Peter Hook and the Light in Valencia

 I saw Peter Hook and the Light playing Unknown Pleasures a few years ago in Sydney. They were so good then I really wanted to see them again but hadn't had an opportunity until this year   We couldn't get tickets to the London gig so we decided to go to Valencia! And what a treat!

Peter Hook has been playing in bands since the seventies and is a founding member of both Joy Division and New Order.  He is currently on tour with his own band playing the original Joy Division and New Order albums. By all accounts he is a thoroughly nice guy as well! 

The plan for Valencia was to play two classic albums - Substance (Joy Division) and Substance (New Order).  So there was a lot to get through.  And they did.  They turned up bang on time at 9:30 and, with two very short breaks didn't finish until just past midnight.  That's value for money.

We were at Moon in Valencia.  Don't know about the band but this is a great venue from the audience point of view!  The place is tiny - perhaps 400-500 people max, and a good stage and quality sound system. You could get super close if you wanted or equally hang around the mixer or bar and get a good view.  The crowd was on great form and danced the whole way through.  No queue for the bar or loo was a bonus and bugger all pushing meant it was a very civilised gig for those of us of a certain age! 

The evening was split into three main sets.  Set one was dedicated to the early New Order work and kicked off with cracking versions of "Ceremony" and "Everything's gone Green" which were my favourites.  "Blue Monday" obviously got the biggest cheer though "Bizarre Love Triangle" and "True Faith" were crowd pleasers too.

A few moments for a breather and then straight into the second set.  This was exclusively Joy Division and covered the earliest Warsaw songs "Warsaw" and "Leaders of Men" right through "Digital", "She's Lost Control", "Transmission".  "Dead Souls" was magnificent while obviously ""Love will Tear Us Apart" set the place alight.  A nice touch was to dedicate an ethereal version of "Atmosphere" to Ian Curtis.  It was almost like the first set had just been a warmup and the band were now in full flight.  Strong pulsing bass and perfect guitar made for hypnotic and driving music that sounded fresh and modern.  At times you felt you were falling into an abyss it was so powerful and perfectly executed.

Never mind the band - the audience needed a break!  So before you could say "I need to have a quick pee and nip to the bar for refills" we all had a quick pee and nipped to the bar for refills and then they were back on for their final set.  

This final set was an absolute cracker.  It started with four classic New Order songs "Dreams Never End", "Age Of Consent", "Love Vigilantes" and "Leave Me Alone".  Hooky even got the mouth organ out - we had spent most of the first two sets wondering what was in the shopping bag!

We were then played out with an utterly sublime set of "Disorder", "Isolation", "Twenty Four Hours". "Shadowplay" and "Decades".  I was in heaven. And emotionally exhausted. And lost my voice.  What a night.

It is a rare pleasure to hear such a breadth of music in a single concert.  From the earliest raw energy of the Warsaw songs, right through the powerful Joy Division albums, and on to the sophisticated electronica of New Order there was a such an astonishing breadth of musical styles, lyrics and songs.  It was great to hear them played live but unbelievable to hear them all played in one concert!

View from the Mixing Desk.

Aaaaaand it's all over!