03/25/2014

Gary Numan Rocks the Paradise in Boston, MA

 

A cult revival of magnificent proportions occurred Monday evening at Gary

Numan’s concert at the Paradise Rock Club. Numan was the spiritual leader of the

event, moving his arms perfectly in sync with the music and pouring water on his head,

baptizing himself in the spirit of rock and roll. The majority of Numan’s followers were

dressed in head to toe black with no lack of ink or dark lipstick, many of them channeling

his signature style down to replicas of Numan’s token top hat.

 

Numan was (and still is) the sort of guy fathers told their daughters to stay away

from, and it’s clear that Numan’s aware of the bad-boy reputation he needs to maintain.

Numan seemingly hasn’t aged a bit – compare some then and now photos and you’ll see

what we mean – and his glorious bangs are miraculously always in place, despite his

intense amount of headbanging, proving that age somehow escapes worthy rock stars.

With such a getup and fan following, Numan rivals Ozzy Osbourne for the title

of “Prince of Darkness.”

 

Opening number “Resurrection” had enough badass vibrations to knock the

hats from all the Numan lookalikes’ heads – or at least makes their heart rates frenetic.

Numan performed the classic “Cars” mid-set, much to the pleasure of the eager audience.

The onslaught of fans particularly reveled in the older tunes, but shouted the lyrics to

songs from Numan’s most recent album Splinter (Songs from a Broken Mind) with equal

amounts of angst and enthusiasm. Numan’s 3-song encore consisted of “I Die You

Die,” “Are Friends Electric?” and “My Last Day,” which featured one of Numan’s many

keyboard performances and an epileptic’s nightmare amount of strobe lights. Despite

the crowd’s pleas, the band could not stay to perform an additional encore, although the

incessant screams of the audience certainly warranted one.

 

Jon Bates’ solo project Big Black Delta set the mood for Numan’s tunes earlier

in the show with live music made with only drums, a laptop, and Bates’ vocals. On

occasion, Bates would hop onto an additional drum set and churn out some tantric beats,

but most of the time he was nonchalantly swinging his mike around by the chord and

dancing. Highlight “IFUCKINGLOVEYOU” featured yet another drummer on stage, and

of course, a smattering of profanity.

 

Along with additional opening band Roman Remains, the three acts served as the

holy trinity for the evening, and gave Boston a much-needed sermon on rock and roll.

You can purchase Gary Numan’s latest album Splinter (Songs from a Broken

Mind) at http://garynuman.shopfirebrand.com/store/all/ and download Big Black Delta’s

new single “IFUCKINGLOVEYOU” for free at http://bigblackdelta.com.

-DJV of Rock This Way,  3.25.14