SSS

page eight

Paul Nicol.
Young artist with a big talent.

How far will he go?

 

The Other Press

 

 

 

 

by Phil Staines and Dan
Hilborn

Sunday night. A time for
staying home, going to bed
early and feeling safe and
sound.

Gary _Numan, with his
Telekon ’80 tour, created
that same feeling with two
shows at the Queen Eliza-
beth Theatre Sunday night.

Beneath his guise of alien
props and poses Gary Nu-
man is an insecure, snotty-
nosed rich kid who, while
still in the building blocks
syndrome, has_ achieved
everything he wants, includ-
ing stardom. Yet Numan
does have problems, para-
noic problems, that are ob-
vious in his musical produc-
tion.

Numan almost hides be-
neath his massive light
show. The entire stage is
filled with platforms, ramps
and panels that all constant-
ly change light and colour
patterns, enhancing his alien
synthetic music.

Two enormous towers of
light panels enclose Nu-
man’s synthesizer players
behind opague, TV-like scr-
eens. During the show the
screens occasionally black
out but never lose their
surreal, out of phase ap-
pearance.

Above “e floor, and be-
tween the two towers, bri-
ghtly lit ramps lead to
equally colourful platforms
which flank Numan’s drum-
mer. On the platforms is
where the other conventional
instruments, a guitar and
bass, are played. The whole
stage is crowned by a giant
T, made of more glass
panels, and a complex array
of lights.

Numan is very deliberate
in seperating the synthesiz-
ers from the rest of the
Tubeway Army. It accent-
uates his own paranoia. The
synthesizers provide the fut-
uristic aura in his music
while the other instruments
provide contrasting, more

Friday, November 14, 1980.

familiar rhythms.

Finally, in front of the
massive visual extravaganza
stands Numan. Surrounded
by a continually billowing
and polymorphic white fog
Numan revells in his own
presence. It appeared that
Numan was losing some of
his characteristic paranoia
until a fan stood up at the
stage only to be quickly
reseated by Numan’s per-
sonal bodyguards.

Numan is so paranoid he
needs enclosure. Soft,cellu-
loid surroundings and alien-
ation as if he has a Freudian
need to crawl back into the

womb.
Think of the hit single
“Cars’’. ‘‘Here in my car, I

feel safest of all. I can lock
all my doors. It keeps me
stable in cars.”’

He performed most of the
material from ‘‘Telekon’’,
along with a few other songs
from his earlier albums,
such as ‘‘Every Day I Day’’
off of his ‘‘First Album’’.

During ‘‘Are Friends Ele-
ctric’’ Numan was joined on
stage by two little cube
shaped robots that wandered
aimlessly about the stage in
time with the music. Are
friends electric? Get it?

The peak of the show was
the first encore. Numan and
his uniformed band perform-
ed ‘‘Down in the Park’’.

Numan appeared from be-
neath the drums absorbed in
mist and light, snug inside a
coffin-shaped electronic ve-
hicle. The audience respond-
ed with a standing ovation.

It was an elaborate spec-
tacle. A comfortable exper-
ience, with a psychological.
cosiness for those suffering
from acute paranoia. A.
warm goodbye from Gary
Numan,

Opening act were Gary
Mulrick and the Figures, a
cliche-ridden, monotonous
new wave band that just
didn’t have it’s moments.

 

 

 

Nowhere

It’s only a year since art school, but Paul is already
being talked about as a name to watch.

IGGY POP: No more
It’s heady stuff. With all the adulation, Paul is neglecti h t i hi g
fe ae y stu ith all the adulation, Paul is neglecting C es S aS in

Parties and late hours provide easy distractions.
So does too much drinking.

Paul is abusing his health, misusing beverage alcohol
and hurting his future. Unless he changes, his talent could
be harmed beyond repair.

Without it, he won’t go anywhere.

by Phil Staines member of the audience for
Iggy Pop, at age 33, has spitting at him.

outgrown his glass-cutting, The music was tight. Plen-
chest-slashing stage. His ty of classical Stooge, such
performance November 5 at as ‘‘Search and Destroy’’,
the Commodore Ballroom and ‘‘Raw Power’’. He also
was one of tight energetic performed Pop songs such
rock, and violent, groteque, as ‘‘J Wanna Be Your Dog’’,
behaviour on the part of the ‘‘TV Eye’’, ‘‘Lust For Life’,
audience. The minute Iggy ‘‘Calling Sister Midnight’’,
maniacally pounced on stage and ‘‘Dog Food’’.

the audience moved into a

 

Very far

It’s only a year since art school, but Paul is already
being talked about as a name to watch.
Paul’s excited, but he has things in perspective.

He enjoys a drink when the time is right, with friends His appearance was typi-

 

 

Seagram

and: with moderation. But he knows nothing can take the
place of hard work to build his reputation.
Gifts like Paul’s are fragile and worth protecting.
Because Paul understands, he’ll go far.

bouncing, pushing frenzy.
They managed to maintain a
continuous flow of spittle,
which Pop didn’t seem to
appreciate.

The menacing bass player
at one point kicked, and with
the butt of his bass. beat a

cal of Iggy Pop. Black trous-
ers and a ripped black
T-shirt that came off com-
pletely towards the latter
part of the show. His per-
sona changed dramatically

Cont. on page 9