Entertainment

Review: Peter Hook & The Light @ The Gov, Adelaide

Former Joy Division and New Order founder Peter Hook is back in Australia with his band ‘The Light’ to perform New Order’s Low Life and Brotherhood albums live in a celebration of not only the music of New Order, but where it all started from- Joy Division!

Pic: Mark McNulty

Former Joy Division and New Order founder Peter Hook is back in Australia with his band ‘The Light’ to perform New Order’s Low Life and Brotherhood albums live in a celebration of not only the music of New Order, but where it all started from- Joy Division!

The crowd at The Gov on Sunday night were treated to a bonus introduction set of pure Joy Division songs before launching into the main act, and it’s fair to say that at times Peter Hook sounded more like the late Ian Curtis than Ian Curtis himself! The songs were mainly collected from Closer and the earlier An Ideal for Living, showcasing  the band’s darker more emotive years. Hook seemed to channel the late Curtis through the timbre and inflection present in his vocals, and  if you just closed your eyes for a moment, you could have easily imagined yourself in some 80’s Manchester venue seeing the original lineup.

Hooks solid bass lines completed the equation and demonstrated his mastery of the Bass Guitar, honed after 40 odd years in the business.

The pace and mood changed somewhat when Hook and the Light returned to stage after a quick break to perform Brotherhood, and whilst Hook wasn’t as vocally matched for these songs, it was all about the music with guitarist/vocalist David ‘Pottsie’ Potts providing an adequate substitute for Bernard Sumner’s more gentle vocals.

Bizarre Love Triangle was naturally a crowd favourite, with audience members ranging from Goths, punks, hipsters…even grandfathers dancing and bopping to that immortal tune.

Another quick break and the guys returned to play Low Life, a more electronic album that cemented New Order’s electronic love affair. It’s easy to imagine how Joy Division would have sounded had Curtis not passed away so prematurely, and Low Life for at least some of us die-hard fans answers that question beautifully. It is less brooding than the earlier Joy Division albums, and signifies the evolution of post punk into electro-dance. Respectfully though, Hook’s vocals weren’t the best addition to this set and perhaps including Pottsie’s vocals a little more may have recreated a closer rendition of some of the songs from this album. Minor details, but relevant.

Nonetheless though, Peter Hook and The Light (Jack Bates –bass, Andy Poole –keyboards, Paul Kehoe-drums, David Potts- guitar/vocals) were smashing as they took us back to the Manchester music scene and the songs that helped shape many lives.

The band finished the set with Face Up, and after a raucous applause were coaxed into coming back for an encore where they finished with Thieves like Us, True Faith, and Temptation.

In many ways, this wasn’t simply a concert for the sake of playing music nor was it a cover band, but was a living history show that highlighted the evolution and development of one of the most influential bands of the past century. From the ashes of Joy Division rose New Order, who redefined themselves both musically and artistically to become one of the most prolific groups of the 80’s until now. Out of both came Peter Hook and The Light, who continue to do justice to the music of both Joy Division and New Order.

Peter Hook and The Light are touring Australia/New Zealand and have performed in Perth and Adelaide already, please see below for remaining shows.

 

Reviewed by Dazz Hassan

Twitter:@DazzHassan

 

 

Tour dates and tickets-click here:

Wednesday 18th February BRISBANE Tivoli Theatre

Thursday 19th February SYDNEY Metro Theatre

Friday 20th February MELBOURNE Summersalt Festival

Saturday 21st February MELBOURNE Corner Hotel SOLD OUT

Sunday 22nd February HOBART Wrestpoint

Wednesday 25th February CHRISTCHURCH Churchills

Thursday 26th February WELLINGTON Bodega

Friday 27th February AUCKLAND The Studio.

 

 

More News

To Top