Live Review: Gary Numan, Rooster Police

Local hip hop legend Cheeky is one lucky manchild. Seemingly possessed by a playful determination to do whatever he wants, trading under the one-man bandname Rooster Police, he chucked out hyperactive beats and riffs with Frank Black-ish vocals as though gleefully playing in his own imagination. The rest of us were mere spectators to his genius one minute, befuddledthe next. He didn't want to change the world (and probably wouldn't know where to start) but somehow, there he was, singing songs about “computers eating all the books” and kind of getting away with it.

Three years, one week and a day since he last prowled the Astor's boards (then playing his seminal Pleasure Principle album), Gary Numan strolled boldly on stage looking like Adam Lambert's dad leading an army of five against the undead. Seldom addressing the (largely mature of age, mostly black-wearing, no less enthusiastic than any younger, more luminescent) audience, Numan's trademark intensely cold yet ebullient presence belied the fact that he was in his late 50s. Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind) – his 20th studio album, released last year – provided the lion's share of the performance with nine of its 12 songs being growled and ground out. The look of horror that swept across the faces of many watching his 2011 tour as he went from the synth anthems to the industrial heaviness of his latter material was one of the most entertaining gig experiences this writer has had in years, but this time round Perth was prepared. So while the inevitable celebrations of Are 'Friends' Electric?, Down In The Park etc were dutifully honoured and appreciated, they didn't provide the focus of the evening. Cars in particular suffered from Numan being lost in the mix and he himself stuffing up where to start verses. Daggers were frequently shot in the direction of the mixing desk that steered Numan's vocals with the skilful deftness of a three-legged kelpie on Ritalin masquerading as a guide dog, frequently losing their master altogether. While new highlights such as Lost and We're The Unforgiven draw inevitable comparisons to Nine Inch Nails, there was a sense that his new album was more what the Reznor faithful have been craving. He may not have smiled much, but to be this jaggedly powerful after 36 years left the Numanoids a lot to be happy with.