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REVIEW: New Order - Hordern Pavillion 7.03.12

13 March 2012 | 12:30 pm | Staff Writer

The nostalgia for New Order's back catalogue didn't detract from the energy of their performance in Sydne'ys Hordern Pavilion.

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There’s little that hasn’t been written already about NEW ORDER. Rising from the ashes of JOY DIVISION, falling apart in a very public rift and coming together once more in light of a friend’s ill-health, rollercoaster doesn’t quite capture the journey of these godfathers of new wave/electronica.

While sans a certain Peter Hook, a healthy crowd of 80s tragic and hangers-on gathered at the Hordern Pavilion tonight to witness the partial reformation of NEW ORDER, playing their first Sydney dates in over ten years.

The Naked and Famous opened proceedings with their infectious brand of sugar-coated shoegaze-pop. A subdued and ageing crowd did no favours for the UK-based Kiwis in spite of a pitch-perfect Alisa Xayalith. Their vibrant, reverb-laden set was highlighted by anthems like ‘Punching in a Dream’ and ‘Girls Like You’. Take notice y’all, these guys have a massive future in front of them.

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Cometh the hour, cometh the legends, and at the stroke of nine-thirty, Salford’s finest appeared on the Hordern stage. Playing a veritable ‘Sounds of the 80s’ setlist, the band allowed an ex-pat heavy crowd to re-live their youth. All the ingredients were there: Bernard Sumner’s high-slung guitar, the patented New Order  fx and futuristic sounds, and even whispers in the crowd of a JOY DIVISION cover in amongst the setlist. No prizes for guessing which song.

For the moment though, we’d have to settle for the pop sensibility and crisp snare drum clatter of ‘True Faith’ and ‘Temptation’, while classic hooks from ‘Age of Consent’ got some weary bones moving. On stage, frontman Sumner was in typical form: his cheeky yet charming exchanges with the crowd were a feature in themselves.

Crowd favourites like ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ and ‘Blue Monday’ forced a shimmy out of the stoic-est of punters, and even the taint of a cheesy ad-campaign couldn’t take away from opener ‘Crystal’. The crowd collectively held their breath for the closer, but anticipation quickly turned to rejoicing as Sumner announced ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, extending our nostalgic swoon for a few moments longer.

With such a tight performance, it’s hard to believe these guys had only just gotten back together.