{"id":34713,"date":"2018-04-10T11:11:10","date_gmt":"2018-04-10T10:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=34713"},"modified":"2018-04-10T11:11:10","modified_gmt":"2018-04-10T10:11:10","slug":"gary-numan-holds-court-in-a-dystopian-world-at-dublins-olympia-theatre-29-march-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/04\/gary-numan-holds-court-in-a-dystopian-world-at-dublins-olympia-theatre-29-march-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Gary Numan Holds Court In A Dystopian World At Dublin’s Olympia Theatre 29 March 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo Credit: Lisa Hafey. Gary Numan, Olympia Theatre Dublin 29 March 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A long time ago Gary Numan asked ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric’. At the Olympia Theatre in Dublin on 29 March it wasn’t exactly a gathering of friends, but by the end of the evening we all felt we knew each other, so it may as well have been; and the atmosphere was most definitely electric.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Photo Credit: Lisa Hafey. Gary Numan, Olympia Theatre Dublin 29 March 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Numan and his band were performing the last concert on their European\/UK Tour to promote his eighteenth and most recent album, ‘Savage (Songs From A Broken World)’, which was released in late 2017 after a Pledge Music Campaign announced way back in 2015. Written during the most recent US election campaign, causing Numan to think about what might happen, in light of Trump’s views on climate change, as well as his other policies. ‘Savage’ is a concept album, where the cultures of East and West are blended in a post-apocalyptic world, rendered a desert due to global warming. Think Mad Max. Speaking of the album, Numan said,<\/p>\n

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“The songs are about the things that people do in such a harsh and terrifying environment. It’s about a desperate need to survive and they do awful things in order to do so, and some are haunted by what they’ve done. That desire to be forgiven, along with some discovered remnants of an old religious book, ultimately encourages religion to resurface, and it really goes downhill from there.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Photo Credit: Lisa Hafey. Gary Numan, Olympia Theatre Dublin 29 March 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With this background, fans knew to expect a brilliant show. Many of them knew exactly what to expect as they’d been to many of the concerts on the tour already, although more were there to relive their youth, to remember the first time they saw Numan perform. Quite a number had also already attended the VIP soundcheck session earlier, after which Numan, one of the most down to earth performers in music today, if not *the* most down to earth, spent two hours chatting with fans and having photographs taken. In any case, all of us were very excited, and the atmosphere crackled.<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: Lisa Hafey. Gary Numan, Olympia Theatre Dublin 29 March 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Numan turned 60 this year but could easily pass for 50. He’s spry and agile and a very difficult subject to photograph, but nonetheless made this fan envious of his energy. Walking on stage to rapturous applause (and screams), and dressed in an outfit which might be described as desert chic meets Star Wars, Gary launched into ‘Ghost Nation’, the first track from the new album. Swinging and swaying, caught up in the rhythms of the music, he was the king and we were his court. He could have said anything and we all would have done it, no matter what, such was his power.<\/p>\n