Review: Peter Hook & The Light at Liverpool Olympia.

Dreary weather and a beautifully preserved theatre, what else could do better to replicate the feeling of walking stone cold to the Hacienda on a dark autumn evening in Manchester. However it is not 1983 and we are instead across the motorway in Liverpool, a city with it’s own music to boast about.

The Olympia stage hung in moody blue lighting as fans anxiously awaited Salford’s finest and the promise of a night of nostalgia. Sure enough at 8pm sharp, the band entered the stage to screams of “come on Hooky!”. “Hooky” excuberating a natural confidence and donning his signature Eastwood VK pro, moved slowly around the stage building the suspense and riling up the crowd with melodic pianos before storming into a fierce rendition of ‘Crystal’, the opening track off of New Order’s 2001 release, ‘Get Ready’. The band is undoubtedly able to evoke something special in the crowd, with their excitement building through screams of “Keep it coming, Keep it coming.”

This tour sees a true to record playthrough of 2001’s ‘Get Ready’, Hook’s last full studio recorded album with New Order before his departure in 2007. The second half, a playthrough of Joy Division and New Order’s “Greatest Hits”. This tour would be special for many as it adds a new layer to the set. It takes the show from an almost nostalgic tribute act quality to a more sophisticated replication of a regular album tour.

The audiences emotions were palpable, especially in the second half of the set, which the band chose to begin with Joy Division’s moody ‘Incubation’ which quite literally hatched the rooms anticipation before launching into an energy fuelled ‘Warsaw’ , backed by the excited cries of the crowd. Hook commands the stage with a strange sense of nobility and power. The crowd knows who takes the forefront despite the fact that Hook is the quintessential modest frontman who performs comfortably without glamour or excacerbation. With simple movements and audience quips, you get the sense that you’re watching someone very real which in turn trancends the normal boundary fame usually places between spectator and musician.

The clear appeal is the impressive musicianship behind bringing these tracks to life. An unexpected rendition of ‘Blue Monday’ brought back the energy of the famous Manchester rave scene with the show culminating in the beautiful rendition of ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, transporting the crowd on not only a musical journey but an emotional one. The shouts of “love, love will tear us apart again” was a truly magical moment. There was a true sense of love and appreciation for such a monumental song, that ended the show, and the night, on a high.

Whilst certainly an atypical show, The Light are most definitely worthy of their praise. I look forward to seeing how, in the future, the band works to diversify their show for a new generation of fans.

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