St Luke’s is a venue that’s sky rocketing up the charts as far as places to play are concerned. Right now, it’s not a kick in the backside away from being as good as King Tuts. The outstanding acoustics, intimate stage, and more than capable PA means it’s attracting more and more notable acts. Only last week, Black Stone Cherry – a stadium filling act – played to a handful of super fans. Tonight it’s the turn of electronic goth goliath, Gary Numan.
Approaching the venue before doors, I’ve not seen a queue like it. Normally there’s a bunch of fans in the more than ample square at the front. Tonight the queue runs for streets. As the venue opens, fans are pressing against the barrier as soon as they can – forgoing with the usual swanning about and leaving big pockets of space.
Tonight is a bit of a special night for the fans. There’s a VIP meet and greet, and the support slot is filled with a video of Gary’s Wembley performance. Initially bizarre, a music venue filled with fans cheering on a pre-recorded show, but if you think about it… no different from football fans cheering on their team at the pub. The only difference is that here your team are going to come out once the match is over and play an exclusive acoustic set. I don’t think Ronaldo would know what to do with a cello.
It’s not long after the support movie ends before Gary and the band make their way to the stage. If this crowd were cheering a dvd… you can imagine the welcome that the actual man got.
As soon as ‘When The World Comes Apart’ strikes up, you know this show is going to be different. Although acoustic, the ex-church is filled with a tremendous, full sound. After the first song, Gary explains that this is an experiment to gauge the reaction to these reimagined songs. There’s instantly cheers of approval.
If you were to go see Gary Numan live as he normally performs, there wouldn’t be much banter between songs, if any. Tonight, there’s chat and stories and the whole atmosphere is warm and friendly. You walk away convinced that Mr Numan is a genuinely nice guy and we’ve been in great company tonight.
An encore comprising of ‘Cars’ and ‘Are Friends Electric?’ is absolutely blinding. This is the perfect show for a bit of hero worship… and what else is a church for if not some worship?
Photos by Catching Light Photography