Gig Review: New Order 18.10.06 Carling Academy Glasgow

After the day before's ecstatic Erase Errata gig, it is with some trepidation I stand waiting for New Order to take the stage in Glasgow's cavernous Carling Academy, (not aided by the fact that support band The Shores are one of the worst bands I have ever had the misfortune to see live). After all, Joy Division/New Order are one (two?) of my absolute favourite bands; I have a deep emotional connection to their songs. It has been 17 years since 'Technique', their last great album, and, to be honest, they're getting on a bit and last year's 'Waiting for the Siren's Call' was a hideously awful album; what if they simply can't cut it anymore and wind up embarrassing themselves? Plus I'm not sure how I feel about them playing Joy Division songs again; this could be an incredibly disillusioning experience. But the band take the stage (minus Gillian Gilbert, who is at home looking after her and drummer Stephen Morris' children) and launch into a fantastic version of 'True Faith', and my doubts are assuaged. Tonight they are brilliant; Bernard Sumner dances like your dad at a wedding after too many beers, but that's always been part of his charm - forced into the position of frontman by circumstance, his everyday-guy persona became part of the band's songs. Peter Hook's back gives out halfway through the performance, but he gamely plays on, encouraged by the crowd. The new songs, although less good and received accordingly, provide a necessary breather in a setlist packed with songs that are not just the band's greatest hits, but a good many people's favourite songs: 'Ceremony', 'Temptation', 'Bizarre Love Triangle', 'Blue Monday' and more, played with a passion and intensity that you'd think would be beyond guys this age. What's really striking is, in the live setting, songs like the beautifully tragic 'Temptation' become ecstatic and uplifting: New Order are all too keenly aware of the pain and suffering that everyday people face throughout their lives, but are convinced that there is love and happiness to be found also. Thus is Joy Division's existential angst converted to release on the dance floor. Stephen Morris is the beating heart of the band; his metronomic drumming and electronic programming fuelling the band, and this is wonderfully apparent tonight, with many songs starting simply with Morris' drumming and the synthesiser alone accompanying Sumner's vocals entire verses before the guitars enter. They also play Joy Division classics 'These Days', 'Transmission' and 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', and all three sound absolutely wonderful, the band slipping into Joy Division mode with an ease that belies the necessary emotional difficulty this must involve for them. The audience leaves the concert satisfied. New Order do their fantastic back catalogue proud, and if any band of the last 30 years deserves to sit back and bask in their own glory for a while, it's surely them. After their struggles and trials, not to mention 6 great albums and numerous fantastic singles, New Order have earnt it.