Peter Hook commands your attention at the Union Transfer in Philadelphia on April 26, 2018. (Photo by Jason Nicholson)

It may be that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts — but in the case of great bands like Joy Division and New Order, each individual part has a distinct character that is irreplicable. Such is certainly the case with Peter Hook, storied bassist for both of those seminal bands. And although Peter fell out with his bandmates in New Order, he thankfully continues to perform their songs — songs with which he left an indelible mark on modern music — with his band The Light.

Peter Hook & The Light kicked off a North American tour at Union Transfer in Philadelphia on Thursday, and our Jason Nicholson was along for the ride to shoot some pictures.

When Hooky formed The Light in 2010, he wisely turned to his former bandmates in Monaco, who produced two really good records together in the ’90s, to master the catalogs of Joy Division and New Order. Peter Hook & The Light performed those songs in a train of greatest hits derived from the Substance compilation albums of 1987 and 1988, in Phildelphia, and they will continue to perform the Substance songs along this tour except for one special stop in Los Angeles, when they will decicate the show to Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures and Closer.

So for most shows, expect to hear the likes of “Everything’s Gone Green,” “Blue Monday,” “The Pefect Kiss,” and “Bizarre Love Triangle” by New Order as well as “Isolation,” “Shadowplay,” “Transmission,” and “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division, among others. As opposed to the icy sheen in the voice of Bernard Sumner, Hooky sings these songs with a kick and a growl, imbuing them with a greater sense of rock ‘n roll than their traditional treatments.

Watch Peter Hook & The Light perform “Ceremony” by New Order on Glyndwr TV in 2015:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91JnHYho7Hg]

Here are the remaining 2018 North American tour dates for Peter Hook & The Light. You’ll see a hell of a show by a true original when you catch Peter Hook and his band at any one of these shows.

April 26 – Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA
April 27 – Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn, NY
April 28 – Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
April 30 – Théâtre Fairmount, Montreal, QC
May 1 – The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON
May 3 – Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI
May 4 – Metro Chicago, IL
May 7 – First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
May 8 – VENUE, Vancouver, BC
May 10 – Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA
May 11 – Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
May 12 – The Warfield, San Francisco, CA
May 14 – Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas, NV
May 15 – Metro Music Hall, Salt Lake City, UT
May 17 – The Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ
May 18 – The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA (Exclusive Unknown Pleasures and Closer show)
May 19 – House of Blues San Diego, CA
May 21 – Ace Of Spades, Sacramento, CA
May 22 – Granada Theater, Dallas, TX
May 23 – Mohawk Austin, TX
May 25 – Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC
May 26 – The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
May 27 – Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
May 29 – Exit/In, Nashville, TN
May 30 – Paper Tiger, San Antonio, TX
May 31 – Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
June 3 – The Plaza Live, Orlando, FL
June 4 – State Theatre Saint Petersburg, FL

And here are some pictures of Peter Hook & The Light performing at Union Transfer in Philadelphia on April 26, 2018. All photos copyright and courtesy of Jason Nicholson.