|
|
Shoreline Amphitheatre, San Francisco, California, United States of America (2001)
so yesterday i finally got to see new order live after a 16 year wait. it was
their first US gig in 8 years, in mountain view, about 30 miles south of san
francisco.
although they performed before outkast and moby on the main stage, it was
evident that half the crowd of 30,000 was there mainly for new order (the
other half was there to hear paul oakenfold spin in the DJ tent).
as the sun was setting around 6:45, they sauntered onstage to rapturous
applause.
bernard and hooky both stepped to the mic to thank the crowd, announcing how
happy they were to be back in the states. they then announced the first song
"by our old band joy division"...
1. atmosphere
majestic. with 2 guitars plus the synths, it sounded really full. bernard
kept doing this hopping dance (he did it the entire time they were onstage)
and letting out these joyous little yelps between verses. he was positively
gleeful.
2. regret
new order's biggest stateside single. the whole audience sang along, cheering
when the first guitar chords rang out.
3. crystal
this had a really beautiful piano intro that's apparently from one of the
upcoming remixes. the song sort of builds to a wall of noise and went on a
bit too long (for me). corgan got a bit animated during this one. for most of
the show he kept a low profile, wearing all black and a hat pulled low over
his eyes, but it's evident he enjoys playing this song.
4. love will tear us apart
transposed down a couple of keys for some reason, so it didn't sound quite
right. corgan yelped during this one, and the entire crowd was singing along.
as the band just flown in from a concert in japan, they were jetlagged. after
the song bernard apologized to the audience saying he knows they could play
it better than they did. hooky kept kidding around with him, tossing little
jabs his way.
5. your silent face
ahhhhhhh...new order's homage to kraftwerk. it had added synth and guitar
lines, plus bernard playing his melodica - the sound wholly engulfed the
area. i started crying during this one...i never thought i'd get to hear them
play it live.
6. turn my way
this is the one from the forthcoming album that billy corgan duets on. it
sounded better live than the recorded version, with billy and bernard teasing
each other back and forth before and during the song.
7. bizarre love triangle
bernard announced it beforehand and the crowd roared. he actually annouced
every song before they played them - he was really chatty. anyway, this was
the remixed version of the song as it appears on substance.
8. touched by the hand of god
reworked for the better. it's extended with an updated sound. hooky played a
bass solo in it! he stalked the stage and struck a lot of rock star poses,
which you could tell he was doing with a wink and a nudge.
9. true faith
again the audience erupted. this has been reworked as well, based around a
remix paul oaklenfold did in '94. it soounds a bit weaker than the original,
but still gives me chills.
10. temptation
for this (and later blue monday) they went back to the original recordings
and built the sequenced tracks around samples...so they had this really
electro analogue sound somewhere between the orignal 7" and dave clarke's
remix of "everything's gone green". the whole crowd was pogoing and singing
along.
11. 60 MPH
also from the new album. this sounds WAY better live than the recorded
version - a definate contender for a single. the whole band was into it and
hooky was singing harmonies (!) the crowd got really into this, even not
knowing the song.
12. blue monday
it actually had the vocoder parts in it, plus samples from the original, plus
hooky playing his drum pads, plus billy corgan adding extra guitar parts and
dancing. this song was responsible for a lot of the other DJ and electronic
acts who played during the course of the day. it just built and built, and
ended with everyone's guitar feeding back and the sequencer left running.
bernard thanked the audience again promising they were "back to stay this
time" and the crowd kept cheering for an encore.
an hour-long set, and worth the wait. it was getting their greatest hits in a
tight package. they sounded good, they looked well, they behaved . someone
mentioned bernard's comments to arthur baker, who was in the audience. he
commented about baker having a big dick..."just like me"! he also bitched
about the smoke machine "they proved cigarettes are bad for your health, you
know!". it *was* a bit much - it was right in his face and so thick you
couldn't even see him onstage - and this is before the sun had fully set, so
it's not like they needed the fog for the lighting yet.
i bought one of their t-shirts, which sold out quickly. it's athletic grey
with the cover art for "getready" on the front and "new order - get ready"
across the back.
--ed boland
Source: Ed Boland |
|