Review Of Gary Numan - The Coal Exchange, Cardiff 2nd June

I went to see Gary Numan at The Coal Exchange, Cardiff on 2nd June. It was his Machine Music 2012 Tour and his support band were The Officers.

I've liked Gary Numan's older music ('Cars', 'Are 'Friends' Electric?', 'Down In The Park' etc.) for a long time, but haven't really looked into going to see him live. This year, however, I spotted that he was doing a tour and decided to go.

When I arrived at The Coal Exchange in Cardiff, I was surprised by how intimate the venue was. It looked quite big from the outside, but inside it was a good size. The stage was just high enough from the ground so that everyone had a good view no matter where they were stood.

The crowd were a nice mixture of young and old, which was really great to see. I had a great time t-shirt spotting before the show started. It was great to see so many different people at the same gig.

The Officers kicked the night off with a good rock/metal set. They livened the crowd up so that they were ready for Gary Numan's arrival.

At around 9pm, Gary Numan came onto the stage. He looked fantastic with his jet black hair and gothic make-up.

At the start of his performance, Gary didn't really seem to connect with the crowd. However, this could have been just nerves as he interacted well and was a lot more chatty as the performance continued.

He played a mixture of his older material and his newer songs. Fan-made music videos were projected onto a screen behind Numan and his band for each song. They were really good and it was a brilliant way for Gary to thank his fans for their continued support.

All the older material that was included was slowed down and majorly rocked up. 'Cars' and 'Are 'Friends' Electric?' (the Encore) were really rocked up. They were completely alternative versions to the originals and they were just fantastic.

Gary Numan can definitely still do it live! He was stunning and I'm so glad that I went to see him! If he does a tour next year, then I'll be there and so should you!

Setlist:

• Berserker
• Metal
• The Fall
• Bombers
• Crazier
• Call Out The Dogs
• Dominion Day
• This Wreckage
• Absolution
• That's Too Bad
• In A Dark Place
• Down In The Park
• Rip
• Love Needs No Disguise
• Warriors
• I Die You Die
• We Are Glass
• Healing

Encore:

• Cars
• Are 'Friends' Electric?

For more information on Gary Numan, go to: www.numan.co.uk