Show Review: Gary Numan and Big Black Delta
Nothing could have sufficiently prepared me for the musical intensity of this evening. I arrived in time to groove out to supporting act Big Black Delta, with plenty of time to spare before the legendary Gary Numan took the stage.
Photo by Liz Turner (@imamoonmonster)
And don’t get me wrong; Big Black Delta certainly pulled their weight and then some! This two-man electronic band impressed me with their style and technique. Both singer and drummer appeared to be remixing themselves live, using glitched-out stutters and pitch bends, to produce exciting effects. Unfortunately the vocals sometimes got lost in the mix, but this was still a highly enjoyable band to watch.
Photo by Liz Turner (@imamoonmonster)
As soon as Big Black Delta finished, the stage lights took on a grandiose and mysterious appearance as if only to herald Gary Numan’s impending performance… and then, like a wizard, he seemed to appear out of nowhere with a full rock band behind him.
Photo by Liz Turner (@imamoonmonster)
The first thing that I noticed about Gary is his extraordinarily unique stage presence. As he says in the song “Are ‘Friends’ Electric”: You see, this means everything to me. This would seem no exaggeration, if being spoken in regards to his music. He clutches the microphone with spastic vigor, sometimes appearing to hang all his weight on it, and sometimes throwing it back and forth like an oversized juggling pin. He dances around with an eccentric demeanor that constantly flits between raw and immensely cinematic, and he occasionally strums his Les Paul guitar with equal enthusiasm. His music is undeniably dark, ethereal-synth-heavy, classic-sounding rock n’ roll—and the band behind him does a marvelous job of encapsulating all these features. No doubt about it, Gary Numan lives up to the hype. He is legendary.
Photo by Liz Turner (@imamoonmonster)