Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance to the Radio

I wasn't sure if their music would translate well live, but I was wrong. New Order put on a very impressive show. After 25+ years of playing, they can still put on an incredible show. Bernard's the entertainer, making bad jokes, talking to the crowd, while Peter is the rock star - getting in the face of the first row with his bass, wielding it as if he were a stormtrooper. And although they use lots of complicated, technical equipment, I don't think there were any major misshaps.

The packed house didn't dance as much as I would have liked to see (well, it is New York...) but they clearly liked all the classics. I hate to be the guy that likes the hits, but in this case, the New Order classics sounded the best - "True Faith," "Bizarre Love Triangle," and "Blue Monday," especially "Blue Monday" which I thought would be difficult to pull off live. And Ana Metronic did a good job with the guest vocals on "Jetstream." But who were those guys dancing behind the stage during "Love Will Tear Us Apart?"

The setlist (order?) ran:

Love Vigilantes, Regret, Transmission, True Faith, Hey Now What are You Doing, Krafty, Crystal, Bizarre Love Triangle, Run Wild, Jetstream, Love Will Tear Us Apart, Waiting for the Siren's Call, Temptation - Encore - She's Lost Control, Atmosphere, Blue Monday.

It was cool to hear the Joy Division songs. Stephen's drumming sounded very impressive on those tracks. I never thought that I would hear "Love Will..." live, and the crowd loved it. Even Peter made a joke about it: "Ok, it's sing along time."

Overall, very good show. I didn't think the Hammerstein's sound was that great - I thought it could have been louder. Nevertheless, I was impressed.