I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: September 4, 2024] Peter Hook & The Light

Back in 2022, Peter Hook & The Light toured Philly.  I grabbed tickets but we wound up not going.

This show was described as being all Substance–both the Joy Division and the New Order compilation albums.  I was pretty excited to see the show.  Last time El Ten Eleven opened and I had REALLY wanted to see them.  This time there was no opener, which was great in that it would be a pretty early night but bad because it mean there was no good parking nearby.

But that’s okay.  I arrived plenty early and got a decent spot near the stage (between two really tall guys one of whom didn’t smile for the whole show).

And after a show time, Peter & the Light came out on stage.  I hadn’t really given any thought to his band, which includes David Potts guitar (and lead vocals on a couple of New Order songs), Paul Kehoe drums (at first I wasn’t sure what he was doing since here were a lot of electronic drums, but when he kicked in it filled up the room) and Martin Rebelski keyboards and synthesizers (who frankly did most of the heavy listing in this show–playing bass lines and synth lines and drum lines).  Hook’s son Jack Bates plays bass, and guitar.  Indeed, when Hook wasn’t playing those super memorable bass lines, Bates played them.

I knew roughly what they were going to play (they told us, after all), but I didn’t realize that New Order would come first.

I also thought I knew Substance quite well, so I was puzzled how come I didn’t recognize the first couple of songs.  It turns out that each show they are playing a couple songs not on the album first (and they vary per show).

I thought I knew Substance really well, but it’s possible I haven’t listened to it in a really long time.  It wasn’t until Temptation that I started to fully recognize everything.  The early songs sounded great and sounded familiar, but it took me a while to really groove to it (unlike the guy in front of me who was literally dancing (and had a lot of room around him) from the time of the house music.

There was a guy a few people in front of me who filmed THE ENTIRE SHOW.  He held his phone up over his head for everything.  Despite the fact that the stage was poorly lit and noting came out clearly.  The only  times he put his phone down was during Blue Monday and I assume that was a technical glitch and not that he didn’t like the song.  Because I was pretty damned psyched to hear it.

Indeed from  then on, the songs were just getting more and more fun.

Although I realized two things–I like later New Order more tan earlier stuff and I REALLY like Bernard Sumner’s voice.  Peter Hook genuinely doesn’t sound anything like Sumner, although David Potts does a passable job.

Peter Hook, on the other hand, does a fantastic Ian Curtis!

After the first set and a fantastic double shot of Bizarre Love Triangle and True Faith, the band left the stage.

They came back a short time later and played the Joy Division set.  Like with New Order, they played three songs that aren’t on Substance first.  I was a little concerned that I wouldn’t remember the Joy Division songs because it has been even longer since I listened to them (which I did a lot in college).  But their sound is unique and recognizable and it all flooded back.

Peter Hook, by the way did play a lot of lead bass lines–mostly the most notable lines in each song–and sometimes extras.  He would often come to the front of the stage and stand on the edge playing his bass, which was pretty cool.

I was pretty psyched that they played Heart & Soul, which is one of my favorite Joy Division songs.  There were definitely songs that I knew better than others (I loved hearing “She’s Lost Control”), but they all sounded great–the audio was perfect to the Joy Division sound.  There was a touching moment when Hooky said “Dead Souls” was Ian Curtis’ favorite song and dedicated it to him.  They played a moody Atmosphere and then after saying goodbyes and thanks (Hooky doesn’t talk a lot and is pretty mellow on stage (he is 69 after all) they played a terrific almost jamming version of “Love Will Tear Us Apart.”

And that was that.

It was a long show (30 songs) but it was an early night, which is perfect.

1. Your Silent Face §
2. Lonesome Tonight §
3. Mesh § 
4. Ceremony
5. Everything’s Gone Green
6. Temptation
7. Blue Monday
8. Confusion
9. Thieves Like Us
10. The Perfect Kiss
11. Sub-Culture
12. Shellshock
13. State of the Nation
14. Bizarre Love Triangle
15. True Faith
    JOY DIVISON
16. Heart and Soul §
17. Twenty Four Hours §
18. New Dawn Fades §
19. Disorder §
20. Warsaw
21. Leaders of Men
22. Digital
23. Autosuggestion
24. Transmission
25. She’s Lost Control
26. Shadowplay
27. Incubation
28. Dead Souls
29. Atmosphere
30. Love Will Tear Us Apart

§ not on Substance