Gary Numan + Ladytron – The Piece Hall, Halifax – 31st July 2026
GARY NUMAN
Fresh from a four night stint at Buckley’s intimate Tivoli, Gary Numan takes the stage at what couldn’t be a more different venue. From the tight and dark confines of a small club to the open air quadrangle and daylight into dramatic night of the Piece Hall. Some might call the run of gigs in smaller venues a warm up but it’s been a rare opportunity to get up very close and personal and something which he has admitted to enjoying although unlikely to happen again. Fair enough as the production we’ve witnessed in Manchester in recent years from The Albert Hall to the O2 Ritz and the O2 Apollo has grown in production values to match the music.
Tonight is no exception as Numan and his mobile acolytes, guitarist Steve Harris and bass player Tim Slade career around the space, seemingly caught in their own fever dreams, wreaking havoc along the expanse of the stage while confronting those at the barrier in an often menacing, but always mesmerizing fashion in their imposing war paint and costume finery.
STALKING…
At showtime, the band emerge slowly from a barrage of smoke, stalking the stage and raising the level of excitement and tingles of intimidation and danger. The throbs and pulses begin as they don their instruments and launch into Halo. When they hit the “does God bleed on...” section, the air crackles with the sound of goosebumps.
The set tweaks have been both interesting and rewarding for those who have been at multiple shows. Tonight, The Piece Hall gets treated to a tremendous mid song trio of Jagged, Mercy and Metal in a first high point of the set. Jagged is an epic rendition that swings between tension and brutality. It has Numan throwing himself around the stage and wrapping himself around the mic stand in the search for some sort of relief offered by the “I feel it fall” lyric.
The sombre and ominous tempo of Mercy is almost a slow build with Metal waiting in the wings; the segue into the latter with Harris wandering guitarless and gesturing some sort of agony before the song erupts in a huge release that puts the original from back in the day, to the sword,. Certainly by comparison to the huge version he’s peddled in recent times. And then another lethal combo of RIP, The Chosen, My Name Is Ruin where the blast of beats, fizz basslines from keys or strings combine with swirling atmospheres. and then the rush of I Die You Die bring the main set to a close. Never too far from a classic that’s part of electronic musical heritage.
All comes wrapped in a production whose impact is in the apparent simplicity of metal trusses and winding strip lights to a bombardment from the overheard lighting rig.
SHEER INTENSITY
A man of few words this evening – the industrial hums and beats punctuate the between songs transitions – the intensity of the music needing no words – a masterclass in letting the music flow.. The electronic music pioneering has come a long way. The encore that combines Love Hurt Bleed from the heavier metallic template with the ‘every house has one’ dah-dah-dah, dah-dah-daaah’ refrain of the iconic Are Friends Electric bridges the gap. One of several moments where ‘the old’ is positioned within touching distance of ‘the new’ to emphasise the strength of the legacy and how Numan has moved on. It’s also evidences the clear progression of how the older songs have evolved and been reshaped by an adrenaline shot – maybe even an overdose – of new life.
Pioneer, icon, genius, performer supreme… The twenty twenties are a good time to be onboard with Gary Numan. The accolades would humble the man, yet are so richly deserved.
LADYTRON
Showcasing their latest album Paradises, the electronic synth pop of Ladytron, in a five piece set up fronted by Helen Marnie and Mira Aroyo can count namechecks from the likes of Brian Eno and The Guardian and are clearly owing a debt no doubt to tonight’s headliner.
Not quite in the Numan league of wild and unfettered moving and shaking, theirs is a more serene presence more in keeping with the early Eighties ‘there’s not really much you can do when you’re behind a keyboard’ dilemma. Not that it ever troubled Keith Emerson – cue the rack of knives for jamming between the keys, or some of the once fashionable ‘keytar’-ists.
From the core sound that offers a friendly poppy bounce with I See Red to the more ambitious and expansive and aggressive pump of Deadzone and Metaphysica, the set swerves any hint of being one paced or limited with shifts in the instrumental balance as Daniel Hunt adds an the guitar part and the front duo swap and share vocal duties. Knowing what’s to follow in the main course on the evening’s menu, Ladytron offer an palatable aperitif.
Gary Numan: Website
Ladytron: Website