It was the songs that brought New Order fans out to the Belmont on Tuesday night. And the songs sounded great. As a founding member of New Order, Peter Hook possesses an intimate knowledge of the band’s material that was exemplified in his performance. It would be foolish to contend that Bernard Sumner’s vocals weren’t missed or that the secret desire of every fan in the place wasn’t to see the full band reunited. Still, Hook unsurprisingly emphasized the songs’ bass elements and cranked out song after song that kept the atmosphere pulsing and fans dancing.
With two seminal albums, Movement and Power, Corruption, and Lies to perform in their entirety, almost no time was spared for even the briefest stage banter as Hook moved rapidly through the albums’ sequences. His voice, much deeper than Sumner’s, echoed in the open air of the narrow, outdoor venue as red and blue lights washed over his band, the Light. Hook apparently loved performing these classic songs, and the crowd couldn’t have been more enthusiastic. Let me be honest. I get ecstatic when “Age of Consent” comes on my iPhone in the car–hearing it live was otherworldly. It’s hard to even begin to delineate set highlights. Of course, “Dreams Never End,” “586,” and “The Village”–and then, everyone seems to have their own personal favorite that stands out above the others.
In reality, these are albums that every fan has listened to countless times from beginning to end. Most of the attendees danced along to every beat change, sang each word, hummed each soaring or bouncing synth line. Many of my friends were lucky enough to catch the full band before the irreparable rift, but I did not have the same fortune. The lack of the full band was only bothersome, when I made a concerted effort to consider the fact. And then, it was something like have the world’s most ultimate New Order cover band fronted by a true insider–an arrangement I was more than happy to tolerate for an evening of listening to an extended collection of excellent material.
All photos © Bryan Parker & Pop Press International. Click any image to open in slideshow viewer.
