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Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY, United States of America (2005)
Review: NewOrder Show, NYC, 5/5/05
Review: New Order, Hammerstein Ballroom,NYC, 5/5/05
from: http://djdurutti.blogspot.com
So, its been 25 years (almost to the day) since Ian Curtis' suicide on the eve of Joy Division's first U.S. Tour. Deprived of the opportunity to see the legendary band then, here we are watching the same musicians (Phil Cunningham in place of Gillian in place of Curtis), all pushing 50, rip through Atmosphere, Transmission and She's Lost Control. And, of course Love Will Tear Us Apart, introduced by Bernard as "a good old fashioned northern sing-a-long" (and the crowd did sing a long). While it felt perfectly natural to sing "dance dance dance to the radio . . ." to the churning Transmission, it was odd, even a bit surreal to see 20-50 somethings bouncing on their toes and ebulliently singing "there's a taste in my mouth as desperation takes hold" to a Joyfull (bad pun intended) version of LWTUA. As Kelefa Sanneh noted in her NY Times review of New Order @ the Coachella Festival on May 2, "it was odd (but not unpleasant) to hear the group bounce through a fast, peppy version of ''Love Will Tear Us Apart.'' Pitchfork's take: "Yes, it was all quite disconcerting, but in a good way. Knee-jerk deference to the canon is for purists I wouldn't want to party with anyway. And neither would New Order. "
And it was a party. A phenomenal party, although I wish they would've included Fine Time or Confusion, and was disappointed that a few of the cutting edge dancefloor classics were performed in straight, album track format (they did stretch out the breaks a bit for True Faith and Bizarre Love Triangle). As you would expect, Blue Monday was the evening's highlight, sounding fresher than ever, embellished w/ Kylie Minogue samples and other effects. Which reminds me just how vital, current and, yes, fresh No's 80's dance tracks sound after all these years. And not just b/c we're in the midst of a glorious early 80's post punk / dance funk revival (eat yr heart out Out Hud, Bloc Party and !!!). No, its more because we've all been hearing New Order's signature sound and innovations in just about every form of alternative dance and electronica that has rocked dancefloors, car stereos, walkman's & (now) iPods from the late 80's through the present. That's part of the reason why NME recently crowned New Order "God-Like Geniuses" (WTF??). New Order hugely influenced, if not created, everything from Madchester and acid house to Detroit techno and trance to indi electronica and contemporary dance funk. But fuck all that . . . it was a joyful, kick-ass show! -- m
Source: NewOrderOnline.com (mattisland) |
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