New Order & Pet Shop Boys: A Hollywood Bowl Synthsation

As a L.A. native, I’m ashamed to admit this. I had never been to the Hollywood Bowl until October 8, 2022. It’s celebrating its 100th birthday this summer. What a time to finally make it there. The L.A. Times recently printed a commemorative section honoring the milestone for “the grande dame of amphitheaters.” “What other institution better embodies all the glories and lamentations of life in L.A.? The wonderful weather and the terrible traffic; the penchant for picnicking and the abysmal lack of parking; the fireworks-loving, artistic soul of the city and its omnipresent car alarms and police helicopters.” Our evening didn’t disappoint: 70 degrees at 10:00 p.m., a delicious salmon, quinoa, and cheesecake picnic box, and a 0.3 mile walk from the hotel. Even when avoiding the traffic/parking nightmare, a Hollywood Bowl show is not a casual night out. The sights, sounds, and smells are a sensory surplus – 17,500 fans, beautiful views, four hours of music and light, and after the show a gauntlet of vendors selling knock-off T-shirts and grilled sausage and onions hot dogs. “The Hollywood Bowl is not just a venue, it’s a destination. You go to enjoy a wide range of performances but also go just to be at the Bowl, and part of L.A. history.”*

New Order

New Order opened the co-headliners Unity Tour with “Regret” from 1993’s Republic album, a quintessential New Order song with its obtuse lyrics, subdued vocals, and trippy synth melodies. Next, one of my favorites, “Age of Consent,” from the 1983 Power, Corruption, and Lies LP, followed by “Ceremony,” the aching transitional song between Joy Division and New Order. The thrumming bass, reverb vocals, and flowing musical grief get me every time. After that trio of crowd-pleasers, it was “Academic” from their most recent release, Music Complete (2015). “Guilt is a Useless Emotion” was a welcome diversion with its full-on guitar attack (Get Ready and its follow-up Waiting for the Sirens Call were their guitar albums of the 2000s.) Of course, the synth-pop dance fever of “Bizarre Love Triangle” and “Blue Monday,” got the crowd bopping in familiar fashion. The set ended with the dour passion of Joy Division’s “Decades.” The first song of the encore was California Dreamin’. Say what? Well, it was the perfect setting to hear the Mamas and Papas ode to the warm climate of Los Angeles. “Love Will Tear Us Apart” was the finale. How could it not be? It’s post-punk’s lasting anthem and consistently ranks as one of the greatest songs of all time. The circumstances of the song – Ian Curtis’ disintegrating marriage, debilitating illness, and suicide one month after the song was released – will always call for solemn reflection amidst the song’s soaring darkness.

Pet Shop Boys

I knew the second act of the night would be a new experience for me – a basically guitar-less, keyboard-dominated band. While familiar with their big hits, I’d never seen the Pet Shop Boys or purchased any of their music (until I bought their collection of singles CD, Discography, shortly before the show to prep myself). The synth-pop duo (Neil Tennant, singer, Chris Lowe, keyboardist) set the tone for the evening with the opener “Suburbia,” starkly appearing in futuristic costumes, each behind a podium under streetlights. It was loudly evident by the third song, “Opportunities” (and its sing-along subtitle “Let’s Make Lots of Money”), that this was going to be a fun show (and that Neil Tennant’s voice has survived the years much better than New Order’s Bernard Sumner). The supporting band appeared then for more high-decibel audience participation with their one-of-a-kind mash-up, U2’s ” Where the Streets Have No Name” and Franki Valli and the Four Seasons’ “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” Mid-show songs “Left to My Own Devices,” “Domino Dancing,” and “Love Comes Quickly” reminded me of how many hits these guys have (42 top 30 singles). Another well-known cover “You Were Always on My Mind” brought synths to the world of Elvis and Willie. They concluded with “It’s a Sin,” “West End Girls,” and “Being Boring.” I’ve always enjoyed hearing the mega-hits like “West End Girls” live no matter how many times we’ve heard the song over the decades. “And we were never being boring” sent the fans home with a big smile.

More New Order – I’ve been a New Order fan since the Joy Division days (having all but one of their 10 albums and seeing them live a couple times previously at the Santa Barbara Bowl, 1989 and 2017). So, let’s take a look at a few other things to watch and read for New Order fans:

24-Hour Party People (2002) – Many of you may be familiar with this film chronicle of the Manchester, England music scene of the late ’70s and ’80s. The movie, directed by Michael Winterbottom, focuses on Factory Records, and its associated nightclub, the Hacienda. New Order was the flagship band for Factory Records, but the Happy Mondays, A Certain Ratio, and The Duritti Column are also covered.

Control (2007) – This biographical film on Ian Curtis may not be as familiar to people (I remember watching it in a small theater with three people in the audience). Sam Riley plays Ian and Samantha Morton his wife in director Anton Corbijin’s tale of the sad and influential life of the Joy Division front man.

Decades (2018) – You may have missed this Showtime film documenting a series of New Order concerts in collaboration with British conceptual artist, Liam Gillick. A 12-piece synthesizer orchestra plays behind them on multi-tiered sets with moving blinds. Yeah, interesting, weird, and a lot going on. An uneven film, but it’s a treat to see the band re-invent itself after 50 years.

Substance: Inside New Order (2017) – Peter Hook is a prolific writer along with being New Order’s original and long-time bass player. He wrote a lengthy trilogy on the band’s history, focusing on Factory Records and its nightclub (The Hacienda), Joy Division (Unknown Pleasures), and the one I read on New Order (Substance). At 724 pages it’s a tome for true New Order fans, album collectors, and musicians. I loved the track-by-track album look backs, detailed timelines, and tour stories. Musicians and sound techs will love his musical equipment side bar “Geek Alerts.” Hook is a bastard and says so himself. Bernard Sumner comes across as a prima donna and an asshole. What’s a rock bio without the leaders of the band eventually hating each other? (Hook finally left the band in 2007.)

* Quotes in the first paragraph on the Hollywood Bowl, courtesy of L.A. Times columnist Mary McNamara (6/5/22)

D² Concert Rating ◼◼◼◼◼ (Hey, it’s the Hollywood Bowl!)

Trivia: The Bowl has hosted numerous classic concerts over the decades, none more famous than The Beatles on August 23, 1964. On October 6, 2012, John Cusack came on stage and presented a boom-box to this performer?

Answer: Peter Gabriel. The boom-box honored the iconic scene in Say Anything accompanied by the singer’s “In Your Eyes.” Another only-in-Hollywood moment.