The Psychedelic Furs are true road warriors, touring through the Washington, DC, area on practically an annual basis. In recent years, they have paired with Squeeze and the Jesus and Mary Chain in a reach for larger spaces and bigger crowds. In their most recent visit to The Anthem in DC, they struck a platinum pairing as they invited the pioneering Gary Numan to open for them.
The audience totally ate it up, and I have rarely seen so many people so thoroughly engaged by both acts on the bill as I did for The Furs and Mr. Numan.
At first blush, it might have seemed a bit of a surprise that The Psychedelic Furs would invite Gary Numan for a tour, which included a date at The Anthem on Oct. 15. (They were on the road together for more than a month before wrapping in Brooklyn on Sunday.) But Gary and the Butler brothers (Richard and Tim, founders of The Furs), are all English ex-pats who started their musical careers in London with a similar kind of atmospheric post-punk.
Today, Gary has moved into piercing industrial rock while The Psychedelic Furs have leaned into their mellow neo-psychedelia, but there is enough similarity in the bones of what they do to make for complementary performances. Gary began the night with a powerful hour of songs, sprinkling some early numbers through a dozen songs mostly drawn from recent years.
Gary hit his famed Machine-era album The Pleasure Principle with two songs “Metal” and “Cars,” both performed in the first half of the show. He reimagined Cars to fit more neatly with his modern heavy sound as he leaned into his most recent studio album, 2021’s Intruder, from which he drew three songs — “The Chosen,” “Is This World Not Enough,” and “The Gift.”
The Anthem was seated, and as such it was very nearly sold out. And so, the room felt very full and you could feel the excitement over Gary’s presence. His music sounded utterly beautiful as it swept through the corners of The Anthem, which may be the most perfect place ever for him to perform. Gary closed his set with the enduring “Are ‘Friends’ Electric,” his breakthrough 1979 UK single, originally recorded with this band The Tubeway Army.
Watch Gary Numan perform “Metal” live at OVO Arena Wembley via YouTube:
Enthusiasm was high for Gary Numan, and The Psychedelic Furs seized on that momentum and nurtured it. The same folks who were headbanging for Numan were just as ready for The Psychedelic Furs’ more commercial radio attitude. Early in the show, frontman Richard Butler led the band through a few songs from Made of Rain, The Furs 2020 studio album, presenting “Wrong Train” and “The Boy That Invented Rock and Roll.”
As we’ve reported before, this eighth studio album was the first to feature 21st century band members Rich Good (guitar) and Amanda Kramer (keyboards) on a studio album. At The Anthem, both were exemplars of musical excellence as Rich slinked along the front of the stage, often jamming side-by-side with Richard, and Amanda beamed from a rig that included Nord Lead and Korg synthesizers.
The Psychedelic Furs played many of their absolutely best numbers, seducing early with “Heaven” and “The Ghost in You” from Mirror Moves (1984). They charmed with “Love My Way” from Forever Now (1982) in the middle of the show. And they absolutely killed it with “Pretty in Pink” (1981’s Talk Talk Talk) and “Heartbreak Beat” (1987’s Midnight to Midnight) to close the show.
The melodies of these five songs were perfectly stunning, and The Anthem itself seemed like an instrument that became an intricate part of the mix. This may have been the finest-sounding Furs show that I’ve ever attended, and I’ve attended quite a few over the years.
Watch the official music video for “Heartbreak Beat” by The Psychedelic Furs on YouTube:
The Psychedelic Furs kept the show fresh by adding some rarely played numbers to the set — “My Time” from Mirror Moves, “In My Head” and “Until She Comes” from World Outside (1991), and “Run and Run” from Forever Now. The band held the audience’s attention with their remarkable musicality and their finely tuned sense of occasion.
Much of the elegance and brilliance of The Psychedelic Furs sound, of course, came from bassist Tim Butler, who gracefully moved across the stage as he effortlessly played some of the most striking chords. Tim’s powerful and steady bass was often a touchpoint for his older brother Richard, who danced and waved his hands around him on stage. Both Butler brothers drank from the well of drummer Zack Alford, who gave them a fixed point to refuel on rhythm. Zack too was an outstanding player in a band that only keeps getting better and better.
What an evening! Although this particular tour has wrapped, you have plenty of opportunities to catch The Psychedelic Furs and Gary Numan on their own in the near future as both maintain an ambitious touring schedule. Don’t let their next concerts pass you by, particularly if you haven’t seen them in a while.
Here are some photos of The Psychedelic Furs performing live at The Anthem on Oct. 15, 2025. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
Here are some photos of Gary Numan opening gThe Psychedelic Furs at The Anthem on Oct. 15, 2025. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
