In town to help promote the new Manchester based music festival and conference Beyond The Music, taking place from October 11-14, you could argue that legendary Mancunian act New Order was the headliner for the festival.
Even if they were not, it will be hard for any acts to top the 90 minute set of bangers that New Order put out on Monday night (most bands at SXSW are given 40 minutes)
Having seen New Order four times now (including last September on their tour with Pet Shop Boys) so I pretty much knew what to expect including knowing the song order down to a tee (predictable due to the use of visuals)
You would think that would have diminished it for me- NOPE! Starting with their 2000 hit “Crystal”, the band took the packed crowd at Moody on a journey through their expansive discography of hits. Predictably, the best responses were for “Bizarre Love Triangle”, “True Faith”, “Temptation” and of course “Blue Monday”. Who else can say they saw New Order play “Blue Monday” on a Monday? We can. Everyone was singing along to every song and it was one big dance party.
As per usual, the encore was dedicated to Joy Division and on this occasion we got more than the one tune we got at the Toronto show. “Atmosphere” and “Transmission” were added to the inevitable “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, which I personally love even if it does hit differently without Ian Curtis’ deep voice.
90 minutes of dancing, nostalgia and fun for the sold out crowd – what more can you ask for to kick off SXSW?
For more info about the festival they were here to promote click here.