New Order a New Order tribute act, apparently

Without a trace of irony, too.

I saw them in NYC in October and while I would have loved that Hooky was with them, they were still rocking - not a tribute band at all (and I have seen plenty of tired alternative acts clearly doing it for the money in recent years)

How many times does he have to say stuff like this?

The bass player left the band and they suddenly become a tribute band without him? The man's arrogance know's no boundaries. They didn’t reform behind his back and they never broke up anyway. Hooky left so surely they can do what they damn well want.

Having seen them live over the past year I can safely say they manage perfectly fine without him. I'm getting increasingly bored of his gobbing off to any paper or blog that will give him the time of day. I wish he would get over it and just move on.

What a ridiculously sycophantic perspective - amongst a whole lot of unsubstantiated hearsay, you allege New Order of cashing in by touring, and then commend and admire Hooky for doing the same thing?

Is it really 'irrationally anti-Hooky' to point out that the band he left are, in fact, still going? Looks like the irrationality is on your side of things....

Don't forget...

It is indeed a rare thing to see Hooky speak with such passion! The mystery unravels!

Volturno says "Barney and co. are basically playing "Singles" live".

While the majority of concert-goers (not the discerning fans that populate this board) would probably be satisfied with that, it's not strictly true. Shadowplay, Isolation, Age of Consent, 586, Your Silent Face, Love Vigilantes, Elegia and Close Range don't fit that bill. A few of the singles they played (Thieves Like Us, Round & Round & 1963) hadn't been performed in decades. Additionally, Here to Stay had never been performed live.

The Light have certainly been working hard, but to suggest that New Order are just phoning it in is inaccurate.

Without doubt, Hooky's is basically a JD tribute band, pretty absurd to suggest otherwise. Didn't he even call it a celebration of Joy Division? And of course making money is a big part of it, thou I'm sure he has had some fun and likes the attention.

New Order currently... well, it's not the same, they are different and older. Saying they are a tribute band is rather harsh, Hooky is bitter obviously. Of course money is a big part also whatever they might say, and the attention of bigger crowds than Bad Loo.
Currently, "new" New Order plays old songs for a crowd that expects to hear old songs. Competently, but rather blandly, with little to challenge the audience. More like a traditional big label rock band, not much spontaneity. I don't think that is Bernard's strength, being the cliched traditional front man, especially at this stage of his career. On the plus side, at least they have offered a little variety in the playlist, showing some respect for their back catalogue, and did revamp 586 nicely. I assume some of this is from advice from outside the band. They have not even bothered to learn any Lost Sirens songs. If "new" New Order is plugged in creatively for real, they should show it soon... they have been doing the reunion tour with "pleasing the crowd with oldies show" for over a year, and will continue that with the upcoming festivals this summer. Sorry, but they are mostly a "dinosaur" group at this point, playing oldies, taking the path of least resistance. Enjoy the shows and have a good time, but it is what it is.

Now if you look back to 2005-6 when Hooky was still in the band, they were awfully boring in my opinion, playing the same songs in standard fashion with much of the show using obviously prepared backing tapes (quite lame). Much of a tribute dinosaur band at that point anyway, not like there has been a big dropoff in quality. Of course, there is no Hooky to share the spotlight now or offer an opinion... Bernard is obviously very happy about that.

If you like, have fun at the shows, nothing wrong with that, do it while you are able. This is the end stage of their careers. If Bernard, Steve, Gillian create anything new that is good, it's a bonus. Probably won't be essential but maybe they have a few surprises left, who knows. I doubt Hooky will try anything new after the debacle of Freebass.

Edited by user 02 February 2013 08:59:42(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

No matter who you are.

Er how often did they actually play Close Range last year? The way you go on about it it's like Chapman was murdering it on a regular basis so he's a crap bassist but as far as I know they played twice in grand total. More fool them for trying to add an old album track back into the set I guess, the main thing they get criticised for not doing on here. Obviously it was a bit under rehearsed but it's hardly an accurate barometer of how good Chapman is at replicating the bass lines. There is a bit of a broad consensus (not bias) that he's doing them justice.

It's the same as The Light having received plaudits for replicating the Joy Division/early New Order sound well, which they do.

Bias cuts both ways really...

Edited by user 02 February 2013 15:14:52(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

I remember the good old days when New Order never hit a bum note. Virtuosity was the order of the day. Sobriety and clinical precision is surey lacking in this, the vilest of New Odours!