Concert Review + Photos: Gary Numan Live at The Fonda Theatre

Wrapping up the North American portion of his near year-long tour behind his outstanding 2017 release Savage (Songs From A Broken World), Gary Numan headlined an excellent show at the famed L.A. venue The Fonda Theatre. Numan plays with a vengeance stomping and spinning through each moment of every song. There’s an urgency here one would not expect for someone that has literally been making music for over four decades. The set was comprised of some of the best moments from last year’s Savage release and also the 2013 release Splinter (Songs From a Broken Mind). He opened with “Everything Comes Down to This” from Splinter but then immediately jumped into the industrial stomping glee of “Metal” and “Films” from his landmark solo debut The Pleasure Principle.

Recent cuts “Bed of Thorns” and “Pray For the Pain You Serve” were mixed in amidst early career classic “Down in the Park.” Wonderfully, Numan brought out his young daughter Persia for their excellent duo “My Name is Ruin” from last year’s Savage release. He followed from there with another early career-staple, the unforgettable “Cars.” He bled from there into the ominous pitter-patter of “Mercy” before ending the set proper strong with two Tubeway Army songs, “Me, I Disconnect From You” and “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” along with “When the World Comes Apart,” another excellent song from last year’s release. After the encore, Numan and his crack band returned to end off with “The Fall” from the 2011 release Dead Son Rising and “A Prayer for the Unborn” from the 2000 album Pure, the latter of which interestingly was the only song where Numan briefly played guitar.

No doubt about it. It was an excellent show all the way through. It’s no wonder he continues to be one of the more influential musicians/singers of his era all these decades later.

Setlist:
Everything Comes Down to This
Metal
Halo
Films
Bed of Thorns
Down in the Park
Pray for the Pain You Serve
My Name is Ruin (featuring Persia Numan)
Here in the Black
Cars
Mercy
Love Hurt Bleed
Me, I Disconnect From You
When the World Comes Apart
Are Friends Electric

Encore:
The Fall
A Prayer For the Unborn

All photos by Raymond Flotat