The first official show for what I consider the best venue in the city now—The Sovereign, at 3306 Washington Ave., just west of Compton Ave. in Midtown—swung hard with an absolute legend. Anyone hoping for those couple of familiar hits from the ‘80s weren’t disappointed, but this show is now in my top 5 of shows ever. Ever. Prior to meeting my wife, I’m sure I had heard “Cars.” But after we met in our sophomore year of high school, we’d make each other mixed tapes, then mixed CDs, and I’d come to like “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” and “Down in the Park.” The latter has a dual specialness for us both as it was covered by both of our vote for top show (#1) Marilyn Manson. Watching Gary Numan perform is what I imagine a Nine Inch Nails show in the early ’90s was like. Hard. Industrial. Goth. Eccentric. Powerful. I could keep the adjectives coming but suffice it to say that it was a complete experience I could never have expected. Gary Numan is 67 years old so to compare him to a twenty something Trent Reznor isn’t a slight to either but a testament to the resilience of a complete master of his craft. The crowd spanned the wheels of time as well. Some teens and those in their 20s and 30s to quite a few above 50 and 60. That is truly the sign of someone brilliant. His sound touches across any box someone could put a person in.
He is a pioneer of electronic music and could fit into easily 50 genres/sub-genres. On this night, he’d give us all of the synthesizer we could handle, but also some really elite industrial guitar and bass heavy bang for our buck! His first release was in 1978 and his last was in 2021 and this night he seamlessly weaved us through his catalog with no one at all able to easily discern that these tracks weren’t all on a double album recently released. Midway through the show I noticed something I haven’t seen since the iPhone 1 was released: almost no one was recording on their phones. Every now and then you’d see one go up, record for 30 or so seconds and go away. Everyone was dancing from the hostesses to the security detail. SEVENTEEN songs on the setlist (which we were given) including all of the aforementioned songs; he opened with “Halo,” ended with “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” and some in the midst included “Metal,” “Ghost Nation,” “My Name is Ruin,” “A Prayer for the Unborn.”
Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Gary Numan, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Click to enlarge
A bit about the Sovereign: it is beautiful. Unlike some venues that get stuffy, the air was flowing through the building. It smelled great, had a bar when you walked in as well as one to the right of the stage. The merch table was pretty far back, giving the floor ample space to dance and do a li’l headbanging from time to time. The balcony was massive, bout the size of a shipping crate left, right and center, which allowed for you to find space somewhere in there for a perfect view. The stairs up to it are so elegant—fitting for us elder goths to look stunning walking up or down them.
It was Friday, I was in love. Ninety minutes of forgetting the world and just living in this moment, in this beautiful space, audio by this elite entertainer and his band. Flawless. | Diane Ruff
Opening the show was L.A.-based duo Tremours.
Tremours, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Tremours, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Tremours, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Tremours, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Tremours, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Tremours, live at The Sovereign. Photo by Jen Ruff.Click to enlarge