Friday 20/09/02 Gary Numan @ The Lomax, Liverpool

Y'know, my lockup is like an Aladdin's Cave of music! Therein, you can find Ye Olde Albumes wrapped carefully in bin bags, a whole rake of music cassettes all now in mono, and only playable in one speaker, and a big load of 'world music' and 'sound effect' CDs all lashed haphazardly into an assortment of flight cases. So, imagine my surprise when I came across an original music cassette of Gary Numan's Replicas! It was released in about '79, and it still worked, and I'd been listening to it in the car for a week before the show, remembering all the tunes and the weird synth sounds.

Fast forward to curtain up and... "Fukkin Ell!" Gone was the man in a long coat, grey hat smokin a cigarette. This all-nu Numan has become everyone's worst nightmare! Err, Mr Manson, you might as well pack your bags now and **** off, 'cos this band are 1000 times more scary and convincing mate.

Onto the stage strode a big tall geek dressed in cast off's from Mad Max, oh, and a skirt! A big split right down the centre of his face sorta placed this guy in the role of a 'Cenobytes' big brother. This guy would have eaten Pinhead and his mates for breakfast, a real big muscly bastard guitar killer.

More assorted 'Vampire Circus' **** up's strode on, strapped in, and kicked off the data discs to spew streams of midi data into samplers and racks of synthesizers. Big boomy industrial clangs, bangs and the sound of metal plates being whacked by steamhammers filled the venue. Smoke billowed across the stage, and suddenly, backlit and insilhouette, Numan stepped up to the mic as the intelligent lighting projectors swooped and swung into action, washing the set with a harsh, steel cold light.

I gotta tell ya, if I'd have had pants on, I'd have shit 'em! I seriously stood there, open mouthed throughout the whole damn show in complete awe at this band, and the enigma that is Numan. To say that Numan is the contender to the throne of Marylin Manson would be laughable. Numan sits on the dark throne of synth/metal/**** knows what, staring with black eyes, seething and hissing with hatred at all those who dare come near.

Numan's music has metamorphosed. You can say goodbye to 'Cars' (which incidentally never got an outing), this music is now the heaviest, darkest, guitar driven, brooding synth textured doom I've heard in a long, long time. Sure, some old faves got played, 'I Die You Die' might as well have been played by Judas Priest and sounded absolutely drenched in the most pitch black evil.

I wish I had the opportunity to watch this performance again, there was so much to look at and hear. Mad Max meets The Evil Dead meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Phantasm meets Hellraiser, with a soundtrack that was incidental music to your worst nightmare.

Photos by Eventa :: eventa@gigwise.com