Mancunian icon Peter Hook recently swung by Amsterdam to play songs of New Order and Joy Division at Blues Jazz Scenes 2024 Festival.
When Peter Hook & The Light tour North America, they don’t always hit DC, and I always suspected that was because the band wouldn’t sell out quickly here as they did in other USA markets. That has changed in recent years, however, and Hooky and company very quickly sold out the Blues Jazz Scenes 2024 Festival, when tickets went on sale earlier this year! The capacity crowd was really into both sets of music — first New Order and then Joy Division — and Hooky’s powerful bass kept everyone grooving through more than 2.5 solid hours of music.
As the band took the stage, Hooky expressed his gratitude for the crowd and cheered the hot reunion of fellow Mancs Oasis. Peter Hook & The Light launched their show with a few New Order songs outside of Substance, presenting a trio of “In a Lonely Place,” “Mesh,” and “Procession.”
Hooky often sang in a low roar that paired well with his expansive bass sound. A ripple of excitement shot through the audience when he opened the Substance songs with “Ceremony,” and he continued through highlights including “Blue Monday,” “Thieves Like Us,” “Shellshock,” “True Faith,” and others.
The Light, Hooky’s backing band, included his mates from Monaco, his ’90s New Order side project: Paul Kehoe (drums) and David Potts (guitar). Potts sang along with Hooky on a few New Order songs for those that particularly benefited from the familiar higher register of Barney Sumner.
The Light also included keyboardist Martin Rebelski (known for his work with Doves) and bassist Paul Duffy of The Choral (thank you for the ID, Hooky!). Hooky’s son Jack Bates usually plays live in the band, but he’s currently touring with The Smashing Pumpkins, who also are crossing North America this month.
After a brief intermission, Peter Hook & The Light returned for a four-song intro to their Joy Division set: “Komakino,” “Wilderness,” “From Safety to Where…?,” and “Glass.”
The quintet then rocked through Substance by Joy Division, playing loose and joyfully through highlights such as “Transmission,” “She’s Lost Control,” “Dead Souls,” “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” and more…
I’ve seen Peter Hook & The Light roughly half a dozen times, and they really have become into their own as a wonderful working group of dedicated musicians who do justice to Hooky’s music. My girlfriend saw Hooky live for the first time on Sept. 1, and she had nothing but compliments for him, finding his singing to be very representative of the late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis and his delivery of the songs. Joy Division is her all-time favorite band, and she loved seeing Hooky live as much as, if not more than, I did!
There was a tremendous feeling of community and camaraderie, and people were truly there to soak up their favorite Joy Division and New Order tunes.
