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Peter Hook And The Light: Preserving The Memory
Bringing Joy Division Back To Life

Ian Curtis Joy Division | Peter Hook and the Light Royal Oak MI |Royal Oak Music Theater | Alternative Rock |Goth| New Order Royal Oak Michigan | Joy Division Royal Oak MI | New Order Substance Live| Joy Division Hot Metro Finds | Ian Curtis Suicide| New Music Royal Oak | Sex Pistols | Manchester bands

ROYAL OAK, MICHIGAN - When one thinks of the late '70s band Joy Division the image of unfathomable doom and gloom appears. Instantly the image of lead singer Ian Curtis' tragic suicide comes to mind. This is a horrible image and overshadows the complexity of such an incredible band. Joy Division bassist Peter Hook recreates that claustrophobic as well as euphoric life energy into his band The Light.

The show, Peter Hook and the Light, is a combination of two unique rock bands. New Order is Joy Division's next lifeform after lead singer Ian Curtis hung himself in 1980. The opening set for the show, now on tour, re-introduces us to a jubilant time in New Music. Everything seems new and that is reflected through the songwriting. They explore deep emotion, love, beauty, ego, and jealousy. The show has an intermission and Peter Hook and The Light do a Joy Division set. The contrast of both bands is very noticeable and at times off-putting. The full experience makes you think deeply about life and death. It's very moving and an emotional tribute to an extraordinary musical life.

Getting To The Root Of Joy Division

To understand the complexity of the show, one has to dig deeper into the Joy Division story. If you are lucky enough to catch this show, you will want to know the back history. The story for this band takes off like oh so many others in 1976. It begins with The Sex Pistols playing on The Anarchy In The UK Tour. Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Steven Morris are in attendance at the Manchester Free Trade Hall concert. The four men are friends and attend this school. This is the show that all the scenester kids attended including Stephen Patrick Morrissey who later went on to form The Smiths.

Ian Curtis Joy Division | Peter Hook and the Light Royal Oak MI |Royal Oak Music Theater | Alternative Rock |Goth| New Order Royal Oak Michigan | Joy Division Royal Oak MI | New Order Substance Live| Joy Division Hot Metro Finds | Ian Curtis Suicide| New Music Royal Oak | Sex Pistols | Manchester bands

This show transformed their young vision and got them to think about themselves in uncensored terms. The common thought here is that kids were sick of the great wall between rock stars and the audience. Big bands like The Who, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin seemed too enormous to relate to. That summer of 1976 was a time of revolt and rebellion. The U.K. Punk Movement was all about the kids taking up instruments and making their own music. The Sex Pistols gave them permission to do so.

The band they formed was named Warsaw. It was like the many other punk bands of its day, in which they played hard chunky 12 bar chords, at full volume. They were full of manic energy, raw, and seethed with anger. In comparison to the other bands of its time, they were considered unremarkable by the rock critics and journalists. I disagree with them because Warsaw was very rich, angst and it had a lot of punch that has aged well even today.

Joy Division Under Review is a documentary that lays out some important truths regarding this incredible Post Punk band. It interviews author Mick Middles "Torn Apart: The Life Of Ian Curtis" and Pat Gilbert, the editor of MOJO Magazine. It is important for a fan to understand the concepts that are presented here so one can get a better grip on the performance.

Ian Curtis Joy Division | Peter Hook and the Light Royal Oak MI |Royal Oak Music Theater | Alternative Rock |Goth| New Order Royal Oak Michigan | Joy Division Royal Oak MI | New Order Substance Live| Joy Division Hot Metro Finds | Ian Curtis Suicide| New Music Royal Oak | Sex Pistols | Manchester bands

The transformation into Joy Division was a result of meeting Factory Records producer Tony Wilson. He was immediately attracted to their raw sound. The band dressed up in East European type clothes and sang about the dark side of life. Their name came from a 1955 novel called "House Of Dolls" in which the Nazis forced women into prostitution. The band cut two singles on a disc known as The Factory Sampler. The tracks "Glass" and "Digital" set the tone.

There were initial thoughts that the band's look and sound would attract a fascist element. But Joy Division had only a juvenile fascination with the Nazi-themed name. Their song content was focussed on the darker side of humanity. The band was then shown on the Grey Whistle Test and the Revolver television program.

They were well received and Tony Wilson produced the first album. He hired Martin Hannett, who did the first Buzzcocks E.P. "Spiral Scratch". This is a very important moment for the band because he altered their direction. The drumming style went from a rolling sound to more of a disco drum beat.

Ian Curtis Joy Division | Peter Hook and the Light Royal Oak MI |Royal Oak Music Theater | Alternative Rock |Goth| New Order Royal Oak Michigan | Joy Division Royal Oak MI | New Order Substance Live| Joy Division Hot Metro Finds | Ian Curtis Suicide| New Music Royal Oak | Sex Pistols | Manchester bands

That small detail is essential to the Joy Division sound. It added more depth and complexity and made them appear more intelligent. This sound difference also opened the door to a much larger audience. This intelligent crowd embraced them from the traditional punk audience. In many ways, Joy Division was forging its own genre as their sound got more electronic and mechanical.

Another important distinction was that the band was not particularly well-read. There was nothing pretentious about them and they weren't well educated. The bandmates would meet at the pub after recording and joke around. They weren't as gloomy as portrayed, (think of their first NME magazine cover photo) and seemed friendly on the surface. But once they entered the recording studio something else emerged. Joy Division was transformed into a dark force.

That energy was overwhelming and was capable of filling up an entire stadium. This was a very atmospheric sound and it connected deeply into the hearts of disaffected youth. This is what Peter Hook and the Light are recreating for us on this tour. We get a rare chance to experience the full energy blast from this iconic cult band. That experience is very full and real exposing the beauty, as well as the profane.

 


ROCK IN DETROIT!!   

Ian Curtis Joy Division | Peter Hook and the Light Royal Oak MI |Royal Oak Music Theater | Alternative Rock |Goth| New Order Royal Oak Michigan | Joy Division Royal Oak MI | New Order Substance Live| Joy Division Hot Metro Finds | Ian Curtis Suicide| New Music Royal Oak | Sex Pistols | Manchester bands

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