Five bands, twelve studio albums, spanning across 50 monumental years, the musical trailblazer, Peter Hook, arrived at the Engine Shed in Lincoln for the tenth stop of his ‘Get Ready’ tour in the UK with his band The Light, delivering a show that struggled to find a pulse in the beginning, before ending with the crowd bouncing.
The expectation going into the evening was for a fun and intimate night with one of the pioneers of the post-punk sounds with his two former bands, the ever so popular Joy Division and New Order, rocking the bass guitar, but walking in and seeing a curtain dividing the 1,800 standing capacity venue in two, was surprising to say the least.
Peter Hook and The Light kicked things off with playing the entirety of New Order’s seventh studio album, ‘Get Ready’, which reached number six in the UK album charts, and number two in the US Billboard electronic album chart following its release in 2001, with a quick intermission before playing a range of Hook’s acclaimed work with both New Order and Joy Division.
‘Get Ready’ was a more guitar-driven album compared to New Order’s other work prior to its release, with their identity switching from their electronic dance, synth-pop style they had adapted before making this record which had more of a rock backbone to it.
On the night, the crowd’s perception to the performance of the album was fairly weak, with the atmosphere from the half-filled room being pretty mediocre. The crowd was mostly filled with middle-aged men and women with the odd groups of young adults, which may have resulted to the tame atmosphere, being one of New Order’s later and lesser-known pieces of work.
After the interval, the band delivered an hour and a half long rendition of some of his best work, playing songs like ‘Transmission’ and ‘Ceremony’, with Hook dedicating moments to the former Joy Division lead singer, Ian Curtis, who died in 1980, and the late Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist Gary Mounfield (Mani), who passed just a week prior, which were met with warm applauses.
Since 2010, The Light have been performing Joy Division and New Order albums in their entirety, and right from their first show, Hook’s son, Jack Bates, has been alongside as their bassist throughout, and having seen him take the stage with the Smashing Pumpkins in Colchester back in August, it was interesting to see him slot into two contrasting settings with ease, seemingly possessing talents like his father.
As the night went on, the crowd steadily gathered momentum, with some even chanting ‘Yorkshire, Yorkshire!’, despite the fact we were in Lincolnshire, before the band reached the summit, with ‘Blue Monday’, and ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, creating an unbridled delight which surged through the crowd, a complete contrast to the start of the gig.
What started as a lacklustre affair ended with the crowd chanting rapturous cheers, proving that 50 years on, Peter Hook can still captivate an audience, even if it is to a smaller scale to what he has dealt with in the past, and speaking to concertgoers after the gig, it was clear that many held a strong connection and passion to Joy Division and New Order, with the music still resonating powerfully across generations, giving their music a timeless appeal, and, despite a slow-burning evening, I can see why.
3.5 / 5