Tomorrow i'm gonna book a flight but i don't have tickets to the gig yet :/ , so anyone got an extra ticket please let me know.

With only five tracks played at every gig -

Temptation
Blue Monday
True Faith
Crystal
BLT

Saw on Twitter that Irvine Welsh was backstage at Chicago (and had also gone for dinner with the band on Saturday). Dropped JG a text and he said they were in a club with Irvine right now watching Derrick Carter!

http://consequenceofsoun...os-aragon-ballroom-1021/

Less than 10 minutes before they closed their set at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom, New Order dusted off Joy Division’s “Heart and Soul” for a tour first. One of maybe three cruisers off Joy Division’s funereal second and last LP, Closer, it’s a far cry from the star-crossed cocaine decadence of “True Faith”, “Bizarre Love Triangle”, or “Blue Monday”. Whereas those songs belong in nightclubs, arenas, or anywhere there’s people smiling, dancing, and ready to swap souls on a mattress, the former sounds stripped from James O’Barr’s The Crow — a Halloween revenge tale of a reanimated corpse seeking blood in the name of love. That partly explains why the sweaty masses, whom had all only minutes beforehand let their shoes fly to “Temptation”, stood around in an awkward stupor. Sigh, you gotta love Joy Division.

But also New Order, too. It’s been a busy year: They’ve left Peter Hook to the history books, where he continues to wax nostalgic with his band The Light, and instead have championed forward by taking in a returning veteran (keyboardist Gillian Gilbert) and accepting a transfusion of new blood (bassist Tom Chapman). It’s an amicable transition for a band that’s currently amidst its (count it) second reunion. What’s great is that never does this “third coming” simply feel like a trip down memory lane. Having caught their short hour-long performance at this year’s Ultra Music Festival in Miami, I can attest that their set has evolved into a bonafide stage show that’s ravenous and creative enough to scream, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”



Probably because everyone’s still barking up the right tree. Frontman Bernard Sumner’s delicate coos and temperate vocals sound stripped from the vinyls, Stephen Morris still rivals any drum machine, and Gilbert could offer a lesson to anyone who’s intrigued in the black and white. Guitarist Phil Cunningham, who’s performed alongside Sumner and Morris since 2001, maintains that middle ground between optimal and minimal, while Chapman hits the bass harder and spits with an edge (No lie: During “Blue Monday”, Sumner put his mic up to Chapman’s bass as he slammed out the iconic riff, and somewhere overseas Hook woke up seething in anger and sweat.).

Couple that familial vibe with the show’s curated arsenal of Koyaanisqatsi-esque visuals that accompanied each track — from the wonders of Mother Nature in The Earth Wins during “Your Silent Face” to Amos Poe’s shots of NYC in Empire II during “The Perfect Kiss” — and everything felt organic, mortal, and youthful. This wasn’t a greatest hits gig a la The Police’s by-the-numbers reunion; instead, New Order catered to the audience and themselves. There were surprises (“Close Range” off 2001′s Get Ready), pleasantries (“Here to Stay” off the 24 Hour Party People soundtrack), and facelifts (Sumner and Gilbert took many liberties with “Blue Monday”, when together they rolled out sheets of rusty synth lines that skittered across the stage by track’s end).



That’s not to say the hits took backseat. “Regret” lit the night’s first match, “Age of Consent” glowed as a fiery sing a long, “Bizarre Love Triangle” pushed the panic switch, and ”True Faith” just engulfed everything and everyone as the night’s dynamite dance party. Forty-five seconds had passed by the time people stopped applauding for the Substance single. No, the hits were aplenty and there wasn’t a soul in the room that could scoff at them. Well, that’s not true, there were probably a couple, but they either a.) wore shit shoes or b.) died in the inside years ago.

Speaking of which, there’s always a lingering, depressing underbelly to New Order: Ian Curtis’ tragic suicide and Joy Division’s early demise. Their key insight to not ignore their past — as they did last night with an encore of three of the late band’s tracks (“Heart and Soul”, “Atmosphere”, and “Love Will Tear Us Apart”) — offered up a couple of goodie bag favors for the noggin. It preserved the sanctity of Curtis, who will always (rightly) be immortalized as a post-punk hero, and also stressed how far and beyond New Order has gone.



Now, “Ceremony” is officially labeled a New Order song, but really, it’s a Joy Division track, which Sumner admitted to before performing it last night. Critics, fans, and even the band all contend that the track’s an indication of where Joy Division was going to head. (Personally, I’ll always consider their 1981 debut album Movement as the unofficial third Joy Division album, but that’s just me.) Hearing it 30 something years later, it admittedly serves better as the starting line to a relay of hurdles and obstacles Hook, Sumner, and Morris overcame. Pair the song up to something as obvious as “Bizarre Love Triangle” and try and connect the dots; it’s baffling. Ha, that line in Raiders of the Lost Ark comes to mind – ”It’s not the years, honey, it’s the mileage.” — and let’s just say they’re flying for free these days.

What’s not influential about that?

Setlist:
Elegia
Crystal
Regret
Ceremony
Age of Consent
Love Vigilantes
Here to Stay
Your Silent Face
Close Range
Bizarre Love Triangle
5 8 6
True Faith
The Perfect Kiss
Blue Monday
Temptation
Encore:
Heart and Soul
Atmosphere
Love Will Tear Us Apart
—

Who's Hook?

Lol, I think Tom Chapman did a tremendous job, he killed it. I was probably 10 rows back right of center and thought the sound was great. Everything came across crystal clear and sounded great, vocals were a tad soft IMO. The opening act, Hudson Branch was TERRIBLE!!! Only wish they busted out Transmission last night! Steve was buried on the bak of the set, but he also killed it and sounded tremendous!!

http://www.electricmohaw...n-ballroom-chicago-2012/

In the past few years, I’ve been very fortunate to see a lot of top notch acts in music. Last night, I got to see a band that has influenced me musically since I was about 12 years old. I still remember when New Order announced dates a US Tour earlier this year and that Chicago would be one of the stops. The only unsettling feeling I had was that Peter Hook would not be joining the tour, as he is no longer a member of the group. Much to my dismay, my uneasiness was alleviated when I started looking at setlists from prior 2012 dates and noticed the band had been playing songs they haven’t in years.

The current lineup for New Order consists of original members Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, and Gillian Gilbert. The lineup also includes Phil Cunningham, who replaced Gilbert in 2001 when she declined to tour for the album Get Ready, and Bad Lietenant bassist Tom Chapman.

Like all recent New Order shows, the setlist was a blend of new and old, rock and electronic. The band opened with their eerie instrumental “Elegia” and kicked into the more upbeat “Crystal”. ”Regret” and “Ceremony” followed. Sumner’s vocals during the performance sounded like direct clones of the studio versions, but with more life and energy. Morris’ drumming rivals that of any drum machine from the time, while Cunningham and Gilbert provide guitar and synth dialogue that only New Order can produce. Chapman, with big shoes to fill, ties it all together with New Order’s signature melody and riff driven basslines.

New Order – Aragon Ballroom, Chicago 2012 Setlist
1.Elegia
2.Crystal
3.Regret
4.Ceremony
5.Age of Consent
6.Love Vigilantes
7.Here to Stay
8.Your Silent Face
9.Close Range
10.Bizarre Love Triangle
11.5 8 6
12.True Faith
13.The Perfect Kiss
14.Blue Monday
15.Temptation
16.Heart and Soul*^
17.Atmosphere*^
18.Love Will Tear Us Apart*^


Very nice pictures here also.

http://www.electricmohaw...der-chicago-2012-photos/

Edited by user 23 October 2012 04:04:59(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

http://musicforants.com/blog/?p=9306


I’ve always appreciated New Order as a groundbreaking dance-pop band and one of the most consistent hit-makers of the 1980′s, but in the last five years my love for them has increased dramatically. I now count them among my very favorite bands of all time, so having the chance to see them live (even sans one of it’s founding members, bassist Peter Hook) was an absolute thrill especially since they rarely tour the US (the last time was seven years ago). The Manchester synth-pop legends lived up to my high expectations with an extraordinary, triumphant concert in Chicago.

For a band that’s 30+ years old, the crowd was surprisingly diverse, with a fairly equal spread of twentysomethings, middle-aged folk and college-aged kids showing up to historic Aragon Ballroom to see the band work through a setlist that mixed all their big singles, classic album tracks and even some old Joy Division favorites. Running contrary to their reputation of being cool and detached, the band actually put on a very enthusiastic stage show led by singer/ guitarist Bernard Sumner who proved to be an engaging, charismatic frontman. Of course, he’s backed by heroic drummer Stephen Morris, Gillian Gilbert on synth and bassist Tom Chapman, who turned out to be a very capable replacement for Peter Hook.


New Order arrived the stage with possibly the coolest walk-on music ever, Ennio Morricone’s “The Ecstacy of Gold” from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly soundtrack (which famously plays during the 3-way Mexcian stand-off at the climax). That led straight into the band’s own instrumental theme, the ominous “Elegia” from Low-Life and then their 2001 single “Crystal”. The music video for “Crystal” (which played on the LED wall behind the band) inspired both the The Killers‘ name and their concept for their “Somebody Told Me” video, offering a reminder of how influential New Order has been on the current music landscape.

The band worked their way back with a great rendition of 1993′s “Regret” (easily my favorite song of their post-80′s output) and then the very first New Order single “Ceremony”, which was actually a Joy Division track prior to Ian Curtis’ death (as was noted by Bernard Sumner in the song’s intro). Another early track followed, the spectacular “Age of Consent”, opening song to 1983′s Power Corruption and Lies and then “Love Vigilantes” which Sumner pointed out was not an Iron & Wine song (I think the fact the band is even aware of Iron & Wine’s cover is pretty amazing).


The middle of the set included a couple more new tracks “Here To Stay” from the 24-Hour Party People soundtrack and “Close Range” from 2001′s Get Ready along with a couple of album tracks from Power Corruption and Lies, the gorgeous, melodica-featuring “Your Silent Face” and they highly danceable “5 8 6″. The final stretch of the set though is where things really started to take off, playing through much of their brilliant 1987 singles collection Substance, starting with my personal favorite “Bizarre Love Triangle”. The track saw Bernard Sumner putting down the guitar and roaming the stage as he led a sing-a-long to the song’s infectious chorus. The momentum continued with epic performances of “True Faith”, “Perfect Kiss” and “Blue Monday”, which saw Sumner holding up his mic to Chapman’s bass as he played the song’s iconic riff. The best was saved for last though as the band went into an ecstatic performance of “Temptation”, with the “Up! Down! Turn Around!” chorus setting the crowd on an absolute dance frenzy, encouraged by a disco ball that dropped on stage for the track.

New Order are known to do encores a little differently, in their early shows they’d sometimes skip them altogether, and when they did play them they usually opted to play a rarity or cover instead of one of their hit songs. For this show, the band played three Joy Division tracks as a moving tribute to their former bandmate and friend, Ian Curtis. They began with the Closer track “Heart and Soul” (a first for the tour) and then played Joy Division’s two most iconic songs “Atmosphere” “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, both posthumously-released tracks that hinted at the beginnings of New Order’s synth-heavy, dance-pop sound. It was truly amazing thing to witness and managed to make their wonderful performance even more memorable.