Splinter 2014 Tour
Iowa City, Iowa
Blue Moose Tap House
Gary Numan. The name may be unfamiliar to you but I guarentee you’ve heard Numan’s music. The man has been making music for nearly 4 decades and helped create the electronic genre back in the 1980’s with tracks like “Cars” and “Are Friends Electric”. Numan, whose signature sound consists of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals, is considered a pioneer of industrial metal music genre.
Numan, backed by a 4 piece band, spun an elaborate hour and a half long set which included tracks from his long career. When he wasn’t thrashing about the stage, Numan was hammering along with the band while on guitar or moshing along with the crowd as he played keys.
When Numan was 15 years old, his father bought him a Gibson Les Paul guitar, which he regards as his most treasured possession. Numan still plays Les Paul during his live shows.
The true lasting test for any musician is their ability to weave a tale on stage using tracks spanning from their entire career. Numan’s setlist included tracks from Tubeway Army, his first band, and selections from his lengthy solo career. Tracks off of Dead Son Rising fit perfectly with older tracks from The Pleasure Pinciple and Pure. Tonight’s main focus though was for his most recent release, Spilnter: Songs From a Broken Mind.
Numan is highly respected not only by his fans, but by his peers also. Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters and Nirvana), Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails, How To Destroy Angels), and Marilyn Manson have each said Numan’s work influenced them and inspired them to become musicians. It was great to hear Numan perform Metal and Down In The Park after having spent years listening to the Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson covers respectively.
While focused on the music, Numan also knows that fans want to see the band put on a brilliant live show while they play our favorite tracks, and he didn’t dissappoint. THe spectacular light show heightened the sense of urgency from each song Numan song.
Setlist;
Resurrection
I Am Dust
Metal
Everything Comes Down to This
Films
Here in the Black
The Fall
The Calling
Down in the Park
Cars
Pure
Splinter
When the Sky Bleeds, He Will Come
We’re the Unforgiven
Love Hurt Bleed
A Prayer for the Unborn
Encore:
I Die: You Die
Are ‘Friends’ Electric?
My Last Day
