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UK TOUR Saturday Nov. 8th 2008I had a very pleasant and uncomplicated flight from Toronto to London then on to Manchester. I arrived in Manchester around 4 pm Wednesday and was met by Marc, who has coordinated the tour. Marc is the guitarist in the Numan cover band YTDS. Check them out on Myspace. 
I'm staying at Marc's place and he already has most of the equipment ready for the show. I have purchased a whole new collection of equipment to be kept here in the UK for future gigs as well. I'm very excited about these gigs. It feels like a whole new experience because of the new lightshow and the renewed interest in my music in the UK. It's a win-win situation. The audience gets something they've never imagined and I get the live stage buzz. This is not a retro tour. I don't do retro shows. I have continually performed live and recorded music. I can't quit the band and this is the original lineup, but I have fired the drum machines more than once. So the UK is getting a show that no one has seen before. That includes most of Canada, all of the USA and the rest of the planet. UK TOUR, Gig One - York, Wednesday Nov. 19th, 2008I've never been to a mediaeval city before but this place is right out of the history books. Ancient stone walls, remnants of grand stone archways, and old stone churches. They have a noted university, and the ancient city centre has the atmosphere of a community that loves its heritage but is not interested in loud, disruptive behaviour such as yours truly. The attendance was sparse but very enthusiastic. There were only about 20 people in a club that holds 200. The stage was very small but I managed to make the most of it. I am doing these gigs as part of the Numania tour, and as such I am working with this wonderful opening act called YTDS. They do a great set of Gary Numan cover songs from the Teletour era, 1980. My opening for Gary Numan all those years ago left a serious imprint on a lot of young people back then and that is the audience that's coming to these gigs. The small crowd was enthusiastic for YTDS and really blown away by my lightshow. I'm glad I came over two weeks in advance to work out the technical details. The sound needs some tweaking but overall I put on the same show I designed back home and the new set-up works perfectly. I was surprised at the response for certain songs. Perhaps my webmaster can start a chart to see which song is voted most popular? It was a great start to the tour and I'm looking forward to Glasgow tomorrow. (Addendum: Regarding the most popular song, there is no contest. It's Children of the Night - see below!) |
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UK TOUR, Gig Two - Glasgow, Thursday Nov. 20th, 2008Last night was Glasgow. A long 4 hour drive from Manchester and a very late drive back. Just as in York, the gig was poorly attended (40 people) but the Glasgow reputation for enthusiasm was in abundance. Not drunk and rowdy but seriously excited. These first two gigs have not been well promoted. There was no sign of posters anywhere, and those fans who did attend all said they could have filled the place if the promotion had been better. Word of mouth does not fill venues. Good advertising is needed to give any show a sense of importance and uniqueness. In the UK, a promoter must pay a fee to the clubs. Add to that the cost of posters and a guaranteed fee to the artist and it becomes a costly and risky undertaking from the promoters point of view. If the club in question makes no effort to put up posters then everyone loses. The show itself was fantastic. The two local opening acts, George Carnival and Deviant UK were terrific and YTDS impressed the Numan diehards with a great set of Numan hits. I started my set with 3 songs on violin, then switched to mandolin for the 4th song Children of the Night. Tonight, something amazing happened. The entire front row began to sing along, not just the chorus, but all the verses as well. I have never had an audience do that at any of my concerts in my life, and it really is a huge sense of euphoria and camaraderie with the audience. I ended the set with Baba O'Riley and then the surprise encore. YTDS came back on stage and we played 3 Gary Numan songs to rousing applause. The audience wasn't just enthusiastic, they were positively glowing. After the show I chatted with the fans and had my picture taken with many of them. Most were in their 40's but there was one young lad named Chris who appeared to be about 15 years old and he was speechless. He had a grin on his face that he won't wipe off for a month! All in all it was a wonderful gig for everyone. We also had some bad news. The gig in Bristol for Friday (tonight) has been cancelled due to lack of enough advance ticket sales. It was a very large venue and seeing as it was going to cost the promoter a fortune to book the club, he felt it was prudent to cancel. That's a terrible thing to do to those fans who bought advance tickets. The tickets for Bristol are redeemable at any other gigs on the tour, but I'm sure the fans were very disappointed. The next gig is in Guildford on Monday and here's hoping the news will spread on the Numan grapevine and there will be a larger crowd. Either way, I'm enjoying myself immensely. How ironic that 28 years later, on a whim, I'm back. |
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UK TOUR, Gig Three - Guilford, Monday Nov. 24th, 2008After 3 days of time off, myself and YTDS are glad to be playing again. We are beginning to sound better with each gig. Guildford is a small city just south of London and we are hoping for a bigger crowd tonight. Unfortunately, it's a Monday, it's really cold (even by Canadian standards) and I'm not known in these parts. The venue is quite small, with a tiny stage that barely fits all the equipment for the bands. The sound-system is excellent and Chris, the house sound tech, is very professional. At the rear of the club is a Chinese noodle kitchen, where, for only £5, you can get a huge bowl of delicious noodles in all kinds of combinations. I had the duck and pork combo. Very tasty stuff. The staff was very hospitable and I could tell this was a musician-friendly place. This may come as a surprise to some, but a lot of clubs could care less about the talent that comes into their establishments. Rarely does anyone identify themselves as the management or express any concern for your well-being. This place was the exception. There are 40 or 50 people, and compared to Glasgow, they are very reserved. The local opening act is called Dead Heaven. It is a two-piece set-up, with Baz on bass guitar and vocals and Nino on guitar and programming. They have a great sound and I'm really impressed with their set. They'll be opening in Herford tomorrow night as well. If only all the gigs could have such a great evening's worth of entertainment. When I do my set, there isn't a lot of outward enthusiasm from the audience. It turns out they were simply dumbfounded by my performance. When YTDS joins me for the final encores of Numan faves, the audience really perks up. We play 3 Gary Numan classics. The first, You Are, You Are I recorded with Gary on his album Dance in 1981. He has never performed it live so the all-Numan audience can't believe their ears. It goes down a storm. We follow with The Joy Circuit and the great finale We Are Glass. Every gig has its quirks, and Guildford may not be the greatest music town, but the noodles and hospitality were worth it. |
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UK TOUR, Gig Four - Hertford, Tuesday Nov. 25th, 2008Another small city with no real fan base for me, but about 50 excited fans made it all worthwhile. This is a serious rock room with a large stage and monster PA system that kicks ass. As in Guildford last night, the opening band is Dead Heaven and once again they played a great set of tunes. Baz and Nino are really good musicians and their performance gives the evening a great start. YTDS also have an excellent set and when I get on stage the audience is ready to rock. The whole event is wonderful and I enjoy talking with the fans who saw me so many years ago when they were just teenagers. Hello to Rob and Bill, and next time bring your friends. Herford hasn't heard the last of me yet. |
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UK TOUR, Gig Five - Portsmouth, Wednesday Nov. 26th, 2008It was another 3 hour drive down to Portsmouth, and once we got there it took another 45 minutes to find the club and get our equipment inside. The gig is situated in a re-developed area of the wharf, where posh new condos rise above pedestrian walkways lined with boutiques and restaurants. There was no vehicular access and no one to show us how to find the club. When we finally got inside the place I knew it was going to be a disaster. The local opening band of Goths had already set up their equipment ant they were doing a sound check. They looked positively indignant when I told them to get all their equipment off MY stage. Professional respect was not a concept to them. The stage was not a solid construction but a cluster of risers that one would find in a college auditorium. The staff had to go and find extra platforms to make the stage large enough for all the bands. This was another 25 minutes wasted for set-up. As I stood there looking at this cavernous room, I took note of the sound system. This was a large dance club, and as is usually the case, the speakers were not set up for live music. The cabinets were hung in the air right over the stage, not to the side as they should be. The bass bins lined the back wall. This was not a PA for live music. It was going to be an endless night of feedback. The soundman was very inexperienced, and during sound check he implied that the sound problems came from our instruments and not his dance club sound system. The local opening act was a 5 piece Goth outfit, 3 guys and their 2 girlfriends. As with most Goths, they proved to be just a bunch of young posers and whiners who should never have been allowed on a stage with professional musicians in the first place. They might trip over my violin and electrocute themselves. With all the facial nuts and bolts, a cattle prod to one earlobe could prove fatal! YTDS had a rough time on stage, with feedback problems and the vocal monitors cutting in and out. Then it was my turn to endure the torture. I take the stage to rousing applause but when I do a quick check of the violin, there is nothing in the PA. The soundman had disconnected my cable to his mixer in order to use it for the opening band. That's right; the local Goths screwed me again. Lesson #37 for this genius: it is customary at all concerts for the headline acts such as Nash or YTDS to do a sound check to make sure everything is working then you leave it the fuck alone! I'm standing on stage for over 3 minutes before he figures it out and gets the sound happening. Three minutes is a whole song in 'stage time'. The vocal monitor is so loud that every time I attempt to sing, I am in danger of causing myself serious ear damage. I ask for the monitor to be turned down and the soundman promptly turns it off! I could still hear myself in the speakers above my head but it was beyond fixing at this point. I cut the set short and YTDS joins me for the Numan encores. As is often the case, the audience was oblivious to all the sound problems on stage and they thought the sets were great. At the end of the night, we beat a hasty retreat with our ears still bleeding from the sheer volume. What a nightmare. Tomorrow is a day off and then on to a sold-out show in London on Friday. Hopefully it's a real rock room and there will be no technical problems. So far I have been the "Nice Canadian Guy", but I am tempted to go "American" on these unsuspecting Brits if we have any further amateur nights at the dance-hall. |
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UK TOUR, Gig Six - London, Friday Nov 28th, 2008
London was simply fantastic. The Purple Turtle is my kind of room; a classic rock and roll venue, with a high stage and a killer sound system. There are 5 acts tonight, with 3 local bands being added to the bill. By the time all the equipment is set up, the stage looks like a garage sale from Depeche Mode. There are keyboards and guitars scattered allover the stage, with laptops, mixers and pedal boards thrown in for good measure. The house soundman Pete is up to the challenge as he calmly co-ordinates the stage mayhem into an evening of sonic bliss for everyone. Of the three local bands, Global Citizen stand out, with a dynamic stage presence and great music. The singer Richard said to me later, "You see Nash, not all goths are posers and whiners." He's a class act. The packed audience gives YTDS a rousing response to every song. The constant compliment this band gets is how authentic they sound. Few musicians today would know how to get that 80's heavy synth sound. It can't be done with laptops and other digital sound devices. The early Numan sound is all about analog, that fat synth bass sound that shakes your gut and makes you go "Oh Yeah!" The band sound great tonight and they are definitely getting off on the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd. The audience is totally psyched up when I hit the stage. Non-stop cheers of adulation boost my energy level and intensity. The smiles of appreciation from the audience crammed to the edge of the stage make it even more exciting for me as well. One female fan in front brings out a small teddy bear, and she begins to "dance" the little fella across the stage in front of me. It was all great fun. All the gigs have had their special moments, good and bad, but this night in London is one of the greatest receptions I have ever had at any gig, anywhere. It was made even more special when I got to meet Steve Roper, the man behind the Numan fan site, The Touring Principle. Also in attendance was Shirley-Ann who has created her own unique Nash fan site and helped to get the word out about the tour. Thanks again to everyone for a very memorable evening. |
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UK TOUR, Gig Seven - Birmingham, Saturday, Nov 29th, 2008This is another gig at Barfly, the largest chain of rock clubs across the country. Just like the Barfly in Glasgow, this club has not bothered to put up posters inside or outside the venue to promote the gig. What a strange attitude for a club to have regarding the talent coming through their doors. The Barfly chain has no affinity for the musicians they book, and instead treat the talent as fodder for bar sales. The club itself does not book the bands, but rely on outside promoters to do all the work for them at a hefty rental cost. Even the staff seem uninterested in the music on stage. The event is well attended regardless and the crowd is very enthusiastic. Deviant UK are on the bill again tonight, and it's great to see and hear them once more. They opened for us in Glasgow and put on a great show. The front man Jay is a unique performer with an excellent voice and great stage presence. As with a lot of the gigs on this tour, there is a curfew tonight of 10:30. We are cutting the sets short so YTDS and myself can get in at least two Numan songs for the encores. At the end I meet many old fans who have been patiently waiting for many years for my to return to the UK. They are thrilled to see the show and they all talk about their first experience seeing me open for Gary Numan so long ago. There has been a revelation regarding these Numan fans. All of them were just 12 or 14 years old when they went to their first rock concert. That concert was the Teletour in 1980. They went to see their new idol Gary Numan. What these impressionable young minds didn't expect was the opening act, a wild one-man band from Canada dressed in bandages and top hat and ripping their sensitive ears with electric violin. Gary Numan wasn't the first rock act they'd seen live, it was Nash the Slash. They've been hooked ever since. |
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UK TOUR, Last Gig - Manchester, Sunday, Nov 30th, 2008This is the final gig on the tour and the Numaniacs are out in full force. Some have come from as far away as Germany for this event. It's a great combination of acts, including our friends Deviant UK. Everyone puts in one hundred percent and the crowd is really alive. YTDS play their usual great set of Numan hits that really gets the audience buzzing. There is a sense of drama in the air as this is our last gig together. My set has the crowd excited from the opening notes of Psychlone. The internet chatter from all the Numan fans is astounding. The reviews and video postings on YouTube have created a whole new excitement in the UK. Once again Children of the Night is the crowd favorite. This is a Sunday night and there is an early curfew of 10:30. We keep the sets short so we have time for YTDS to join me for the grand finale. It is a fond farewell to an incredible tour. I have had a wonderful, eye-opening experience coming back to the UK. The music scene is very different than that of North America, and the dedication and respect from the fans still glows after 28 years. I'm not waiting another lifetime to return that's for sure. Many thanks to YTDS for helping to make this happen. To Blair, Mike, Roger, Phil, Matt and especially Marc, who spent many months coordinating the gigs and getting my new stage gear ready for my arrival. His partner Helen also deserves special mention for letting me stay in their home, putting up with all the electronic equipment that filled her front room, and for her wonderful sewing job on the projector curtain. Now I have my complete UK/Euro rig. It all came together without a hitch. 
Thanks also to Phil and Chantel for letting me stay with them for a week in Milton-Keynes. Ten miles of rolling English countryside is a sight to behold just outside your back door. 
Special thanks to Gary for his last minute commitment to being my stage tech for the tour as well as doing the merchandise sales. Marc's friend Gary lives across the street in Manchester. He has never done stage work before, but he's a fast learner and his tireless energy and great personality made him an indispensable part of the tour. I now have a team ready for my next assault on the UK and Europe. I would like to celebrate the performances of Deviant UK and Dead Heaven. Both bands played more than one venue with me and they were wonderful additions to the evening's entertainment every time. I would love to record music with these very talented artists. Regarding Frank at Flag Promotions, I can't thank him enough. He went out on a limb for me because he felt it was the right thing to do. He lost money, but he is a true gentleman and an avid supporter. We will have a good future together. The final tribute is to the UK fans who have waited for this tour for 28 years. Your enthusiasm was infectious, your faithfulness overwhelming. I'll be back, hopefully when the weather warms up. Damn it was cold, and I'm Canadian! Favorite one liner: Blair (Mr. Comedian) on drums when told that 3 out of 6 members of Young Things Don't Scream had a cold or the flu said, "We should call it The Numania/Pneumonia Tour." |
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