Gary Numan @ The Trocadero Theatre, Philadelphia, PA

Gary Numan
Trocadero Theatre
Philadelphia, PA
March 23, 2014


Gary Numan will always be best known for his 1980 hit "Cars," but Sunday night at the Trocadero he proved he is no nostalgia act with a blazing nineteen song set of electronic rock heaviosity. Numan released one of his best works ever in late 2013, his twentieth album Splinter, and is on tour supporting it following a buzz-generating performance at the SXSW Festival. Numan and his four piece band fittingly took the stage to the strains of the instrumental "Resurrection" and launched into the stark industrial wasteland of new song "I Am Dust." Numan strapped on a Gibson Les Paul and churned out riffs alongside his guitar player while white strobe lights exploded behind him and a sea of industrial blips and bleeps sounded around them, setting the tone for the night. Numan spent most of the set slithering up and down his mic stand; hanging onto it was the only thing keeping him from being sucked into the black emotional void of his music. His backing band of a bass player, drummer, keyboard player and guitarist spent most of the night in the shadows but stood out by supporting Numan's powerful vocals with equally powerful riffs and rhythms. Half of the set consisted of songs from Splinter, which held their own against Numan's older songs. One standout new song was "The Calling," which featured a throbbing heartbeat-like beat that had the crowd grooving. Another was new song "Here In The Black," an anthemic blast of gothy metal goodness featuring eerie whispered vocals by Numan and the heaviest guitar riffs of the night. His two classic songs impressed live also with one featuring his best vocals of the night and another being paired with one of his new tunes to devastating emotional effect. First up was "Down In The Park" which featured Numan's loudest and most emotional singing of the night as his voice battled to rise over the glacial swelling and swirling keyboard riffs. Next, mournful blue lights strafed the crowd as Numan and Co. delivered the fragile but beautiful new paean to a love-gone-bad,"Lost." Numan's gentle bruised vocals combined with a sparse piano riff and sprays of frustration-filled notes from his guitar player to create a palpable feeling of despair. Seconds after the song ended the memorable keyboard riffs of the claustrophobic classic "Cars" sounded, bringing the crowd from their depths and raising the energy in the room. The song took on a new life live, with the guitar and bass dominating the keyboards and Numan dropping the detached icy vocals of the record. The man who was once sounded happy to be locked in that car now sings like a man who wants to break free from its confines. Numan has found the soul in the machine.

ZZ Ward @ The TLA

ZZ Ward by Pete Troshak

Zsuzsanna Eva Ward was born in Abington, PA, in the late eighties and spent her youth absorbing her dad’s blues records as well as her brother’s hip-hop albums. Fast forward to 2014 and that little girl has become ZZ Ward, a rising music star with a sound that combines the lyrical and sonic tropes of blues and soul as well as the rhythms of hip hop. Friday night Ward and her tight three-piece band packed the Theatre of Living Arts and thrilled a winter-weary hometown crowd on the opening night of her Last Love Tour. Ward took the stage wearing her trademark low-slung Fedora and a black fuzzy jacket, packing a harmonica, looking part gangster and part blue eyed soul princess. Her voice is a versatile weapon in a live setting, alternately sultry come hither croon and soul-baring blues at the drop of a hat. Ward’s band matched the intensity of her vocals, with extra props going to her bass player who laid down a river of rubbery baselines all set long.
The 15-song set list drew from both her major label debut Til The Casket Drops and Eleven Roses, the online-only demo/mixtape that preceded it. Highlights from the latter included the raw and haunting opening song “OVERdUe” and the thundering “Cinnamon Stix. But it was tracks from Til The Casket Drops that were the most persuaive and convincing. Early in the set, Ward and her band delivered a searing one two punch of piano and guitar fueled stompers “Til The Casket Drops” and “Put The Gun Down.” Later, Ward sounded like she was drowning in a sea of heartache during the rarely played bluesy piano ballad “Lil Darlin.” The highlight of the set was a stunning version of “Last Love Song” that showed why the tour is named after this song. Ward sat on a stool in the middle of the stage with an acoustic guitar on her lap. Her eyes were closed for part of the song as she delicately picked out the spectral guitar notes. Ward’s guitarist manned a keyboard and played the emotive piano notes while the drummer gently played shimmering flourishes on the cymbals with mallets. On top of that wall of sound Ward delivered the vocals –a last goodbye and gentle exorcism of a bad love. The song swelled to a beautiful bridge then rolled to an emotional finish and faded out, leaving the crowd drained but roaring their support. Ward might have had to extinguish that love, but her star is clearly shining bright. – PETE TROSHAK

see more pics from her Last Love Tour here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/petryfrompa/sets/72157642409912293/

see original post here - http://www.phawker.com/2014/03/02/being-there-zz-ward-the-tla/