DC’s top blog for live concert reviews
Bernard Sumner fronts New Order at The Anthem on Aug. 28, 2018. (Photos by Kyle Gustafson; Words by Mickey McCarter)
Songs about heartbreak are usually pretty straightforward. Boy meets girl, girl dumps boy, boy sulks. But “True Faith” by New Order fiercely subverts that paradigm. “A sudden sense of liberty,” unbidden, provides sweet perspective.
New Order (Photo by Nick Wilson)
We at Parklife DC are beyond thrilled that New Order, one of our all-time favorite bands, will perform at The Anthem later this month. So, we are hosting a night of music consisting of New Order, Joy Division, and their related bands at Dodge City on Thursday, Aug. 9.
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.
Peter Hook performs at The Howard Theatre in DC on Nov. 23, 2016. (Photo by Jason Nicholson)
Peter Hook, former bassist for New Order and Joy Division, is once again touring the “greatest hits” of both bands with a special tour featuring Peter Hook & The Light performing the Substance compilation albums from each. Peter Hook & The Light launch the 2018 Substance Tour on April 26 at Union Transfer in Philadelphia.
Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey (right) of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (Photo courtesy Ticketfly)
The brilliant Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) released The Punishment of Luxury, their 13th studio album, on Sept. 1 via 100% Records subsidiary White Noise. The album fared very well commercially, hitting #4 on the UK Albums chart as well as #7 on the US Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
I had the genuine pleasure of again chatting with Andy McCluskey, vocalist, bassist, keyboardist, and songwriter for OMD, as the band will launch a North American Tour with a performance at 9:30 Club on March 6, 2018. (It’s not officially announced by 9:30 Club yet, but buy your tickets online here.)
In our chat, Andy provides insights into songs on The Punishment of Luxury, shares his feelings on recent work by Gary Numan and New Order, and reveals artists (with some surprises) with whom OMD would like to collaborate (particularly as they approach their 40th anniversary as a band).
I babbled a bit more than usual because he’s a personal hero, and as such my interview covered a lot of ground. I’ve edited the order of the questions to improve their logical flow and trimmed them where necessary for brevity. (Also, perhaps read our previous Parklife DC interview with Andy McCluskey from May 2016.)
Moving Units perform at DC9 on March 1, 2017. (Photo by Paivi)
Blake Miller of Moving Units brought his post-punk outfit Moving Units to DC9 on Wednesday to play the songs of Joy Division. And it was glorious.
Moving Units (Photo by Jeffrey Jacquin)
Blake Miller of Moving Units is taking his L.A. dance-punk band on the road with a very specific concept. On their current tour, Moving Units present the songs of Joy Division, and they will pay homage to the legendary post-punk Mancunians with a stop at DC9 on Wednesday, March 1.
Andy Jillson
Brenda Reyes
Chester Simpson
chriscastilloweb
Chris R. Smyth
Daniel Webb
Ari Strauss
David LaMason
EDMit it
Shantel M Breen
isaiahhattix
jasonnicholsonphoto
jesternate
julesontheroadphotos
kristiechua
Mark Caicedo
Mark Engleson
Mathew Harkins
Corey Paterson
mdxpc
Mickey McCarter
Miyun Park
Neal Keller
Parklifer
Kyle Gustafson
paivi
Rebecca
regardingtess
Robert Smith
Matt Ruppert
Will Colbert
wefoughtthebigone