|
Though
I've
been
a
hard-core
fan
since
1979,
I've
never
had
the
opportunity
to
see
Gary
Numan
in
concert
…
until
now.
I
travelled
all
the
way
from
Calgary,
Alberta
to
see
him
in
Toronto,
Ontario
-
a
distance
of
3400
km
(2100
mi).
I
flew
with
Air
Canada.
While
flying,
I
opened
En
Route
magazine
to
look
at
the
listing
of
music
stations
to
listen
to
on
the
plane.
To
my
great
astonishment,
there
was
a
picture
of
Gary
(the
one
on
the
third
page
of
the
Pure
insert!)
Channel
6,
"The
Vinyl
Vault",
had
"Are
Friends
Electric"
as
the
second
entry
on
its
playlist!
AFE
was
not
a
chart
single
in
Canada
but
did
receive
some
airplay
on
album-oriented
FM
radio
back
in
1979.
Everything
went
smoothly
up
until
the
concert.
I
took
a
taxi
from
my
hotel
but
the
driver
had
never
heard
of
the
venue.
The
traffic
was
deplorable
and
we
ended
up
driving
past
it.
I
ended
up
arriving
a
half
hour
late
and
ended
up
paying
the
driver
3
times
what
the
fare
should
have
been.
Luckily,
the
concert
hadn't
started
yet.
I'm
not
good
at
estimating
numbers
but
it
seemed
like
there
were
less
than
100
people
there,
all
strangers
to
me,
mostly
30-something
white
males
like
myself.
We
waited
and
waited
and
waited.
The
crowd
grew
impatient,
shouting
Nuuuuuuman!
Did
he
get
caught
in
the
traffic?
Was
he
sick
and
the
concert
would
be
cancelled?
Around
10:00
PM
(the
concert
was
to
begin
at
8:00!)
some
roadie
types
began
placing
bottled
water
around
the
stage
and
tuning
the
guitars.
I
put
my
head
down
and
closed
my
eyes,
pleading
to
myself
that
the
concert
would
begin
soon.
I
had
been
standing
for
over
an
hour
and
a
half.
Suddenly
there
was
a
great
cry
from
the
audience.
I
opened
my
eyes
and
the
lights
in
the
room
had
gone
out.
I
looked
behind
me
and
the
ballroom
was
packed
solid
with
probably
over
500
people.
Purple
beams
of
light
began
"scanning"
the
audience
from
the
stage,
like
a
mini-spacecraft,
and
the
beginnings
of
the
song
"Pure"
emerged
from
the
speakers.
(I
guess
there
was
to
be
no
opening
act).
Then
the
band
walked
on
stage,
all
dressed
in
black,
and,
my
God!,
the
godfather
himself!
I
was
very
near
the
front
of
the
stage
and
was
staring
at
my
all-time
favourite
musician
for
the
very
first
time.
Ade
Orange
looked
really
cool
with
the
square
shades,
and
the
guitar
guy
(Steve
Harris?)
actually
had
a
mohawk!
I
was
worried
that
the
show
would
be
more
guitar
than
synth
oriented
but,
to
my
great
satisfaction,
it
was
a
perfect
blend
of
wailing
sythesizers
(two
keyboard
players)
and
mangled
guitars.
The
sound
was
absolutely
perfect
-
not
too
loud
or
soft
-
and
crystal
clear
including
Gary's
vocals.
The
lights
were
perfect
for
the
venue
size,
simple
but
very
effective.
Gary
was
very
animated
and,
with
abundant
black
eye
make-up,
kept
staring
intensely
at
different
points
in
the
crowd.
He
didn't
talk
between
songs,
which
I
thought
was
effective,
in
that,
there
was
this
driving
momentum
of
one
great
song
after
another
-
a
nice
balance
of
the
new
and
the
old
songs.
It
was
the
best
concert
I've
ever
seen
in
my
life.
Some
of
the
members
of
the
audience
were
noisy
like
me
and
some
were
dead
quiet
just
staring
up
at
Gary
(don't
know
what
THEY
were
on!).
My
only
disappointment
was
that
it
all
seemed
to
go
by
so
quickly.
I
thought,
to
make
up
for
the
lateness
of
the
start,
that
they
would
have
given
us
a
few
extra
songs,
allowing
a
second
encore,
but
with
all
the
sweat
pouring
off
him,
Gary
and
the
band,
I
suppose,
were
just
too
pooped
out.
This
past
weekend
was
one
of
the
best
of
my
life.
I
can't
wait
to
see
Mr.
Numan
again.
Shawn
Pelton-Thomas
(spt@telusplanet.net)
|
It
was
my
first
time
I
brought
my
wife
and
a
friend
from
work
to.
Gary,
I
must
say
no
one
will
be
able
to
bring
you
down.
we
loved
the
show
it
was
fantastic.