Gary Numan
The Catalyst, Santa Cruz
September 20, 2025
Photos by Geoffrey Smith II
Things were dire before Gary Numan even hit the stage at The Catalyst. Not only were doors pushed back an hour with no announcement from the venue, but once the crowd entered the sold-out show they were subjected to a venue that apparently didn’t believe in turning on the air conditioning, subjecting the crowd to temperatures that I’m sure would be classified as torture by the Geneva Convention. By the time that Numan and his band came onstage, I had already seen multiple people leave the venue, their clothes and hair plastered to their bodies with sweat. It was not a good omen of things to come.
Fortunately once Gary, David Brooks (keyboards), Jimmy Lucido (drums), Tim Slade (bass), and Steve Harris (guitar) emerged before the crowd it was to the stuttering intro of “Halo,” one of the highlights from Numan’s 2006 album Jagged. This was the first time that I’d seen it used as the opener for a show, and it worked perfectly in setting the mood for what was to come. Distorted guitars, an anthemic chorus, and Numan catapulting himself across the stage as the song continued. Once it ended it received a massive applause, which was also a trend that would continue throughout the show.
This was followed by more of my favorite recent songs (“The Chosen,” “Haunted,” “Everything Comes Down To This”), as well as my single favorite Numan song, “Metal.” Despite it being a song that I’ve seen Gary and his band play at every show, it always brings the house down and a smile to my face. And despite the current band lineup only being together for a few years with Lucido joining in 2023, Gary and his group played “Metal,” as well as every other song on the setlist, like a well-oiled machine with barely any mistakes to be seen.
But I feel like therein lies my issue with the show that I saw: yes, on paper the setlist was full of songs that I love or at least like, but they’re all the same songs that Numan and his band have been playing in North America for the last couple of years with little to no variation in the setlist. Any positives that I could list about the show would be the same positives that I wrote in my last two Numan reviews because, despite the song order being slightly rearranged, the show in Santa Cruz was nearly identical to the show I saw in Sacramento last year, which was nearly identical to the show I saw on Petaluma the year before that.
And I specifically mention that the songs have been played continually in North America because it seems like every year he does a specially themed tour in the United Kingdom that fans stateside are never privy to. Last year it was a 45th anniversary tour for the albums Replicas and The Pleasure Principle, and this year will be a 45th anniversary tour for Telekon. And despite even selling a live 7″ single celebrating the occasion at the merch booth, not a single song from the album was featured in the set. It’s a constant source of frustration, not just for me but for other Numan faithfuls in North America, that instead of Gary and his band even giving us a taste of what he gives fans overseas we instead get the same three songs from the Splinter album at every show.
For all the negatives that I can throw at the show for what it could have been, let me tell you exactly what it was: Gary Numan and his band locked in and playing a set that felt heavier and more intense than any I’d seen so far. I’ve been seeing Gary regularly in concert for the last 15 years, and believe me when I say that each show of his that I see leaves me feeling more deafened than any before. His band is truly locked in with each other and they know the material inside and out.
I’m sure that if you see Gary on this tour and you haven’t seen him before, or have only seen him a couple of times, you’re going to come out of this show loving it. Gary and his band give it their absolute all and you can tell that they are truly enjoying themselves onstage. But if you’re a Numan faithful like me and others I know and you’ve been seeing him regularly for the last ten to fifteen years, there’s no way to stop yourself from feeling even a little disappointed by the song selection. Was it a good show? Yes. But do I wish that he would stop playing “Love Hurt Bleed” every time I see him and instead dig a bit deeper into his back catalogue? Also yes.
Tremours opened the evening, and they were the best kind of opener you could hope for: they came out, played their set, and left me wanting even more. I’m not entirely familiar with them, but the two-piece has a sound that feels indebted to 90s shoegaze, although they feel far more Slowdive and Lush than My Bloody Valentine. They’re a band that I will definitely have to see next time they’re in the area.
