Victoria Warehouse
Manchester
18-04-25
First thing’s firts, the Victoria Warehouse is not in the Victoria district of Manchester, it’s actually at Old Trafford. Still, a tramride later & we were at the wonderful venue that is the O2 Victoria Warehouse for a homecoming gig of sorts, Peter Hook & the Light. Form’d a couple of decades ago, its all about like a Papal schism. Hookey would have no part of the New Order, reunion, but is happy to play entire New Order albums, follow’;d by a greatest hits blast thro’ fthe ouevre of New Order, & also, of course, Joy Division.
I’ve been listening to Technique recently, New Order’s Ibiza-soak’d album of 1988, but have never really listene’d to Get Ready, which was tonight’s ‘full album’, New Order’s 7th. The opening track, Crystal, is bangin’, & fully show’d off the profiency of the Light, with Hookey swaggering about with his bass guitar being reyt cool. His son, btw, also plays bass, generating areally heavy sound, added to by lead guitarist, David Potts’, fretwork, & also lead vocals from time to time.
Crystal
The audience was reyt up for it, & track by track began boiling to the fevre pitch of the set of classics to come. This began with Joy Division numbers . Dead Souls, Digital, Disorder, Isolation, New Dawn Fades, She’s Lost Control, Shadow Play & the eternal Transmission, & an experienced tick’d off my bucket list.
Then the New Order tunes… The wonderful Ceremony, Sun Rise, Love Vigilantes, Regret, What Do You Want From Me, Vanishing Point, The Perfect Kiss, True Faith, Temptation & finally Blue Monday – with Love Will Tear Us Apart concluding an epic night’s music. I don;t know how he did it really, a magnificent effort & audio spectacle which had everyone in the venue absolutely buzzing on the nostalgia of times past, which form’d like crystals in our souls.
Words: Damo
Photos: Andrew Buggey
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