And then I graduated, life occurred, and I lost track of Gary -- and Doc -- through the mid-80's. It wasn't until I was idly flipping through the bins at a CD store that I discovered "The Skin Mechanic" -- and quickly became hooked again. I had so much catching up to do! And still do -- my collection of 25 Gary Numan CDs (well, many of them are those innumerable "collections") is still far from complete. But as I added New Anger, Outland, Sacrifice and Exile to my storage centre, my Gary appreciation continued to grow.

I'd been saving up for the trip to England to see Gary in concert when the Digest broke the news of the U.S. Tour. I quickly discovered Joey Lindstrom's awesome website and followed it daily, anticipating the shows (reviewed elsewhere). Of course, Gary exceeded even my highest expectations for an awesome performance.

Why do I like Gary Numan? His music is fantastic -- always changing, evolving, experimenting. The music makes you dance, the lyrics make you cry -- what more could you want? I respect Gary's perseverence, his drive, his talent, and his achievements. He's not afraid to be himself, to speak his mind, to say what he believes -- all in a fun, intelligent, and dance-able way. And, not least, from everything I can tell (including a momentary brush with him in New York) -- he seems like a genuinely nice person.

Oh, and there's a full-circle ending to this tale: Remember my best friend Doc? After losing track for about 10 years, I discovered Doc standing outside New York's Irving Plaza, where I was first in line for Gary's show. We had a great re-union, and can now stay in touch again. Doc had actually gone on and played keyboards for a band and doing farily well.

Thanks for everything, Gary!

Wow! After all these years -- Gary! Well, to start at the beginning -- the pre-meet get-together at Starbuck's was terrific -- thanks Jim! It was so cool to be able to talk with other Numan fans! I got to hear a variety of fascinating Gary-related stories, and was getting good and excited for the show. While standing in line my wife and I started chatting with the people behind us -- Laura and Joe, the enthusiasm and anticipation building as we went inside and waited.

It was hard to believe it was really happening, but Gary finally strutted onto the stage -- sporting a cool black gothy coat, accompanied by a delightful Gary sneer and glare. And Gary rocked! I couldn't believe the amount of energy he put into the show -- working both sides of the stage, dancing and neck-snapping and teasing the audience. The beat was relentless and the man seemed inexhaustable. All in all, an awesome show. Most amusing moment: when gary told the crowd he "nearly shit his pants" he was so nervous before coming out. I think we put his fears to rest, as he had to have felt the appreciation from the crowd.

Afterwards we had a drink with Laura and Joe (drop me a line, guys!), hoarding our new-bought Numan goodies and relishing the experience of seeing Gary live. Pretty soon we had to head out for the next show...

You could feel the energy just sizzling in Irving Plaza. I loved the anticipation -- talking with the other hardcore Numan fans in the front row, including the zany Numanboy. The place was packed and sizzling with excitement -- and Gary didn't disappoint! He came on like a freight train and stormed the crowd over -- it was incredible! Surrounded by Numanoids and Goths, all dancing to the relentless Gary beat, it was a night never to be forgotten.

It was a couple songs into it before I noticed Gemma nearby to our right -- she was enjoying the show as much as the rest of us, and yelling encouragement to Gary! His reaction when he first saw her in the crowd was hilarious -- he sort of stumbled backwards a moment and smiled. Later he played "Absolution" for her -- beautiful.

David Brooks played so close in front of us we could reach out and touch the keys (but refrained). After the show, Richard Beasley gave his drumsticks to the woman right next to me (darn, I wasn't fast enough to grab 'em!). After that incredible show (the best of the lot), I was ready for some NYC cruisin', so we hopped into the Trans Am and headed for New England...

(P.S.: One cute incident -- just a couple of feet from where we talked to Gary in front of Irving Plaza were a couple of scalpers who were muttering "Gary Numan tickets" to passers-by. Had Gary just walked a couple of feet, they would have offered him the opportunity to buy scalped tickets to his own show. How I would love to have witnessed that scene!).

As always, we had a great time talking to fellow Numan fans in the line before the show. We were entertained by watching Gemma and band (minus Gary) catch a cab shortly before the show -- going to eat, perhaps. Gemma looked terrific, as always.

I actually got to meet Tina!! We (my wife and I) were walking by the club hours before the show, when I noticed Tina by the band van... I didn't want to disturb her, but couldn't resist stopping to say how much we'd enjoyed the previous night's concerts, and how much we enjoy their music. Tina was, of course, very sweet and wonderful! Wow, the energy in Irving Plaza that night was really intense! Good gothy crowd too; much cooler than the Philly crowd. Sold out show. We got stage front right -- directly in front of Susan! Wahoo! I don't remember the details of the show, except it really was fantastic -- the crowd was into it, and so was the band. Definately a great, great show. Afterward I picked up another SbS t-shirt and stuff, then headed up to ...

Tiny little itty bitty place! Front just a little right of centre for an awesome show. Tina and Susan were right in front of us on a knee-high stage -- performing madly in the stifling heat of the sold-out club. It was a great, rowdy crowd and the songs felt all the more intense for the heat and closeness and intensity of it all.

What can I say? They sounded great, and gave an awesome performance! After their set, before Gary went on, Tina had to keep walking back and forth across the stage, and our little group just hooted and hollared, till finally Tina came over and thanked us with a big group HUG! I got to give her the rose I'd brought for just that occassion -- I had wanted some way to express my appreciation for her wonderful performances.

One of the most entertaining parts of the evening was during Gary's set, I could see Tina in the wings behind the stage, drinking a beer and doing her little Tina dance all during Gary's set! It was terrific!