me Not You
Gary Numan
