Concert Review: Peter Hook and the Light (9/17/13)

Tuesday (September 17, 2013) night marked the sighting of a legend here in Austin - Peter Hook of both Joy Division and New Order fame. Hook played at The Belmont with his current band, dubbed The Light, with an ambitious goal - to play the first two New Order albums in their entirety.

Peter Hook and the Light. On the left is Jack Bates (bass guitar), center is Peter Hook (vocals, bass guitar, and melodica), and on the right is Paul Kehoe (drums). Photo taken by me.

The night began with a rather mood setting light rain before opening act Slaves of Venus took to the stage. Hook had mentioned earlier in the day via his Twitter account that there would be a special treat for anyone who showed up early for the opening act. Arriving to the venue an hour and a half before doors opened, I sat and speculated with others as to what it could mean. My guess was that Hook might do a song with this mysterious Slaves of Venus group (I could hear them doing Joy Division's "Atrocity Exhibition" during the sound check, so I was hoping he may guest with them on that song). How little did we know.

The rain set in for a few minutes, the skies very dark and brooding. If I didn't know any better, it felt as if Ian Curtis (singer of Joy Division until his death in 1980) was looking down on the show about to happen, setting the mood, and wishing us well. Slaves of Venus took to the stage shortly after the rain subsided. The surprise? Slaves of Venus was really just a name Hook created for him and The Light. The bigger surprise? This first act would feature an all-Joy Division set. Immediately the drums set in to the beat of "Atrocity Exhibition," met by fans cheering loudly and singing along to the song with Hook. An interesting change that was quickly seen was Hook taking charge on vocals and leaving the majority of the bass guitar work to his son, Jack Bates. Perhaps the high point of this rare treat was when Hook belted out Joy Division's infamous numbers: "3, 5, 0, 1, 2, 5!" The group rolled into "Warsaw" to a frenzied crowd, most of which joined in screaming out "3, 1, G!" with Hook as the song progressed (I posted the video I took below. Sorry, I missed the very beginning). The set was rounded out with one of my favorite Joy Division songs, "Heart and Soul," and ended with "In a Lonely Place."

After a short break, Peter Hook and the Light returned to the stage, beginning by playing through the entire first New Order album, Movement. While New Order in time deviated from Joy Division by bringing in more synthesizers and a somewhat lighter mood, Hook brought more of the punk feel that was characteristic of Joy Division and several of the bands that helped influence Joy Division, leading to an immensely energetic show and an eager audience. Each song left the listener anticipating the next, wanting more, constantly feeling "pumped up." After finishing the whole of Movement, the group took a break for a couple minutes before returning to play the second New Order album in full, Power, Corruption, and Lies. My personal high point here was listening to everyone in the crowd sing along loudly to "Age of Consent." It was truly a magical moment.

Having already played for somewhere on the order of two hours, Peter Hook and the Light returned to the stage once again amid loud chanting and roars of excitement for an encore. They launched into "Hurt" and "Everything's Gone Green." At one point, Hook asked the audience if it was time to go home yet. We yelled back a resounding "No!" His reply? "Fuck me. I had a feeling you would all say that!" After grinning to the crowd, he led the group into "Temptation." The night rounded out with one of New Order's most well-known songs, "Blue Monday" (I've posted below the video I took of them playing this).

In the end, Peter Hook is one of those legends of his genre where you know he could be uppity and full of himself, and no one would say anything except "Well, he's freaking Peter Hook. Come on, the guy essentially created post punk." Instead, Hook got very close to the audience while playing, waved to people on the upper balcony, threw his sweaty shirt out to the audience, gave a young girl a towel he wiped his face with, and chatted to people every now and then between songs. The backing band sounded amazing and as you may expect, Jack Bates learned very well from his father, bringing that immensely unique sound Hook has (listen for it in any of New Order's material...his bass guitar work is what really sets those songs apart and distinguishes them...it's also that work that allows you to instantly recognize a New Order song even if you don't actually know it). My only gripe about this show? The setup on the small stage made it where the person on keyboards was hidden behind some amps the entire time. He sounded awesome, but sadly, no one could see the fellow.

Peter Hook (left) and guitarist David Potts (right). Photo taken by me.

While The Light's US Tour has wrapped up, Hook has hinted at plans to return in the future and eventually play through all the New Order material. Should he ever come to a town near you, you should not miss out on seeing this legend in action. This was a mighty fine treat and easily one of the best shows I have ever been to (and I'd like to think I've been to quite a few good ones over the years).


Rating:

5 out of 5 (if I could, I'd be obscene and rate it even higher)

More Information: Official Site of New Order Official Site of Peter Hook