with support from Modern Blonde...
Hooky has taken his new band The Light around the world on a number of occasions to bring the seminal Joy Division albums Unknown Pleasures, Closer and Still to international audiences, to positive critical acclaim. The band decided to change the theme and ultimately the sound of their performance by progressing onto the first two New Order albums, Movement and Power, Corruption & Lies which they played in their entirety on two occasions last week (three if you include their warm-up gig in Cardiff). I went to the 2nd leg at the Manchester Cathedral but I also made the trip down South for their opening gig...
It was a freezing night in Camden but the same couldn't be said inside the majestic KOKO club, a grand ballroom draped in rich red velvet. The stage was set for the opening act, Manchester's Modern Blonde (Adam & Tom Greenhalgh & Ben Silver), with this set to be their biggest performance yet. The band introduced themselves to a totally new audience with a 6-song set mainly consisting of fresh material they had written in the past 6 months. Usually a 3-piece, they added Adam Saylaby and Sebastien Perrin to the line-up on bass and guitar duties with the intent of fleshing out their sound for the big stage. This worked a great deal, and the band showed that they don't have to be restricted to the small venues in which they'd been playing prior to these shows.
Adam and Tom G. confidently delivered their eccentric vocals to an at first bewildered, but later impressed seasoned London audience and each member looked completely at home in the impressive, respected venue. Their dark, unusual music was a perfect opening to Hooky & The Light's set, and when they announced that the merch table was decorated with their free full-length albums, they flew like hot cakes. It was lovely to see new fans embracing their eclectic sound once their set was over.
Then the lights dimmed and Hooky marched on stage to his loyal fans, with his band in toll (his son and bassist Jack Bates, guitarist Nat Wason, drummer Paul Kehoe and keyboardist Andy Poole) ready to launch into the haunting opener, the 'Ceremony' B-Side 'In A Lonely Place', which they did with such admirable force that anybody who has doubted Hooky's abilities or motives in bringing this music back to the live circuit should really get on YouTube. If it were simply a tribute act then yes, such negativity would be understandable, but the material belongs to Hooky as much as any of the other key players and his reworking of it really gives the songs a new lease of life. New Order are doing practically the same thing in the other camp but what they are lacking is the fierce intensity of The Light's performances.
There is a real, raw Joy Division edge to the songs that hasn't been heard before, and paired with Hooky's growling vocals it gives a new twist to the early New Order songs. Especially on tracks like 'Ceremony' which we are used to hearing Bernard Sumner sing in a higher key; Hooky snarled through them in true punk fashion. The band smashed through Movement in its entirety, Hooky showing that despite being 56 he still has that pure energy exuding from him. Hooky played more bass during these shows than on the previous Joy Division-orientated gigs - perhaps he felt more pressure standing in Ian Curtis's shoes than in Sumner's, which is understandable.
After a short interlude, the band returned to the stage for 'Mesh', 'Cries & Whispers' and the euphoric 'Everything's Gone Green' before launching into Power, Corruption & Lies. The sound in KOKO was truly astounding - me and my gang were on the very top level (the place is fucking massive in height from the inside) which must have been at least 50 ft high, but our view was pristine and we were stull in full force of the throbbing bass dripping from the fantastic sound system. Kehoe's drumming was captivating, switching between the primal pounding of his kit to the crystal-clear electronic set-up. There was a real variety to the show thanks to the range of songs and their different, unique vibes. Hooky even brought out the melodica for 'Age of Consent' and a couple of other tracks, which sounded awesome. Jack held the bassline fort, confidently strumming away at the iconic, groundbreaking melodies which his father is so renowned for, but every so often Hooky would burst into action, rocking out atop stack amps whilst his hungry admirers leapt at him.
There was an unexpected interlude in the shape of 'The Beach', the odd but infectiously funky reworking of 'Blue Monday' which gave the band a quick break before they ran back on for the encore. It was also fitting as it brought the show to a close in true electronic, New Order style. The band treated the audience to 'Hurt', 'Temptation' and the universal classic 'Blue Monday' before thanking the ecstatic crowd and slipping off-stage. Once again, Hooky held a proud V-sign to the naysayers.
