By Wayne Baggs
There are some concerts where you go in knowing exactly what you’re going to get, and Peter Hook & The Light at HISTORY was one of those nights — and honestly, that’s not a bad thing at all.
The show marked the 25th anniversary of New Order’s Get Ready, and Hook and the band played the album from beginning to end. Tracks like “Crystal,” “60 Miles an Hour,” “Turn My Way” and “Run Wild” sounded every bit as good live as they do on record, with Hook’s unmistakable bass driving everything along.
But the second half of the night was where things really kicked into another gear. Joy Division classics like “Disorder,” “New Dawn Fades,” “Transmission” and “Shadowplay” were mixed with New Order favourites including “Ceremony,” “Temptation,” “True Faith” and “Blue Monday.” And, of course, there was no way Hook was going to leave Toronto without “Love Will Tear Us Apart.”
Hook seemed genuinely happy to be there, joking with the crowd and acknowledging the significance of playing Get Ready exactly 25 years after its release. There was also a nice sense of history to the whole evening, considering Joy Division’s long and somewhat complicated connection with Toronto.
At 70, Hook isn’t trying to recreate the past so much as keep it alive. And judging by the packed room at HISTORY, there are still plenty of people more than happy to come along for the ride.
Two hours and forty minutes, 32 songs, and a whole lot of memories. Not a bad Thursday night in Toronto.
BKonthescene 