Holy Ghost!, who are playing the Governors Ball next month and touring with New Order this summer, are working on their new album, Dynamics. The record doesn't have a release date yet, but the first single just dropped. The 10-minute whopper is called "Dumb Disco Ideas" and is fueled by a very DFA rhythm section and funky clavinet. You can stream it below via its video that uses time-lapse photography to good effect. You can buy it digitally now and a 200-run vinyl pressing is due out soon.

The band are about to start a West Coast tour, which will make them one of the few active artists on DFA's roster to not play the label's big, sold-out 12th anniversary party at Grand Prospect Hall on 5/25 which is part of the Red Bull Music Academy NYC takeover. They play Governors Ball on June 7 (only VIP tickets left) but tickets are still available for their July 24 show at Williamsburg Park opening for New Order.

All tour dates are listed, along with the new video, below.

Continue reading "Holy Ghost! released new single, playing shows including Governors Ball and New Order tour (dates, video)"

photos by Wei Shi

New Order / The xx / Danny Brown

Weekend 2 of Coachella 2013 continued on Saturday (4/20), and this time around we caught sets by New Order, The xx, Hot Chip, Danny Brown (who debuted a new Rustie-produced track, "Dope Song," during his set which you can watch a video of below), Action Bronson, Trash Talk, Janelle Monae and more. Pictures of Weekend 2 Day 2 are in this post.

In case you haven't been keeping up with our coverage, pictures of Weekend 2 Day 1 are HERE. For Weekend 1 pictures, check out day 1 (HERE and HERE), day 2 (HERE) and day 3 (HERE).

More Coachella Weekend 2 Day 2 pictures and the Danny Brown video below...

Continue reading "Coachella Weekend 2 Day 2 in pics (New Order, Trash Talk, Danny Brown, The xx, Hot Chip, Action Bronson & more)"

by Bill Pearis

"Just seen 'New Order' on Kimmel.. Beam me up Scotty... Power, Corruption & Enterprise." - @Peter_Hook1

New Order on Jimmy Kimmel Live 4/16/2013

In between their two weekends at Coachella, Mancunian postpunk legends New Order played Jimmy Kimmel Live last night (4/16), performing "I'll Stay With You" from their "new" album, Lost Sirens, as well as their 1986 classic single "Bizarre Love Triangle" and you can watch both below. (Aside: I am a strong believer in "Don't wear the t-shirt of the band you're going to see at their show," and that rule should be extended to "Don't wear your own band's shirt onstage. Or ever.") As mentioned, New Order will be in NYC with Holy Ghost! on July 24 for a show at Williamsburg Park and tickets go on AEG presale Thursday (4/18) at 10 AM with the regular on-sale happening Friday (4/19) at noon.

While he's not in the band anymore, former bassist Peter Hook was watching from home and couldn't help chiming in on Twitter, which you can read above. (What is that about Glass Houses and throwing stones?) As you may remember, Hook and his band, The Light, are currently playing the entirety of New Order's first two albums on tour. While he hasn't brough Movement and Power, Corruption & Lies to North America (yet), he is releasing a live recording of The Light's first performance of the albums which happened in January 2013 at Manchester Cathedral. It will be available April 22 and you can stream its versions of "Cathedral" and "Cries & Whispers" below.

Continue reading "New Order played 'Kimmel' (video); Peter Hook & The Light releasing live album"

New Order @ Roseland, Oct. 2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

The Peter Hook-less New Order just played the first of two Coachella weekends and will be playing other festivals too, like Lollapalooza and Osheaga in August. Before that, they'll play Williamsburg Park on July 24 with openers Holy Ghost!. Tickets go on AEG presale on Thursday (4/18) at 10 AM with the general on-sale happening Friday (4/19) at noon.

New Order were last in NYC in October playing Roseland. This is part of a string of dates for the Manchester synthpop legends and all tour dates are listed below.

Continue reading "New Order announce North American summer tour, including Williamsburg Park (dates)"

Lollapalooza 2012 (more by James Richards IV)

After it was already confirmed that Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, The Postal Service, The National, The Killers, and Mumford and Sons were playing Lollapalooza 2013, a pretty promising leak came which appeared to potentially reveal the rest of the lineup, and it turns out that leak was real.

In addition to the previously mentioned artists, Lollapalooza will include Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, Kendrick Lamar, Grizzly Bear, The Cure, New Order, Baroness, Beach House, Cat Power, Death Grips, Jessie Ware, Father John Misty, DIIV, Wavves, Alt-J, Hot Chip, Disclosure, Baauer, Palma Violets, Angel Haze, Band of Horses, Crystal Castles and many others.

Lollapalooza goes down in Chicago from August 2 - 4 in Grant Park. Single day passes go on sale Wednesday (4/3) at 10 AM.

Full day-by-day lineup below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2013 lineup announced (Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Postal Service, Cure, New Order, Kendrick Lamar & more)"

Osheaga Festival is returning to Montreal's Parc Jean-Drapeau from August 2-4. This year's lineup includes The Cure, Mumford and Sons, Phoenix, New Order, Vampire Weekend, Kendrick Lamar, Hot Chip, Alt-J, Beach House, Explosions in the Sky, Big Boi, Baauer, Father John Misty, Disclosure, Frightened Rabbit, Angel Haze, Jessie Ware, DIIV, Guards, and many more.

3-Day passes go on sale Friday (3/15) at noon. There are still over 20 artists TBA, but you can browse the complete initial lineup below...

Continue reading "Osheaga Festival 2013 lineup & tickets (The Cure, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Kendrick Lamar, New Order and more)"

Postal Service

We mentioned that Blur and The Stone Roses are reuniting for Coachella 2013, and as usual there some other interesting reunions at the festival too.

Violent Femmes, who called it quits in 2009, appeared on the lineup announcement. Unlike Blur or The Stone Roses, this is the first we're hearing about them getting back together, so hopefully we'll get some more shows from them. They last played NYC in 2007. Some classic Violent Femmes videos are below.

As promised, The Postal Service are in fact confirmed for Coachella. They recently confirmed their 2013 reunion, and are also part of the Primavera Sound lineup.

It wasn't even two full years ago that Nick Cave said he was done with his Grinderman project for a while, and we know that The Bad Seeds are back this year (and also playing Coachella), but he's got Grinderman on the lineup too. Grinderman plays day 1 and the Bad Seeds play day 3.

One of Ian Svenonius' many bands, The Make-Up, reunited last year and played ATP NYC, and they're also included on this year's Coachella lineup. Meanwhile, you can catch Ian in NYC on his book tour tonight (1/25) at LPR and Monday (1/28) at WORD Bookstore.

New Order (without Peter Hook) made their live return last year, and after releasing their "lost" album, Lost Sirens, this year, they were announced for Coachella as well. The way things have been going, we probably can't count on Hook being there, but like Ian Svenonius, you can catch him in NYC on Monday (1/28) for his book talk.

Fellow new wave icons Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (aka OMD) returned in 2010 and they're promising a new album out on April 9, just before Coachella begins. They've also talked about a North American tour, which presumably will be announced soon with dates surrounding the festival.

Descendents have been back for a little while at this point, but a reunion show from them is always exciting, and this year's Coachella should be no exception.

Dead Can Dance have been back for a bit too, having released a new album, Anastasis, and gone on a tour last year, and they'll be at Coachella this year as well. They're also playing Primavera Sound and just launched a video competition.

Two-Tone legends The Selector (they shared a side of the label's first-ever 7") will play as well. The band have reformed a few times over the years, with different members offer rival versions of the band. Singer Pauline Black and Gaps Hendrickson feature in the line-up coming to Coachella.

And maybe most surprsingly on this list of Coachella reunions is The Three O'Clock who were intregral in the '80s "paisley underground" scene in Los Angeles. Fronted by bassist Michael Querico, the band made 1985's cult classic Arrive Without Traveling, ended up signed to Prince's Paisley Park records where they made one album before breaking up in 1988.

LA hip hop collective Jurassic 5 are also reuniting for Coachella. More on that and other hip hop at this year's festival coming later.

Violent Femmes videos below...

Continue reading "Violent Femmes, Postal Service, Grinderman, New Order, Three O'Clock, and other reunited bands at Coachella 2013"

Click it for the bigger poster.

by Bill Pearis

New Order's new album, Lost Sirens, consists of tracks from the same recording sessions as 2005's Waiting for the Siren's Call. The record was originally supposed to come out the next year, but bassist Peter Hook got in a tiff with the rest of the band and quit. Seven years later, the tracks will see the light of day on Tuesday (1/15). The eight tracks are likely the last New Order tracks to feature Hook's signature bass playing (and it's not on all of them). Musically, it's pretty good and more dancey than either of New Order's last two albums. For fans of frontman Bernard Sumner's unique lyrical gifts, there are some real gems to be heard here.

You can stream the whole of Lost Sirens over at Rolling Stone.

Peter Hook will be in town at the end of the month for two talks about his new book, Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division.

The rest of New Order were here in October.

As mentioned, Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook is giving his book, Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division, a North American release on January 29 and is promoting it with a book launch in NYC at DUMBO art space/bookstore Powerhouse Arena on January 28, where he'll be in conversation with PItchfork's Brandon Stosuy.

Peter has since added another book talk in NYC happening on January 29 at Strand Books, where he'll be in conversation with New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones. To attend you either have to purchase a copy of the book from Strand or buy a $10 gift card. The event runs from 7-8 PM.

Tonight (1/9) at The Strand, Ben Gibbard joins author Ron Currie, Jr. for an "evening of conversation and music."

Video of Peter Hook performing with Joy Division back in the day is below...

Continue reading "Peter Hook adds second book talk in NYC"

by Bill Pearis

The demystification process starts with Hook's portrayal of himself as a laddish delinquent who, thunderstruck by punk rock, spontaneously decides to form a band with Salford schoolfriend Bernard Sumner, and only develops his distinctively high, melodic bass-playing style to counteract the shortcomings of a cheap amp. Even as he lays bare Curtis's juvenile side, Hook seems somewhat in awe of the singer: the charismatic highbrow with the arty Belgian girlfriend and the love of Ballard and Burroughs.

There's a lovely image of Curtis in the studio, assembling his brutal, beautiful lyrics by rummaging through a carrier bag full of scraps of paper. Hook and Sumner are cast as comic relief, constantly overruled by belligerent producer Martin Hannett ("a lunatic wizard") and forbidden from speaking in interviews by manager Rob Gretton. "He didn't do it to create a mystique around the band but because he thought we were a couple of cretins." - [The Guardian]

This is Hook's second book, the first was The Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club, an extremely entertaining account of the Manchester club the band co-owned with Factory records and became ground zero for the late-'80s UK rave scene. Meanwhile, Hook continues to regurgitate his musical past with his band The Light. Having toured the Joy Division albums, he's gearing up to bring New Order's first two albums, Movement and Power, Corruption and Lies, on the road as well. While this may seem even more ill-advised than touring the Joy Division albums, Movement actually features Hook on lead vocals on "Dreams Never End" and "Doubts Even Here." No North American dates as of yet. And as you may know, New Order are going on without him, having played NYC back in October.

Book launch flyer below...

Continue reading "Peter Hook talking at NYC launch for his Joy Division book, gearing up to tour first two New Order LPs"

by Fred Pessaro // BBG

RJ Ober w/ Magrudergrind at Warsaw in June (more by Joe McCabe)

Much like in years prior, in addition my own favorites list of 2012 I sought out lists from some of my favorite artists as well including members of Loss, Coke Bust, Witch Mountain, Magrudergrind, and much much more. We already posted lists by Eugene Robinson of Oxbow and Curran Reynolds of Today Is The Day, and we posted Trevor De Bruaw of Pelican on BV Chicago. Check out more lists of the best of 2012 according to select metal/punk/hardcore bands below.

Continue reading "The Year in Heavy Part 2 -- Top 10 lists of 2012 from various metal/punk/hardcore bands & more"

photos by Fred Pessaro // BBG; words by Bill Pearis

New Order @ Roseland Ballroom, 10/19/2012

New Order played NYC for the first time in seven years last night at Roseland Ballroom. The group, now minus iconic bassist Peter Hook but with guitarist/keyboardist (and wife to drummer Stephen Morris) Gillian Gilbert back in the fold, the show opened with "Elegia," the towering instrumental from 1985's indespensible Low-Life, which led into "Crystal" from 2001's comeback album, Get Ready.

With Gilbert back in the band, the set leaned a little more keyboardy/dancey than when they played Hammerstein back in 2005, with "The Perfect Kiss" and Power, Corruption and Lies deep cut "5, 8, 6," though it seems a missed opportunity for them not to merge directly into "Blue Monday" as that song always seemed like a dry run for what is their most well-known song (and still record holder for biggest-selling 12" single of all time). A song from Technique might've been nice ("Dream Attack" maybe?) but nice set selection, though, all-around. Hook's replacement, Tom Chapman, aped his signature style just fine (and even wore a leather jacket)... but slung his bass about a foot and a half higher.

"Temptation" closed out the main set, and the band came back for an encore of Joy Division songs, "Atmosphere" and "Love Will Tear Us Apart." New Order will do it again tonight at Roseland which is sold out. Setlist from last night's show and more pictures are below.

Continue reading "New Order played Roseland Ballroom and will do it again tonight (pics, setlist)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

Blur/The Specials/New Order, Hyde Park 8/12/2012

Blur's frontman and driving force, Damon Albarn, had said this might be the band's final performance. But then Albarn has always been a competitive soul, and you wonder if he's just trying to outdo the culmination of the Olympics for significance.

For a while tonight, that appears to be a losing battle. Blur are preceded by the BBC's closing ceremony coverage, shown on a giant screen. As union flags flutter, the 80,000-strong crowd bellows along to the national anthem and cheers as Prince Harry takes his seat. When Madness kick off the entertainment in the stadium, Hyde Park dances along, and you wonder whether everyone's forgotten they've paid £55 to see Blur.

Then, abruptly, Madness are cut mid-song and the screens withdraw to reveal our headliners, under a replica of Albarn's beloved Westway. The band launch into an incendiary Girls and Boys, and, for the next two hours, Hyde Park is theirs. - [The Guardian]

What could be Blur's last-ever show is already up on iTunes and here for those who want a musical souvenir. It'll be released on CD next week.

Of course, it wasn't just Blur, as the concert also featured sets by The Specials, New Order (who have North American shows coming up) and youngsters Bombay Bicycle Club. Photos and setlists of all the band's from Sunday night's Hyde Park concert are below.

Continue reading "Blur, The Specials, New Order & Bombay Bicycle Club played the post-Olympics concert in Hyde Park (pics, video, setlist)"

New Order added a second Roseland show happening October 19, which is the day after the one they announced earlier (10/18). Tickets to both shows go on sale today (8/3) at 10 AM.

Updated tour dates are listed below...

Continue reading "New Order add second Roseland show, tickets on sale today"

by Bill Pearis

New Order, 2012 Edition

New Order have just announced a Fall tour of North America, including a New York date at Roseland on October 18. No on-sale date has been posted yet, but you can (like we will be) check Ticketmaster for updates.

This will be New Order's first NYC show since their Hammerstein Ballroom show in 2005. As you may be aware, this version of New Order does not feature bassist Peter Hook who is slightly irked that the band are getting someone else to perform his signature bass parts. However, this will mark the return of NO founding guitarist/keyboardist Gillian Gilbert who took a leave of absence from the group in 2001 to care for her and drummer Stephen Morris' child.

Hook is probably not too excited that New Order will play the 2012 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony alongside Blur and The Specials in London on August 12.

Check out a recent interview with Gilbert, Morris and frontman Bernard Sumner via YouTube below.

Meanwhile, despite saying how it's not the same New Order without him, he continues to tour with his band The Light playing Joy Division albums in full. He's also publishing a book about his years with the influential post-punk group, tilted Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division, which will be out in October. Says Hook:

It's very strange. Over the years Joy Division has become a huge part of music culture. A lot of people think they know what happened. But they don't. Anyone who's ever written a book or made a film about Joy Division, unless they were sat in that van or car with us, they don't know anything about it. Me, Barney, Steve, Ian, Rob, Twinny, Terry and Dave. Only us lot know what really happened...I supposed in the end it's almost too easy to look back and say what you should have done, how you might have changed things. How you might have done things differently and ultimately stopped Ian from doing what he did. What's harder, what's much, much harder, is to accept what you actually did do. Accept what you did do, and live with it.

Continue reading "New Order touring North America this fall including Roseland (dates); Peter Hook publishing a book on Joy Division"

by Bill Pearis

Tuning up the ol' Blur piano for today's Twittercast (via @blurofficial)

Blur, who reunited in 2009 and returned earlier this year to perform at the Brits and announce some festival dates, are performing two new songs today live on a global broadcast via their Twitter page. At 6:15PM GMT (1:15PM EDT) they'll perform "Under the Westway" and at 7:15PM GMT (2:15PM EDT) they'll perform "The Puritan." How exactly one performs live on Twitter remains to be seen. The songs will be available to download on iTunes immediately after the performance and there's a 7" single as well. Here's the link for the livestream which now has an archive of the performances.

UPDATE: Listen to the two new songs.

It's going to be a big summer for Blur, who on July 30 will release Blur 21, a giant retrpective box that contains:

All seven newly expanded two-disc studio albums

Four discs of rarities, exclusive to this set. Includes 3½ hours of previously unreleased material

Three DVDs including over 2 hours of previously unreleased footage. Includes two pivotal live shows and an exclusive disc of video rarities.

Collectable 7" single of the rare and previously unreleased live recording of the Seymour-era track Superman.

Deluxe hard-bound book telling the story of Blur's 21 year career with extensive liner notes based on a brand new interviews with the band, illustrated with imagery of the era, including some previously unseen photos.

The band still haven't played any US reunion shows, just a few in Europe, where they will continue to play some select shows and festivals, including Way Out West, this summer. Then on August 12 the band will play Hyde Park in London as part of closing concert for the 2012 Summer Olympics, a show that also features New Order (minus Peter Hook) and The Specials (minus Jerry Dammers).

After that, the future is uncertain. Damon Albarn has said this may be it for Blur (and Gorillaz) but in a "preview" video for the Twitter performances, bassist and cheesemaker Alex James said "who knows if this is the end... or the beginning of the next chapter."

A list of all dates, cover art for "Under the Westway," plus lyric sheet flyers for both songs and that Alex James video are below.

UPDATE: You can watch "Lyric Videos" for both songs are below as well.

Continue reading "Blur performing live on Twitter today, releasing new single, closing the 2012 Olympics, then breaking up for good?"

by BBG

Aaron Kenyon with a current project, Djam Karet

Aaron Kenyon, a founding member of Man is The Bastard, has weighed in on the controversial appropriation of the iconic skull logo by Akron/Family, and his views differ from that of his ex-bandmates. Check out Kenyon's statement below.

If you missed it, Man is the Bastard member Eric Wood initially made his thoughts known via Facebook which in turn led to ex-member Israel Lawrence weighing in and a public response from Akron/Family as well.

--

In semi-related news, Disney will no longer carry a highly-controversial t-shirt that molds the iconic Joy Division Unknown Pleasures album cover into a Mickey Mouse silhouette. Band members fell on both sides of the fence on this issue, with Peter Hook commenting to the LA Times that it was "flattering" and drummer Stephen Morris commenting that it was "horrible" and he was "quite angry".

Aaron Kenyon's statement on Man in the Bastard, below..

Continue reading "today in shirts: Disney stops carrying Joy Division design; another ex-Man is The Bastard member weighs in on Akron/Family issue"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Howler - I Told You Once (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fujiya & Miyagi - Ecstatic Dancer (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dinowalrus - What Now (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pre War - Out There (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Royal Baths - Darling Divine (MP3)

Howler

Welcome to the Stop SOPA edition of TWII. Do you know how hard it would be to do this column without free knowledge via the internet? It would be riddled with factual errors. More so!

Minneapolis underage upstarts Howler are in town playing a whole bunch of shows. The onslaught began last night with an in-store at Other Music (their album came out yesterday), and continues with: an early show tonight (January 18) with Happy People andTiberius,  January 19 at Death By Audio with Grooms andClouder, January 20 at Cameo Gallery with St. Lucia, and January 21 at Pianos with Dear Lions, Cemeteries, and The Everymen.

As mentioned, Howler's debut album came out yesterday and is titled America Give Up which kind of feels like a "just try not to like us" dare. Their sound -- a little Strokes, a little Jesus and Mary Chain, a little West Coast garage -- is indeed easy to like, even if there isn't much "new" about it. But the band have no shortage of hooks and a good dose of hard-to-fake attitude. As previously mentioned, ou can stream the whole thing at NPR.

Most of the hype is coming from the UK press who are still enamored with the Vaccines (with whom Howler's toured). I like Howler better than them and am going to make an effort to catch one of their shows this week. You should too, surely you've got one night free this week?

Fujiya & Miyagi

Also in town this week are Fugiya & Miyagi, playing Glasslands on Thursday (1/19) and Mercury Lounge on Saturday (1/21, sold out). The band have a new single out, "Ecstatic Dancer," that you can download at the top of this post. It's the kind of slinky, glammy stomper you could imagine Goldfrapp doing but with David Best's whispery vocals. No album attached to it as far as I can tell so it seems the single supports the tour, not the other way around as usual.

The band are also on the Power, Corruption & Lies Covered CD that comes with the February issue of MOJO, where the entirety of cover stars New Order's second album is covered by the likes of Destroyer, S.C.U.M. and Errors. Fujiya & Miyagi contribute a fairly wrote version of Side Two opener "Your Silent Face." (Stream it below.) The band are a good time live and are equally adept at both Neu!-style motorik and funky Can rhythms as you may already know. My favorite song is still "Ankle Injuries" but I'm looking forward to seeing them tomorrow.

Thursday's Glasslands show is with Zambri, who really impressed me at Glasslands last month, Rarechild and The Golden Filter on DJ duties. For Saturday's show at Merc, openers are Aimes, Jangulaand Dinowalrus.

Dinowalrus

Dinowalrus' second album, Best Behavior, is due out March 6 on Old Flame records. If you haven't seen them in a while, the band dropped the dissonance in favor of a sound under the influenced of late '80s Manchester. While that means some danceable tracks, it also means atmospheric rockers like "What Now" which veers closer to The Chameleons or The Sound. You can download it at the top of this post.

Jonathan Wilson

If you're looking for something a little more mellow, man, perhaps you should check out onetime Eisley bassist Jonathan Wilson who is here for three shows this week. He's at Mercury Lounge tomorrow (1/19) for an early show and again  on Friday (1/20) for a late show with Quilt), and then hits the Rock Shop on Saturday (1/ 21).

Jonathan Wilson's Gentle Spirit made its way onto many Best of 2011 lists, coming in at #4 on MOJO's year end coverage. Pazz n' Jop notsomuch, only three votes, which landed it in a 21-way tie for #372. Mind you, Wilson's music -- which recalls the heyday of early '70s Laurel Canyon -- is prime fodder for a magazine like MOJO that has a Beatle on the cover at least once a year, but Gentle Spirit is a genuinely gorgeous album that exudes a West Coast vibe even in the coldest New York winter. Spotify users can listen to the album here.

This is the only picture on Pre War's Facebook

And finally, for many in New York the phrase "pre war" is code for "not many electric outlets and no sink in the bathroom" but maybe that will change with Pre War the rock band who have dusted themselves off from the recently defunct Conversion Party. Like that band, Pre War traffic in catchy, big-chorused indie rock. Check out "Out There" at the top of this post and you can listen to more at the band's Tumblr.

You can catch Pre War live Thursday (1/19) at Cake Shop where they play with Grand Rapids, Plates of Cake, and Hunny.

That's the big stuff for this week. Day-by-day picks not covered above are below. Fight the power!

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18

Sharon Van Etten is at Mercury Lounge which if you don't have tickets, is sold out. She's got lots more shows coming up, though. Her new album, Tramp, is really good.

continued below...

Continue reading "Howler, Fujiya & Miyagi, Dinowalrus, Pre War, Jonathan Wilson, Royal Baths & more in This Week in Indie"

by BBG

1/4 of Joy Division (aka Peter Hook) performing as Joy Division in Brest, 9th March 2011

"I first heard about this on Monday and it has taken me completely by surprise! Everyone knows that NEW ORDER without PETER HOOK is like QUEEN without FREDDIE MERCURY, U2 without THE EDGE, SOOTY without SWEEP!

On a more serious note, I do not understand the decision THE OTHER THREE have taken. I wish they had approached me first. I do not agree with the methods they have used and feel it would have been courteous and professional to have spoken to me in advance of the announcements. It is very sad.

Love PETER HOOK x Sept 2011

by Bill Pearis

Despite a general consensus that it's a not the greatest idea or use of his time, Peter Hook and his current band The Light continue to tour the Joy Division catalogue and will be in New York next Tuesday (9/13) for a show at Gramercy Theatre, a show that was originally supposed to be at Irving Plaza. Where last year's tour concentrated on Unknown Pleasures, this time the focus will be on Joy Division's second, final album, Closer. Some dates on this tour will still get Unknown Pleasures, though, and all tour dates are below indicating which album Peter Hook & the Light will be performing.

Back in May, Peter Hook & the Light released an EP of new versions Joy Division songs, including the unrecorded "Pictures in My Mind" plus three other songs with lead vocals by Rowetta who sang with Happy Mondays in the '90s and later placed fourth on the first UK season of Simon Cowell's X Factor. Videos for The Light's versions of "Atmosphere" (with Rowetta) and "Pictures in My Mind" (with Hook taking lead vocals) are at the bottom of this post.

Meanwhile, the rest of New Order are reuniting without Peter Hook, and that includes keyboardist/guitarist Gillian Gilbert who hasn't played with the band since the '90s. Gilbert was a part of the recording of 2001's Get Ready but bowed out of touring to take care of her and husband (and New Order drummer) Stephen Morris' daughter. Replacing Hook will be Tom Chapman, who plays in Bernard Summner's Bad Lieutenant. I wonder how low he slings his bass? This version of New Order play October 17 at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels and October 18 at La Bataclan in Paris and both shows are benefits for ailing friend of the band Michael Shamburg who produced many of the band's '80s videos. Maybe they'll stick to songs from 1992's Republic which doesn't features much of Hook's signature bass style.

Speaking of Gilbert, she and Morris (who made records as The Other Two in the early '90s) have released a new EP, Swing, under the name Gillian and Stephen on their own Hard Cheese label, consisting of house-y instrumentals originally conceived and written as a soundtrack to Anna Blessman & Peter Saville's exhibition between October 2010 and January 2011 at the Gallerie Frac Champagne-Ardenne in France. Saville designed the sleeve.

You can stream a track off the Swing EP at the bottom of this post, which is also where you can find those Peter Hook & the Light videos and tour dates.

Continue reading "Peter Hook 'Closer' show moved to Gramercy (updated dates), the rest of New Order reuniting for charity"

Much to the displeasure of many, Peter Hook and his band The Light performed Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures on tour last year. This year, they'll do the same with Closer, though they will still perform Unknown Pleasures in select locations. The North American tour kicks off in September and hits NYC on September 13 at Irving Plaza, where they will play Closer. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (7/8) at noon. All dates are listed below.

In May, Peter Hook and the Light released their debut EP 1102/2011 on Hacienda records. The EP features three Joy Division tracks with lead vocals by The Light member Rowetta, who Hook first collaborated with when she recorded vocals for his other band Freebass. The fourth and last song on the EP is an unfinished Joy Division track, "Pictures In My Mind," with lead vocals performed by Hook. You can purchase a download of the EP here

Check out the video for "Pictures In My Mind" below along the EP album art, tracklist, and all tour dates....

Continue reading "now Peter Hook is performing 'Closer' on tour, released an EP of new/redone Joy Division songs (dates)"

Peter Hook @ the Philly show on 12/2/10 (King Taco)

As a tour repeatedly billed as "Peter Hook Presents Unknown Pleasures," it wholly delivered on the premise.

The New Order track-free set featured note-nailing impressions of Joy Division's "No Love Lost," "Leaders of Men," "Glass," and "Digital," before covering their most famous LP from front to back. All the pleasures you'd expect of Pleasures were present -- the punchy, sumptuous intro of "New Dawn Fades," guitars searing during "Shadowplay," the jagged moves of "She's Lost Control." More fleshed out than the record, even.

Hook couldn't quite mimic Curtis' authoritative vocals, but his calls were crisp and competently matched each song's tone. He particularly savored the big repeated yells that close so many Joy Division songs. They show his animated side just waiting to break out.

"Transmission" was feisty, too, which is to be expected, but then the band filled "Love Will Tear Us Apart" with an ecstatic thunder the original never touched.

Hook warmly said, "Thank you and good night. God bless you all," before the whole gang left for good, removing any doubt that he shouldn't be taking this material on. Appearances from Sumner and Morris would have been nice, yes, but no cash-in would have been so devoted to its source material. Hook didn't try to be Curtis, which was the best path he could take. -[Spin]

As Vice points out in a post entitled "SOMEONE STOP PETER HOOK" (a more popular opinion than SPIN's), a crowd member handled the vocals on "Ceremony" in Boston. Even worse, according to "Fuc 51" on Twitter, "Hook announced he had been paid $10,000" by the guy. We haven't fact checked the money transaction, but you can watch a video of the number, along with some videos from Webster Hall, below...

Continue reading "Peter Hook's 'Unknown Pleasures' tour continues (played Webster Hall & with a fan in Boston)"

by Bill Pearis

Bad Lieutenant, the band Bernard Sumner formed after New Order officially split three years ago, will make their New York debut at Webster Hall on November 21 -- tickets are on American Express pre-sale Wednesday, with general sale starting Friday (10/9). And according to Sumner in a Rolling Stone interview, Bad Lieutenant will also open for all four of Pixies' Doolittle shows at Hammerstein Ballroom that same week, though there has yet to be any official confirmation.

The band's debut album, Never Cry Another Tear, is out this week digitally and will be available in physical form next week. The line-up includes guitarists Phil Cunningham, who replaced founding member Gillian Gilbert in 2001, and Jake Evans who sings lead on a few of Never Cry Another Tear's songs. Live, Bad Lieutenant also features New Order drummer Stephen Morris, with Thom Chapman on bass. Sumner talked to Pitchfork about the new group:

Continue reading "Bad Lieutenant (Bernard Sumner) playing Joy Division, New Order & other songs @ Webster Hall & at all 4 Pixies shows?"

by Black Bubblegum

Blur @ Rough Trade East

What happens when you take a recently disassembled New Order, subtract one, and add in a partial Blur. Apparently, you get an Abel Ferrara film starring Harvey Keitel. Confused?

Frontman Bernard Sumner, drummer Stephen Morris and guitarist Phil Cunningham have joined with Blur's Alex James for Bad Lieutenant's debut album, due in October. "I'm very proud of it, it's a very good album," Sumner told the BBC. "It's pretty guitary too because we've got three guitarists in the band." There may yet be more guitarists added - Sumner has promised that other Manchester musicians are to join the "collective" on tour. -[The Guardian]

Around 10:42, Graham Coxon's Twitter page gave the game away, rallying the troops to Brixton Academy for eighteen minutes later. A mad dash over the river, through the market and into the unnervingly miniscule queue ensued and fifteen minutes later, wrists were endowed with shining green/ gold dust wristbands emblazoned with the band's now iconic freeform font. All that was left to do was wait.... Until eventually, ...phones and electronic inboxes alike were bombarded with conclusive info as to the wheres and then the whens; Rough Trade East, on stage at 7pm sharp, no arrivals before half six for fear of jeopardising the whole shebang.

...Rough Trade is transformed into the best garage gig never to entail smashed windscreens as involuntary feedback rasps through the murky humidity of an Amazonian rainforest. Invigorating, inspiring and utterly unmissable, the reunion never sounded so victorious. - [Virgin Blog]

The recent shows in the UK are only a handful of their upcoming festival-heavy schedule. Check that out, as well as setlists from both nights and video from last night, below...

Continue reading "Blur played some shows (setlists, video, more dates) + Alex James & most of New Order form Bad Lieutenant "