Show Review: Peter Hook and the Light, El Ten Eleven at The Wiltern 5/18/18

Take The Shock Away!Peter Hook and the Light-9

It often feels like a number of artists these days are playing up the waves of nostalgia for their music. So many bands that have been laying dormant have been coming out of the woodwork with reunion tours, new albums, and renewed activity, enough so that my lovely editor had made mention in passing to me that most of the bands at festivals were made up of 50 year olds. Personally, I don’t really care. I like music, and if a band I like gets back together or does something new, I’m all for it. So when I first heard that Peter Hook had formed his own band in 2008 and started playing Joy Division songs I was pretty much all for it. I love Joy Division. I lamented that Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu’s live Joy Division cover shows were so far out of reach and further lamented missing out on Hook’s shows, but it’s looking like 2018 is just starting to turn into MY year for concerts! Continue reading “Show Review: Peter Hook and the Light, El Ten Eleven at The Wiltern 5/18/18”

The Substance of Peter Hook

Peter Hook and the Light hit the North American stages once again!

No language, just sound, that's all we need know.
Photo by Jonathan Pirro at The Mezzanine (SF) in 2011.

Peter Hook’s saga of rock and roll history is not one to be trifled with. His indelible mark as a bass player and musical progenitor has been left in the forms of both Joy Division and New Order, two bands who influenced incredible waves over their tenures. What probably sets him apart from most musicians involved in such influential and groundbreaking groups is his unabashed and pure honesty in recollection. Anyone could just accept the moniker of “groundbreaking creator,” but how many will tell you that their entire style evolved over the fact that their equipment was shit and they just couldn’t hear themself during band practice?

Continue reading “The Substance of Peter Hook”