The Masquerade in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, welcomed back synth-pop legend Gary Numan on Tuesday night. Fresh off his fall tour with the Psychedelic Furs, Numan brought along Los Angeles-based duo Tremours as supporting artists. Established in 1989, The Masquerade provides a unique concert venue experience, offering up four different indoor rooms which can handle a wide variety of capacities, individually named Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and Alter. The largest general admission venue space, Heaven, played host to the evening’s live event (as it did for Numan back in March 2024).
Kicking off the night at 8:00 p.m. in front of the early audience was Tremours, a musical duo made up of Lauren Andino (vocals, guitar) and Glenn Fryatt (drums). Formed in 2021 and self-described as being “inspired by everything from shoegaze to jazz to electronica to literature to looking out at the sea,” Tremours opened up with a cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “On the Wall.” For roughly 35 minutes, the duo took the crowd on a subtly lit musical journey driven more by mood than showmanship, delivering intense, intimate, and introspective originals primarily pulled from their debut album, Fragments (February 2025).
Tracks like “Dark Glasses” and “Tracers” particularly stood out to me. If you’re in the mood for a live show that rewards attention and immersion rather than dazzling with gimmicks, this duo is doing something quietly powerful. They’re a case study in how less can be more, and how live music can feel like stepping into someone else’s inner world for just a brief moment in time.
Tremours
Lauren Andino – Vocals, guitar
Glenn Fryatt – Drums
Setlist:
1.) On the Wall (The Jesus and Mary Chain cover)
2.) Affectations
3.) Postcards
4.) Landing In Rome
5.) Port Children
6.) Dark Glasses
7.) Tracers
8.) Circulation Sound
Following a fairly quick equipment change, the house went dark at 9:00 p.m. as Numan’s band appeared, bathed in fog and subtle blue lighting. When Numan himself took the stage and launched into “Halo” from his fifteenth studio album, Jagged (2006), the effect on the audience was immediate. The band delivered pulsating synths, rigid choreography, and stark lighting as Numan – ever the captivating pioneer of robotic new wave – made his presence instantly felt.
Backed by his signature fusion of heavy, textured electronic synths, crunchy guitars, and industrial drums, the 67-year-old Numan – clad in post-apocalyptic attire – relentlessly tore through his deep musical catalog. His main set featured familiar tracks like “Metal,” “Films,” “Down in the Park” (a Tubeway Army song, Numan’s first band), and one of my personal favorites in “My Name is Ruin.” Numan’s stage presence can only be described as that of a wounded android – stalking the stage, arms outstretched in crucifixion poses at times, and writhing with controlled, almost mechanical intensity. The crowd itself was an eclectic mix of younger cyber-goths and dedicated “Numanoids,” many dressed in leather and eyeliner for the occasion.
And yes, mid-set Numan played his chart-topping single “Cars” off his debut studio album, The Pleasure Principle (1979). You could feel the collective inhale when that unmistakable synth line kicked in, but rather than treat it like a dusty radio relic, Numan slammed it forward with snarling guitars and a militaristic stomp. It felt far less like 1980s playlist nostalgia and more like a reimagined battle hymn.
After closing out the core set with “A Prayer for the Unborn” from his fourteenth solo studio album, Pure (2000), the band returned to land a two-song encore experience that started with 2013’s “Love Hurt Bleed” from Numan’s seventeenth solo studio album, Splinter (Songs from a Broken Mind). With the dystopian atmosphere still hanging thick in the Atlanta air, Numan ended the night with one of his mainstay Tubeway Army tracks, “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” Simply put, Numan is “one of one,” and his show felt like a different kind of musical sermon, one built on presence, vision, and the rare power an artist like Numan can still summon after nearly five decades.
This current run of U.S. dates will continue on through Sunday, October 26th, at Numbers in Houston, Texas. Afterward, Numan will return to the U.K. through the end of 2025, but he also just announced a 2026 spring tour back in the States, kicking off with The 80’s Cruise – RC Adventure of the Seas on Friday, February 27th, before embarking on another headlining run starting on Saturday, March 7th, at the Culture Room in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Gary Numan Band
Gary Numan – Lead vocals, keyboards, guitar
Steve Harris – Guitar, keyboards
Jimmy Lucido – Drums
Tim Slade – Bass
David Brooks – Keyboards
Setlist:
1.) Halo
2.) The Chosen
3.) Metal
4.) Haunted
5.) Everything Comes Down to This
6.) Films
7.) The Gift
8.) Ghost Nation
9.) Down in the Park (Tubeway Army song)
10.) Is This World Not Enough
11.) Cars
12.) My Name is Ruin
13.) Pray for the Pain You Serve
14.) Here in the Black
15.) A Prayer for the Unborn
Encore
16.) Love Hurt Bleed
17.) Are ‘Friends’ Electric? (Tubeway Army song)
Follow Tremours Online
Follow Gary Numan Online
Elliott is a music photographer covering shows in Atlanta, Georgia, and the surrounding area. The highlight of his photography career was back in the early ’90s, when he sold Neil Diamond the rights to his negatives from a show and then purchased a set of tires for his 1979 280ZX during college with the money.