New Wave icon Gary Numan took the stage at the Black Cat in Washington on Wednesday night with a mixture of apprehension and glee.
The British singer-songwriter and his goth-fashioned band were in town for Numan’s The Pleasure Principle tour, on which he plays his recently reissued 1979 landmark album, The Pleasure Principle, in its entirety at every date.
The show began with two synth-heavy instrumental tracks, the first some kind of concert intro song. The next was “Airlane,” the first track of The Pleasure Principle LP.
“I don’t know if you’ve been following the news,” Numan said in between the two songs. “But I lost my voice [earlier in the week] and we had to cancel the Atlanta date, which was a f—ing bummer.”
He went on to say that his singing voice at soundcheck was “pathetic” and he would “try” to sing throughout the night but warned the adoring crowd he would need the audience to sing a few songs he could not.
That interaction began with two songs from The Pleasure Principle, one of which was “Films.”
The positive reaction garnered smiles from Numan, which was a pleasant sight juxtaposed with his all black attire and dark eyeliner. Through the group singing, Numan inadvertently made the night about one of music’s most wonderful elements — community.
As goth-themed as the concert was, it was a joyous occasion to be surrounded by Numan’s mostly older fans, all enthusiastically singing or yelping along to the synthesizer-heavy songs.
But that feeling was soon lost when Numan pointed the microphone toward the three-fourths full Black Cat for a third song later in the set and the audience failed to respond audibly, though Numan mouthed the words.
A brilliant light show aided the concert considerably — though the already strong songs needed no enhancement. High power lights flashed a wide spectrum of colors through the fog machine’s thick clouds of smoke, appropriately matching the mood of Numan’s atmospheric album.
Numan was nearing the end of The Pleasure Principle tracklist when “Cars” — a top-10 single and arguably Numan’s most recognizable song — appeared, as it does as the ninth track on the album. Oddly enough, there was little fanfare when the hit song’s notes filled the air. It was clear the people in attendance weren’t just casual fans. They came to see the “GARY!” they screamed repeatedly about.
“F— you for playing that, Gary!” one fan drunkenly yelled. The same fan was seen and heard lovingly shouting along to other popular songs later in the night.
While the live rendition of “Cars” was nothing special, the applause was deserved. How Numan could play the tune — admittedly catchy but also irritating with multiple listens — for 30 years and not get visibly sick of it showed a true devotion to his songbook.
With “Cars” out of the way for the rest of the night, Numan and his five-piece band proceeded to completely change the tone of the show once the final track of The Pleasure Principle, “Engineers,” was played. This was when Gary Numan, synthpop hero, suddenly transformed into Gary Numan, hard rock industrialist.
The latter half of the set focused on Numan’s latter day material, which is more steeped in chugging guitar and harsh beats than the calmer (in comparison) electronics of his Pleasure Principle material.
Numan left his synth and picked up an electric guitar and made his best attempts to entice the crowd to headbang. Unfortunately, the majority of the audience remained still, though clearly enjoying the show.
Had the crowd been a bit more energetic and the volume slightly louder, Numan may have had a dance party to end all dance parties on his hands.
Nevertheless, the band rocked and brought out heavy hitters like “Down in the Park” to rapturous applause and cheers.
The concert ended after a thankful Numan and his band returned to the stage for a three song encore, which had the lights flashing with a blinding brilliance.
Numan’s celebratory tour of a 30-year-old album was a rightfully astonishing time — an aging icon youthfully romping through his songs, both old and new.
rhiggins@umdbk.com
