It's early evening, Monday, and I am making my way to Church. No, I have not seen the light, rather I am here for one of those increasingly popular music gigs (with a difference) in a functioning, consecrated Church. Perhaps it was the Union Chapel in Islington that started this trend but it seems to be gaining traction as a thing to do for those intimate 'songs and stories' kind of gig. I am guessing that it is a lucrative option for the Church as well. I would imaging that more money goes over the bar in two hours than makes it into the collection plate over a month of Sundays! That must be true judging by the price punters were being charged for drinks on the night.... £6.20 for a 330ml can of 4% beer for the curious.
Even stranger than the setting was the fact that the man we had gathered to see on this pleasant October evening was none other than Gary Numan, a man who for the last 30 years has filled his albums with songs robustly denying the existence of God and yet here he was brazenly knocking out his tunes acoustically in several of the many houses that seemingly belong to God with no repercussions whatsoever. At the very least I would expect one of the band to be struck down by a thunderbolt from the miffed man upstairs... but nothing, he and they made it through this eight date mini-tour completely untouched by the wrath of God!
With no support, the time prior to the band's stage entrance was taken up with a preview of the film of last year's return to Wembley Arena. I did find it a little odd to see fan's going through their routines to a two-dimensional screen Numan! Each to their own I suppose.
The band appeared on stage to little fanfare which kind of set the tone for tonight's performance, very informal and very relaxed. In all of the many times that I have seen Numan he had more interaction with the audience tonight than in all of the other shows put together and that was right and proper as he took the time to explain the songs and the circumstances under which they were written.
What I really appreciated about the set, and this was something that Gary was at great pains to explain, was that the band did not opt for the obvious ballady songs that clearly lend themselves to a pain free acoustic treatment. The trick is to rework some of the big, booming electronic floor shakers and make them work in an entirely different setting. That said, the acoustic style is already well suited to some of the very old Tubeway Army material as that was pretty much semi-acoustic in the first place. Thus we were treated to 'The Life Machine', 'Crime of Passion (two songs I never reckoned on hearing him ever play) and of course 'Jo The Waiter'. Throw into the mix 'Everyday I Die' and this is as close as I'm gonna get to seeing 1978 Tubeway Army!
That is the beauty of such acoustic gigs, they give the artist absolute freedom to do something different, something for an appreciative audience that is far from the norm. I guess (and Gary's often repeated references to how much he enjoyed this first acoustic tour as well as the opportunity to take the audience each night on a bit of a journey) it must be refreshing to play some of the songs you have been playing every night for 45 or more years well..... differently!
I will not give my opinions too much on the songs, but there was nothing in there that blatantly did not work once reworked. And just to say it was great to hear 'Stories'! The recording will follow so you can come to your own conclusions.
Judging by Gary's toothy grinning throughout the set I can only assume that for him this format and these dates have been an overwhelming triumph for him. And, for us the punters that can only be good news, giving him as it does a new engaging string to his musical bow. Well done that man!
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