New Order
713 Music Hall
May 16, 2023

When Ian Curtis committed suicide in 1980, few could have predicted that two things would be true 40-odd years later. One: that Joy Division would end up kickstarting the post-punk wave and influence the direction of alternative music for decades. And two: that New Order, the band formed in the wake of Curtis's death, would last almost twice as long as Curtis was alive.

Which isn't meant to undersell New Order's own influence on electronic music, which may be behind only Kraftwerk and contemporaries Depeche Mode. Two members remain from the original JD lineup: guitarist/vocalist Bernard Sumner and drummer Stephen Morris, with keyboardist Gillian Gilbert joining in 1980. Original bassist Peter Hook left in 2007, to be replaced by Tom Chapman, with Phil Cunningham rounding out guitar duties since the early '00s.

Last night, 713 Music Hall was as packed as I've seen it since last year's Olivia Rodrigo show. The band emerged after a protracted introductory video sequence featuring slo-mo high divers and Wagner's "Vorspiel" from "Das Rheingold." And look, I realize everyone from Curtis to Sumner have played down the two band's possible connections to fascist elements (go ahead and Google "joy division"), but Wagner? I dunno, man.

Whatever. They opened with "Crystal," last night's only selection from Get Ready, and what followed was a largely crowd-pleasing selection of hits and newer stuff. And whether it was a feature of the show or a nod to Houston's short attention span, they wisely spread the newer cuts throughout the set list.

But if you weren't paying attention, you might have missed the tour debuts of "Ceremony," "World" (from Republic) and maybe my favorite Joy Division song, "Decades."

As expected, the biggest reactions were for the classics: "Regret," "Bizarre Love Triangle" and "The Perfect Kiss" among them. The newer stuff was still well received, but that might be because new New Order doesn't sound a hell of a lot different from old New Order.

"Blue Monday" also made a welcome appearance, though seeing as it's the best-selling 12-inch single of all time, there's a decent chance everyone in attendance already had a copy.

The band, Sumner aside, doesn't have much of a stage presence (Gilbert remains as hilariously detached as ever). Sumner did tell us how great it was to be back in Houston — though lamenting how similar yesterday's weather was to Manchester's — even throwing in a "muchas gracias" at one point.

Their light show compensated for that somewhat, as did the video presentation, which ran the gamut from buckin' broncos to travel vids to the Close Encounters trailer by way of the Battlezone video game.

If you know, you know.

The audience was a healthy mix of New Order vets and ... New-bies(?), though how willing the latter were to be included was best demonstrated by the chagrined 20-something I saw who desperately wished to be anywhere else while her mother danced frantically to "True Faith." Legalities forbade me from taking pictures.

And speaking as an admittedly jaded GenX music critic, I will confess that I've had few "shared moments" with my peers like desperately singing out, "I can't tell you where we're going / I guess there was just no way of knowing" from "Temptation." There's nothing like funneling that Cold War angst into the 21st century.

The three founding members of New Order are all in their 60s, which is practically spring chicken territory in an era when the Who and Rolling Stones are still hauling their carcasses out on the road. This was the band's first Houston appearance since — I think — 2015, and hopefully won't be their last. You might say I have ... true faith in that.

Personal Bias: Any rumors of a teenaged Pete driving alone on pitch black rural roads in his Honda Accord and playing Power, Corruption & Lies on repeat are wholly unfounded and unverifiable.

The Crowd: GenX-ers I dearly hope took Ubers home. We are apparently some sloppy-ass drunks.

Overheard In The Crowd: "You're not going to die, Mark. Jesus Christ."

Random Notebook Dump: "How ... does it feel? *How does it feel?* My feet hurt, my ears are ringing, and oy, my back."

SET LIST
Crystal
Regret
Age of Consent
Ceremony
Your Silent Face
The Perfect Kiss
Sub-culture
Guilt Is A Useless Emotion
World
Bizarre Love Triangle
Plastic
True Faith
Blue Monday
Temptation

ENCORE
Decades (Joy Division cover)
Transmission (Joy Division cover)
Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division cover)