Gary Numan: Intruder online concert

Gary Numan was in fine performative form on Thursday night as he premiered new album Intruder in an explosive online concert. 

Appearing on a neon-lit stage, sporting tribal makeup and dressed in clothes that made them look like characters from Mad Max, Gary and his band of talented musicians played through the songs from the new release, along with a few old classics such as Cars and Are Friends Electric?. It was a wholly entertaining affair and the entire evening leant heavily into the gothic futurist aesthetic, so that it felt like they were the house band for a dingy bar in a sci-fi dystopia. 

This suited the direction that Numan has taken on the album musically – an industrial goth-rock approach that utilises a lot of distortion and eerie synth sounds. It comes off as similar to other industrial groups such as Nine Inch Nails and even, at some points, Rammstein. This similarly might be too close for some, but Numan has been taking a steadily darker and more industrial direction in recent albums, so it seems fitting.

There was perhaps a lack of variety in the songs, and picking out highlights from the more recent work is tricky as they were somewhat homogenous musically. The instrumentation was good on the whole and the sense of scale was suitably epic, but it seems that Numan has zeroed in on a particular style, leaving little room for deviation. Whilst this won’t bother anyone who enjoys the approach, it was arguably a little one-note. 

In terms of the technical side, the concert was delivered flawlessly. Stabal music clearly have their heads screwed on right when it comes to streaming, with excellent video quality and some great direction. The audio was also crystal-clear and incredibly well mixed. Overall the process of logging on and watching the show was seamless. 

The greatest takeaway from the evening was that, were someone to go and see this as an actual live show, they’d undoubtedly have a fantastic time, especially if they were already a fan of Numan’s. His on-stage persona was great to watch and he has surrounded himself with excellent musicians. Definitely one to catch for fans of the man himself.

Joe Milo

For further information and future events visit Gary Numan’s website here.

Watch the video for the single Intruder here: