The 2001 US Pure Tour in 16 Riveting Chapters:
One man's mission to see every Pure Tour show on the North American continent
Chapter 3
PHILADELPHIA, PA
Despite being hyped up on half-priced chocolate, Mark and I slept soundly in southern New Jersey. My first point of order today was to purchase some K-mart shirts as I figured that I hadn't brought nearly enough for this month long trip.
In the process of seeking out a blue light special, we stumbled on a Tower Records, a place my car parks at automatically. Despite being 11:00 am, we had on our full Numan regalia as we browsed through the aisles of Tower. We hit pay dirt when we found two copies of Mean magazine, which in that month's edition featured Gary Numan's name on the cover. Inside the magazine was a good and responsible article with great pics of the man we were going to share oxygen with later that night at the Theatre For The Living Arts in Philly!
Very soon after, I was not a little surprised to already be crossing the river into downtown Philadelphia from New Jersey. Suddenly, we had massive time to kill. I remembered my longtime promise to myself to revisit the Franklin Institute of Science. I recalled the great time I had there on a class trip in 1982 when our class walked through an enormous beating heart.
Upon finding the Institute, we noticed the very beautiful Philadelphia Art Museum half a mile or so down, so I stashed the wheels and we walked toward the Art Museum. You will remember this building as the very one Rocky climbed all the stairs on in a climatic part of the movie. I asked Mark if he was up to it. Soon after, a couple of Numanoids who spend enormous amounts of time behind a computer were running up the countless steps of the Philly landmark. Upon finally reaching the top, we were eternally grateful not to have been smokers, and I jumped up and down with my fists in the air. We were out of breath and panting like dogs but the smiles from passersby who were in on our mission to emulate Rocky made it worth it.
Although in full Numan gear, we didn't scare too many children at the Franklin Institute. To my surprise and excitement, that big heart was still there, its ventricles and aortas waiting to be hiked through once again. It was a tighter squeeze than I remembered as I once again made my way through the heart, Mark bravely in tow. I love old electronic gadgets and there were plenty on interactive display. Mark later admitted he wasn't keen on the idea to come here, but said that it was a great idea. He enjoyed the sports section where Mark and I raced stationary wheelchairs to cross a virtual finish line on a big screen as a large crowd watched us. We especially liked the IMAX film which featured a tour of Philadelphia, then a moving documentary about dolphins. Later we got a robot to mimic our arm motions via its optical sensors.
Amidst all the fun, time flew and soon the time had come to get to South Street, shop some bohemian record stores of all types, grab a bite and then show up for the NAGNFC pre-show party I was holding upstairs at a Starbuck's across the street from Numan's venue. We were thankful for the time to fully prepare for the show this time as we drove into a parking garage on South Street. We had agreed the only proper dinner under the circumstances was a place which specialized in Philly cheese steaks which not surprisingly wasn't too difficult to find.
Walking en route to dinner along South Street, we saw Rick Stott behind glass having a beer at a window just watching passersby like us. We went in to say hello. Rick said he'd already seen Gemma walk by several times with shopping bags from various places. Mark and I wanted to stay but our stomachs got the best of us, and told Rick that we'd see him at the pre-show party.
But before that I had to show Mark one of my favorite record stores called Noise Pollution around the corner from the TLA. They were quite helpful in our search for Numan items, even dragging out a few boxes which weren't on display. Mark found some great items as did I. Next door at a 12" dance/hip/hop record store I found and purchased the Armand Van Helden 12" 'Koochie' which features his homage to Numan.
As Mark and I ordered our meals we sat down with the local weekly and looked for references to Gary Numan, and we found several. Dinner at the Philly cheese steak place was invigorating and I was keen and ready to meet and greet Numanoids at the NAGNFC blow-out at Starbucks. Once again I'd brought much to give away at the party, including the John Webb 12" 'The Experiment Of Love' I'd bought at one of the South Street record stores just to give away. I was happy to see Rick Stott win it, especially due to his recent house robbery. Gemma spoke with Rick after the show about it, herself exclaiming, "Those Bastards!"
The moment we arrived at the Starbucks on the main level, we met a Numanoid named Jorja. She was a local and welcomed both of us to Philadelphia. I told her we'd really had a great time in her city all day. She had to run an errand for her husband and would barely make the show itself, but gave me the note she intended to leave for me with the staff which explained that she couldn't be there, but her thoughts were with all the Numanoids at the party. Jorja was the person who sent the excellent picture showing the Starbucks in relation to the TLA to ensure no one could miss either.
Mark and I were somewhat early and sat with the second floor all to ourselves, watching Beryl and Tony Webb walk below along South Street arm in arm like newlyweds. As per Rick's sightings, we also saw Gemma running from shop to shop getting in as much shopping as possible.
Among the attendees were Hopey of Providence, Terrence Thoman from Harrisburg, Scott from Harrisburg, Rick Stott and others. I gave away live CDs and videos. Terrence brought a homemade live CDR from 1998 to give away at the proceedings, and even gave another copy to me. What a guy! After some prize-winning and hearty conversation, it was time to get a good spot in line. As I spoke with friends old and new, passing out more NAGNFC business cards, an old friend came up to me from England whom I hadn't seen since the 1998 Philly Exile Numan show. He has seen over 250 Numan concerts since the Berserker Tour! After our pleasantries, he asked if we were interested in purchasing some Numan shirts from various concerts over the years. I was the only one who seemed ecstatic at the opportunity, and he left to retrieve his Numan collectibles from his distant vehicle.
Unluckily for him, the line instantly began to move from outside to inside the moment he left. My friends and I secured a good spot front and center. This very stage saw Numan history in 1998 when it was his first performance on these shores in 16 years. He was admittedly nervous then having been away so long, but there was only confidence this evening. An old friend of Mark's showed up and stood behind us. He hadn't expected to enjoy the show being more of the heavy metal persuasion, but it is safe to say he was blown away, even shocked into silence after Gary's show.
We left the venue to find The Big G directing the blue bus into a very tight parking space right out front. You had to see it to believe it, only a professional bus driver could have pulled it off, and we let loose a huge applause. My friend from England soon showed up with his huge bag of Numan items to show me. I couldn't believe I was actually holding actual tour shirts from Warriors, Sacrifice, The Fury and others. Unwittingly I showed great enthusiasm for these items. I could have gotten a better deal but by the time I got around to ask him how much each shirt was, he said $15. I mulled over them quickly, and said to myself, "So what if I'm buying his plane fare back to England? I must have these!" After all, I never did get around to buying K-mart shirts today, and these items were not to be found at the local K-mart. So I proceeded to purchase 9 of them along with a couple of quite collectible Numan Beggars Banquet cassette singles from 1979-80, before there was such a thing as a cassingle. They were the ones in the playing card box for those who've seen them.
Soon after, folks showed up with keen interest to buy his items, but by then it was too late, and I thanked myself for not having mulled over my decision for too long. He even threw in a petite Berserker tour shirt which I can let my children wear whenever the day comes that I have some.
Not long after, Gary came out to meet with us. The line wasn't too long, which was good, as Mark thought Gary looked tired. Hopey was in front of me. Her plan was to get Gary to sign her Tubeway face tattoo on her rear shoulder, and then get the autograph tattooed! I thanked Gary for such a great show. He asked me how long I thought it was to Boston, and I gave him my best estimate.
I hung with the Numanoids until Gary and the crew packed it in and closed the doors. The dark streets were very barren now at 1:30 am save for a lone pizza shop doing quite a brisk business from a queuing clientele which continually appeared from nowhere. Mark and I purchased what turned out to be a very tasty pizza for the long night drive back to his home in Scranton.