Nothing Short Of Incredible

Gary's show at the 9:30 Club in DC was nothing short of incredible.

As technicians went about clearing stuff from the opening act, bursts of dry ice shot from high above, eventually forming a creepy fog that hung lazily in the air. Then the house lights dimmed but not entirely. At this intimation of Gary's entrance, chants of "NUMAN!NUMAN!" rang out from the crowd but broke down as nothing more continued to happen. Then a hellish crimson cast began to overtake the stage as house lights gave way completely.

A long interlude of anticipation followed (maybe 5 minutes) and finally the unmistakable intro of "Pure" issued forth While Gary's band members assumed their spots. Gary followed immedaitely and sauntered menacingly toward what was his center stage mike. Roars and roars of cheer came from every corner of the club.

Then everything broke into the full blast of "Pure". Sudden bright lights flooded in and we all had a real good look at Gary: lithe, athletic and more than energetic. He gave us an amazing performance and was able to match the vocal intensity of his studio works.

His set choice came predominantly from the "Pure" CD along with "Dark", "Films", " Down in the Park", "Are Friends Electric" and (of course), "Cars" from his vintage catalogue.

He managed to bring old and new songs alike into a cohesion that anybody, familiar or not with Gary's career, would still find irresistable, regardless of the timeframe or mindset in which they were fashioned.

Though his set seemed short, it only seemed that way because it was so good.

Charles Contois ([email protected])

GO SEE HIM!!

I go to (alternative-oriented) shows for a living, and honestly- most of the crap out there puts this writer to sleep.

We went to see Gary on a whim and were literally STUNNED at how good this show was!!! He put on what was probably the most exciting show that I've seen in years.

His last couple of releases are not only some of the best stuff out there, they are also heavily influencing many of the most successful artists around. After Tuesday's show, it's easy to see why. The cd's are exciting in themselves, but the live performances will blow you away.

That's how we felt when we staggered out after the show - as if we'd been standing outside in a hurricane for an hour and a half. Gary's in great shape (for a guy his age:) ) and it's a good thing, 'cause he does a super-mondo workout during most his his set. We all felt as though we'd worked out as well (w/ 12oz weights!).

He was even cool enough to come out and say hello to the couple o' dozen of fans who'd gathered around his tourbus after the show, hoping for a glimpse - totally cool.

I only wish there were more shows in the SoEast - I'd gladly travel to see another gig (I love that word, it's so rat-pack-ish).

Do yourself a favour - GO SEE HIM!!!

Anna Mosity ([email protected])

Awesome

I assume others have given the particulars, so I'll skip that.

This was my very first time seeing Gary live, although I've been a fan since 1980. The highlights of the show were "My, Jesus", "I Can't Breathe", and "Down in the Park" in my opinion. Yet, when he did "AFE" during the encore, that was magical.

I liked that he included "Dark", because he had nothing from "Exile" during the European tour. Also, I thought "Remind Me To Smile" was nicely (and ironically) appropriate, since I hope Gary is enjoying touring much more than when he originally wrote the song.

A really excellent show, and I enourage everyone to attend if they possibly can.

I'm from Texas and I happened to be in D.C. for work that week and happen to catch the show. Thanks for those on the Numan Digets for alerting me and others to the tour dates as they were known.

I don't remember the order, but off of "Pure" he played "Pure", "RIP", "Listen to My Voice", "I Can't Breathe", "Prayer for the Unborn" and "My Jesus". He played "Dark" from "Exile", "Question of Faith" from "Sacrifice", and "Remind me to Smile" from "Telekon". Then there were three from "PP", being "Metal", "Cars", and "Films". There was "AFE" and "DITP" from "Replicas." I think that was it. I may have missed one, as I didn't write them down.

Again, an awesome show; I was lucky to be there!!

Mark ([email protected])

Isolated

I guess I saw the show from a rather isolated viewpoint, from up above so I think I might have got a different angle of it.

Never have seen him live before so some comments from a newbie: One question I had, he seemed to bob his head up and down like he was trying to shake it off (?!) Must have looked different from the floor's angle.

To me 'one perfect lie' was the song that really sent chills up my spine, and he seemed to have put some specific drama into that one. When the audience reached out their hands to him it was amazing. Is that a numan-specific thing or just a general thing? Whatever it was it was awesome.

Got my first taste of AFE live as well. When audience members sang the 'oh-oh's also brought smiles to my face. Such a great song. Shouts of "we love you Numan" were absolutely fitting. He bounced around a lot and I thought for sure he was going to smash into his guitarist, but maybe I'm just naive and he's more practiced than that.

I've only heard him on albums which I think are the best thing in music. I'm glad to have gotten to see him live and hope he continues to fare well on the rest of his tour.

Julian ([email protected])

********** Stars is What This Show Gets !!!!

To start off...Lets just say due to the opening act GWENMARS...was just your average hum-drum...No frills... band with a boring Bubble machine gimick...nothing really stood out about this band...other then the fact that due to GWENMARS...Gary could have had a bad night...and still ended up looking/sounding good...nuff said !!!

Then Gary and the band come out...ooooohhhh...Gary's entrance was GOOOOOD :-) Gary came on stage with this menacing glare on his face as if ready for battle he's telling you " Come On....You want some ? " THEN HE GIVES IT TO YA !!!!! BAM !!!! and he hit's you HARD !!!!

Gary didn't let up at all...his set list was PERFECT and I was too awestruck to even bother making a mental note of all the songs and write them down...who cares ??? IT WAS INCREDIBLE...POWERFULL...PURIFIED...SACRIFICED !!!!

I'll tell you this...His show was so powerfull !!!! I experienced a range of varied emotions throughout the show from Happiness to tears in my eyes...I have never in my life been to see an artist that can stir emotions like Gary did last night !!! ********** stars is what this show gets !!!!

They only down side to the entire experience was the fact that not only did we have to stand in the cold.. windy...rainy D.C. weather for 1 1/2 hours before we got to meet Gary...but we also had to deal with a condenscending A**hole that felt that because he worked at the club..he has some sort of devine power over us and barked orders to us like we were prisoners in some kind of correctional facility...He was RUDE...ARROGANT...and judging by the cost of food and drink...The club made a good amount of money from us devout NUMANOIDS thus made us customers and we deserved BETTER TREATMENT then what we got for the amout of money we spent!!!!!!!

It really wouldn't bother me if Gary NEVER played that Venue again !!!!

Other then that...I really wonder if it can get any better :-)

Stan ( Prisonmoon ) King

 Not Disappointed

A large group of us attended, with even larger expectations. I am happy to report that we were not dissappointed.

Our Clan

 Capital Review

WASHINGTON SHOW WAS AMAZING.

I HADNT SEEN GARY LIVE SINCE THE FURY TOUR BUT THIS MADE UP FOR ALL THE LOST YEARS. FROM THE MINUTE PURE INTRO STARTED TILL THE END OF PRAYER FOR THE UNBORN, GARY WAS ELECTRIFYING.

ON TWO OCCASIONS THE SOUND SEEMED TO BE DISTORTED,TOO HIGH LEVELS BUT THIS SEEMED TO BE RECTIFIED ALMOST STRAIGHT AWAY.

THE BAND LOOKED AND SOUNDED GREAT. STEVE HARRIS WAS A SHOW ON HIS OWN. PURE,DARK AND A QUESTION OF FAITH WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS SHOW,FOR ME ANYWAY.

WAITED AN HOUR AND A HALF OUTSIDE WITH THE REST OF THE NUMANOIDS IN THE FREEZING RAIN.THE BAND SHOWED UP AFTER AN HOUR AND GOT STRAIGHT ON THE BUS,WAVED AND SAID HELLO TO EVERYONE BEFORE FREEZING THE ARSES OFF.

GARY CAME OUT AFTER 2 HOURS AND SAT AT THE STEPS OF THE BUS,CHATTED AND SIGNED AUTOGRAPHS FOR THE FANS WHO WERE NOT SWAYED BY THE COLD AND RAIN.

NEIL ALEXANDER ([email protected])