New Order at Radio City Music Hall
photo by Ryan Muir

New Order warmed up for Coachella at Radio City Music Hall (pics, review, setlist)

Manchester UK’s legendary synth-pop-new-wave-electronica icons New Order squeezed in a  gig at NYC’s venerable Radio City Music Hall on Thursday night, their first of a handful of dates they have scheduled around their Coachella appearances. The band last played NYC (and Radio City) back on in 2016 and, although there were many similarities to last night’s show, there were also some differences which I think may register this show as the superior experience. The one glaring similarity is that they rolled out the exact same, though quite stunning, visual accompaniments. They employed five large, really beautiful LED screens elevated behind them that showed all manner of video; from old filmy type stuff to retro ’80s looking stuff to super detailed computer generated graphical content. These LEDs, coupled with a brilliant light show that included a blinding disco ball and tons of fog, delivered an amazing, almost tangible, audio visual punch to the proceedings. Visually, it was epic.

Aurally, I thought they were fantastic and really super tight and it seems they made a conscious effort to mix the setlist up from what they played last time they were at Radio City.(“Regret” and “Love Vigilantes” were added this time around.) Like last time, they didn’t touch a single track from 1989’s Technique. And as far as the new stuff goes they played five of the eleven tracks from 2015’s Music Complete including “Restless”, “Singularity”, “Plastic”, “Tutti Frutti”, and “Superheated”. Oldies like “Your Silent Face,” “Bizarre Love Triangle,” “The Perfect Kiss,” and “True Faith” were an absolute treat to hear live, and they sounded amazing, as did “Blue Monday” and “Temptation.” But we didn’t get to hear “Ceremony” which was sort of a bummer.

When it comes to Joy Division songs making their way into the encore, I have to echo Bill’s sentiment from the last Radio City show and concur that I didn’t need to hear them. I mean, I get why they’re in there, and I thought the audience would collectively shit themselves when the first notes of “Love Will Tear Us Apart” filled the room, but with the newer songs (which are quite good) eating up so much time and with so many crucial tracks not making the cut, well, I’d gladly trade in those Joy Division tracks for other New Order tunes in a heartbeat. All in all, though, the show was brilliant to see and brilliant to hear.

Pictures from the show are in the gallery above and the setlist is below.

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SETLIST: New Order @ Radio CIty Music Hall 4/13/2016
Singularity
Regret
Love Vigilantes
Crystal
Restless
Superheated
Your Silent Face
Tutti Frutti
Bizarre Love Triangle
Waiting for the Sirens’ Call
Plastic
The Perfect Kiss
True Faith
Blue Monday
Temptation

Encore:
Decades (Joy Division cover)
Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division cover)