Gary Numan @ The Opera House (Toronto, ON) on December 1, 2017 [Photos & Show Review]

Last Friday night, Gary Numan and his band (Steve Harris, guitars; Tim Muddiman, bass; David Brooks, keyboards and Richard Beasley, drums) laid waste to a sold-out crowd at the Opera House in Toronto. Silhouetted against a wash of blinding lights, heavy strobes and high decibel live audio, Toronto fans got to hear for the first time a wealth of the new material from Numan’s wicked new album Savage – Songs From A Broken World. The songs from Savage, arguably the best collection of original studio tracks Gary has assembled in over two decades, fit in so well alongside the material from his back-catalog, many of the newer songs overshadowed his ‘hits.’

Everything sounded great tonight. A noticeable oomph in guitar levels was present throughout the show, but on numerous songs, they pushed tracks like ‘Metal’ and ‘Bed Of Thorns’ past their studio inceptions in the best possible way.

Numan, a veritable legend in his field, is a musician I feel hits it out of the park time and time again. This evening had to put me into double digits for attendance at Numan performances, and I do consider the show among the best of the lot. This was an inclining Gary himself alluded to as he delivered an unscheduled second encore of “I Die: You Die,” saying that he’d performed in Toronto a lot over the years, but he felt that there was something special in the room for tonight’s show.

One of the very best live events of the year for me.

Gary Numan’s Setlist:

01. Ghost Nation
02. Metal
03. The Fall
04. Everything Comes Down to This
05. Bed of Thorns
06. Down in the Park
07. Pray for the Pain You Serve
08. Here in the Black
09. Films
10. Mercy
11. Love Hurt Bleed
12. My Name Is Ruin
13. Cars
14. When the World Comes Apart
15. A Prayer for the Unborn
Encore:
16. M.E.
17. Are ‘Friends’ Electric?
Encore 2:
18. I Die: You Die

Gary Numan “Down In The Park“ – Opera House, Toronto – December 1st, 2017

Gary Numan “Mercy“ – Opera House, Toronto – December 1st, 2017

Gary Numan “Cars“ – Opera House, Toronto – December 1st, 2017