Review: New Order deliver the hits in LA

On a rare rainy day in Los Angeles, English new-wave icons New Order took the stage at the YouTube Theater. Returning to California in about a year’s time, singer Bernard Sumner and co. sold out the 6,000-capacity venue in anticipation of their headlining set at the first annual Darker Waves Festival in Huntington Beach. 

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Fans filtered into the theater, retreating from the rain and removing their jackets and coats, revealing Peter Saville “Mr. Disco” and Joy Division Unknown Pleasures shirts. After an opening set from U.K. darlings Blossoms, New Order performed for two hours, having to sacrifice a song to maintain the city curfew. The venue lights shut down slowly, illuminating the LED screen behind the stage, which showcased women jumping into a pool on a loop. Richard Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde: Prelude & Liebestod” welcomed the band in a shroud of mystery and fog. Then, New Order kicked off the set with opening tracks from four different albums: Get Ready’s “Crystal,” Republic’s “Regret,” Power, Corruption & Lies’ “Age of Consent,” and Substance 1987’s “Ceremony.” In the first 20 minutes of playing, the band expressed why they are one of the most respected bands of all time. The amount of nostalgia mixed with evocative dance emotions had the audience on their feet.

Founding members Sumner, drummer Stephen Morris, and keyboardist Gillian Gilbert were noticeably in their element, but 2011 additions, including guitarist Phil Cunningham and bassist Tom Chapman, blended into the set and held their own. Two large screens on each side of the stage remained in black and white while the main screen backing the stage featured colored graphics, uniting the darkness that embodied Joy Division that ultimately birthed the more poppy and new-wave dance tracks of New Order. The audience cheered when Sumner mentioned Joy Division, performing “Isolation” before bouncing between “newish” New Order songs and classics like “The Perfect Kiss” and “Your Silent Face.” Sumner even walked to the very end of the stage, dishing out chords and becoming a full-on conductor to the fans in the first rows during “Sub-Culture.”

Just as they began with four hits, one after the other, New Order concluded their 16-song show with their largest tracks, “Truth Faith,” “Blue Monday,” and “Temptation.” Blue lights flickered and lasers roamed around the theater during “Blue Monday,” matching the dark synthwave sound. At the end, fans harmonized alongside Sumner for “Temptation” as well as clapped in unison.

Less than five minutes later, due to the curfew, New Order walked back on to play two Joy Division cuts. Photos of the late Ian Curtis, taken by close friend of the band Anton Corbijn, displayed on all screens, focusing in on his eyes during “Atmosphere” along with the music video for the track directed by Corbijn. “Transmission” was deducted, and the band concluded rather quickly with Joy Division’s pivotal song, “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” With nearly 43 years under their belt, New Order proved how seminal and, more importantly, why they dominated ’80s airwaves.

New Order’s Darker Waves (November 15, 2023) setlist

1. “Crystal”
2. “Regret”
3. “Age of Consent”
4. “Ceremony”
5. “Restless”
6. “Isolation” (Joy Division cover)
7. “Your Silent Face”
8. “The Perfect Kiss”
9. “Be a Rebel”
10. “Sub-Culture”
11. “Bizarre Love Triangle”
12. “Vanishing Point”
13. “Plastic”
14. “Truth Faith”
15. “Blue Monday”
16. “Temptation”

Encore

1. “Atmosphere” (Joy Division cover)
2. “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (Joy Division cover)