Gary Numan – Wulfrun, Wolverhampton – Monday November 30th 2009

Well, well, well - Chop and Pink at an evening of electronica and not the usual extreme metal mayhem! A change is as good as a rest...

Dirty Harry provided tonight's support and the polite applause spoke volumes. Give the partisan crowd their due, they stayed in considerable numbers and didn't slope off to the bar. The highlight of their set was the lead singer's self deprecation when her guitar wouldn't work: “this isn't a huge necklace!” That comedic moment aside their post-punk/nu wave was tired and listless. The frontwoman tried hard, and stuck to her task despite the general indifference, but she was probably their one redeeming feature. The band were tight enough without ever having a wow factor. Perhaps on a different bill they might be a different proposition?

The dry ice had been building for a considerable period of time before the house lights dimmed, atmospheric blue lighting picked out the musicians and Gary himself appeared at a shade after 9pm. Eighty minutes and two encores later everyone left happy.

The show started with the band in a formation comprising of four synths, with a traditional bass player (albeit using a sizeable pedal board) and drummer. “Complex” was preceded by the first crowd address with the track being dedicated to Paul Gardiner. At this early stage it was fair to say that the lighting and general staging were a welcome change and fitted with the music perfectly.

“M.E” from the “Pleasure Principle” album contained an opening riff sampled by Basement Jaxx on “Where's Your Head At?” and was stunning in its execution. The crowd had their chance for a singalong on the next song, “Tracks”, which had a stripped down intro before a return to electronica. And so it continued – all the hits delivered impeccably.

“Cars” marked the midpoint of the set and sounded as fresh now as it did first time round. The synths were gradually removed as first one and then two guitars were introduced as the set veered towards a more industrial sound.

Only one track could possibly end the set proper; “Are Friends Electric?” was re-worked superbly, the verse comprising of vocal plus piano before the full band joined in for the chorus. Rapturous applause ensured two encores, which rounded the night off well.

Gary Numan has a stage presence that few can match. Reverential is the only word that adequately describes the audience's reaction. His voice still has that distinctive sound and he's clearly looked after it well over the years. The backing musicians were solid as a rock and the set as a whole was superb. Pity I've waited this long before witnessing a live performance! His influence on electronica, darkwave, gothic and industrial cannot be underestimated and this performance justified his legendary status.

A huge thank you to Presley for sorting this out for us – you're a star!!

Set list; “Random”, “Airlane”, “Metal”, “Complex”, “Films”, “M.E”, “Tracks”, “Observer”, “Conversation”, “Cars”, “Engineers”, “Asylum”, “The Fall”, “Pure”, “Down In The Park”, “Haunted”, “Halo”, “Jagged”, “Are Friends Electric?” Encores - “We Are So Fragile”, “A Prayer For The Unborn”.

For more pictures click here