New Order live @ Hammerstein Ballroom - NYC (USA) - 2005.05.05

Should make a lot of people happy, would like to be there, but that's the day I'm getting back from California, and I'll be checking out the Gang Of Four in a much better venue than Coachella that night.

Gang of Four still in existence Green... fill me in!!!

I am in NYC.. on the morning of the pre-sale, I will give you guys the password.. I really doubt this well sell out though given S.F. and CHI both big cities with just as many N.O. fans..

I too want to know how much they are going to charge.. Let's hope since the other cities didn't sell out, that the prices are more reasonable.. 35 would be the most this should cost.. unless they have a really good opener.. like bloc party and/or the chemical brothers..

The one great thing is that they will be at what I consider to be the 2nd best small live venue in NYC, the Hammerstein... 1st being Bowery Ballroom.. one of the worst being Roseland.

I saw Scissor Sisters at Hammerstein, only show so far in NY.  This one will be even better:)

I remember Hammerstein from me yoof - is he still going?!

This is fantastic news... the only downside is that the Hammerstein Ballroom is in a really crap location if it's where I think it is (Penn Station area).  While convenient for those coming from out of town, in terms of bars etc. there's zilch of any interest/charm.

The Bowery Ballroom on the other hand is surrounded by brilliant places...

But that said, it still is fantastic news.

i agree there isnt much around the hammerstein except for a TGIFridays a block away, but we are only a short train ride away from anywhere we want. as for the tickets i would guess they will be selling for about 42.00 thats what i paid to see dave gahan there a couple of years back, so tack on ticketmaster charges and your paying 51.00. hopefully they wont be that much if not more.

i will look for a place we can all hang out afterwards, i know this lounge type place that serves food, its downtown but like i said its a short train ride, just need to see if its still open. but in any event its New York City we could just stumble into a cool place as well

For some reason I think my last post didn't go through.

A great place on Thursday nights and one that would be quite appropriate is Orchard Bar on (not surprisingly) Orchard Street on the Lower East Side.

It doesn't get started until about midnight, but the drinks are cheap and my friend spins a brilliant mix of obscure 1980's synth pop. You'd swear that you were stepping into a time warp when you go there.  Sprayed pink hair, lepoard skin coats and legwarmers...

The only problem is that all the girls who hang out there are extremely beautiful and cool.  Not sure if that's a problem for anyone.

This is great news!!! I can't wait to go!!! I have never been to the Hammerstein Ballroom, tho. Does anyone know if there is a curfew there, like Roseland? I will be taking the train in from Penn Station and the last train back to New Jersey from Penn Station leaves at 11:49 P.M. on weekdays.

OrderNew wrote:

For some reason I think my last post didn't go through.

A great place on Thursday nights and one that would be quite appropriate is Orchard Bar on (not surprisingly) Orchard Street on the Lower East Side.

It doesn't get started until about midnight, but the drinks are cheap and my friend spins a brilliant mix of obscure 1980's synth pop. You'd swear that you were stepping into a time warp when you go there.  Sprayed pink hair, lepoard skin coats and legwarmers...

The only problem is that all the girls who hang out there are extremely beautiful and cool.  Not sure if that's a problem for anyone.

sounds like a plan that only my girlfriend would have a problem with.

lets do it! of course she will probaly be coming with me;)

Well people here are right about Hammerstein not being in the best areas for going out afterwards, I am not a drinker myself so I probably wouldn't even know...

That place down in the lower east side sounds pretty cool... Sounds similar to clubs here in NYC that used to spin "alternative" and "new-wave" in the early 90s.. Ward 6, Berlin (astoria, queens)... I would feel really funny being in any of those kind of clubs, even though I am only 32, I no longer have dreadlocks or firehydrant red hair.. still have all the earrings though.. haha.. my son will think I am some sort of freak and be a lawyer or something (cool)..

alright, enough of my ranting.

Just happy to able to say N.O. is coming baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! woohoo!!

Spotnick wrote:

Frank Smarra wrote:

OrderNew wrote:

For some reason I think my last post didn't go through.

A great place on Thursday nights and one that would be quite appropriate is Orchard Bar on (not surprisingly) Orchard Street on the Lower East Side.

It doesn't get started until about midnight, but the drinks are cheap and my friend spins a brilliant mix of obscure 1980's synth pop. You'd swear that you were stepping into a time warp when you go there.  Sprayed pink hair, lepoard skin coats and legwarmers...

The only problem is that all the girls who hang out there are extremely beautiful and cool.  Not sure if that's a problem for anyone.

sounds like a plan that only my girlfriend would have a problem with.

lets do it! of course she will probaly be coming with me;)

Frank, how far is it from your place?

I'm happy to have it settled finally, now it will be time to find us some decent pre and post show places ;)

hammerstein ballroom is about a 20 Minute train ride from my Crib!,lol

also nick there are plenty of places by my apartment in Queens to eat and Drink , either before or after the gig

Frank Smarra.. sounds like you might live in Astoria.. I just moved from Astoria, where I lived for about 9 years...to westchester co., my wife actually grew up in Astoria.. small world.. There is lots of great food in Astoria, and that is one thing I really miss now that I live in the "burbs"... there are great greek places and also a couple of Columbian food places that are fantastic..

i sure am from astoria, ditmars area, i have lived here for about a year now, before i lived by the steinway/broadway area, for about 8 years. there are a lot of good bars, lounges and Places to eat in the area. i love queens i will probably never leave, been here Forever!

I lived on the corner of Crescent St. and 34th Ave. right by Walgreens... in a co'op apt... before that I lived out by Ditmars and Crescent, last stop of the N. That was a much nicer neighborhood than were my co'op was, but at the time rents were about to sky rocket, and my wife and I decided to move to the co'op she grew up in. We moved cause somebody got shot, don't be so afraid canadian N.O. fans, in front of our building.. I spent most of my youth growing up around that and didn't want my son to be in that part of astoria, and also we didn't want him going to NYC public schools when he was older.. so we moved to the 'burbs.. I am trying to interject the punk look around here, but it ain't flying to well when I pick my son up from school.. haha.. what soccer moms never seen creeper shoes before.. funny..

Hey I would be into meeting up with any of you guys the night of the show... I probably wouldn't be able to go out drinking afterwards, but having some people to hang with would be cool.. I probably will be going to this show alone.. my wife doesn't want to go and I don't know anyone who even likes N.O. anymore.. anyway, later..

oh funny thing is, when I go to concerts in the city, I drive from Westchester and usually park in astoria and take the subway to the venue. yes I am cheap! or Manhattan prices are just WAY too much.. you guys take the pick! haha..

later..

Looks like a top venue

About 3500 capacity with a mixture of standing/sitting.

Garbage tickets are 33$....So NO wont be much more..( I guess )

Both Chic and NY venues look spot on.

AJ.....Give em Hell down at the front !!!

I believe this is the official Hammerstein Ballroom web site: http://www.mcstudios.com/newsite/hammersteinBallroom.asp

Check it out... there are some great pictures of the layout there.

The big question is... do I want to try and get in the balconies, or fight my way up front? I think for my old bones, I'd love to watch from the balcony; it would probably be easier to see everything.

Well, hammerstein is a very cool venue.. I have never been in the seated balcony area but it isn't reserved seating up there.. My buddies tell me that you do get a good view from up there.. mind you, I do not believe this show will be particulary crazy or sold-out ( i really hate to say this ). I just don't see them selling out if they haven't in SF or CHI.. that being said, most the people that you will wind up seeing there are probably are in the mid 30s to mid 40s with a couple of late 40s there too.. those guys aint' gonna be fighting much to be up front anyway, and if you are up front, I seriously doubt there will be any "slam dancing".. the choice is yours mate.. great venue no matter how you cut it, in my opinion..

good to hear, designguy. i guess the final decision will come down to what the majority of my friends will want to do.

Pablo wrote:

Looks like a top venue

About 3500 capacity with a mixture of standing/sitting.

Garbage tickets are 33$....So NO wont be much more..( I guess )

Both Chic and NY venues look spot on.

AJ.....Give em Hell down at the front !!!

Check it out: http://cc.com/detail.html?eventID=209366

Looks like it will be $47.50... same as Chicago

didn't I just say that? ;)

OUCH! oh well... that means the ticket will cost about 57 bucks.. at least it isn't MORE than CHI.. as that is the norm.. especially post in the NYC post 9/11 world.. where they tell you the tickets cost more since it they have to have security check you twice as well as they did before.

I shouldn't complain, I paid about the same to see Morrissey at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem not too long ago... what is it with all these manchester natives and their high ticket prices! =)

I was going to go see Nine Inch Nails here in NYC at the hammerstein ballroom.. the tickets all over california were a reasonable 35 bucks I think, but then here in NYC they were almost 50! jesus! (hope that didn't offend anyone, being Easter weekend and all). =) I had seen Nine Inch Nails before in NYC when they 1st started to get popular, in 1991 and it was a great show, The Academy in times square area if memory serves me right.

NO show, in NYC still think I am dreamin..! Let's hope Barney leaves the autocue/lyrics thing home in the UK!

designguy wrote: I lived on the corner of Crescent St. and 34th Ave. right by Walgreens... in a co'op apt... before that I lived out by Ditmars and Crescent, last stop of the N. That was a much nicer neighborhood than were my co'op was, but at the time rents were about to sky rocket, and my wife and I decided to move to the co'op she grew up in. We moved cause somebody got shot, don't be so afraid canadian N.O. fans, in front of our building.. I spent most of my youth growing up around that and didn't want my son to be in that part of astoria, and also we didn't want him going to NYC public schools when he was older.. so we moved to the 'burbs.. I am trying to interject the punk look around here, but it ain't flying to well when I pick my son up from school.. haha.. what soccer moms never seen creeper shoes before.. funny.. Hey I would be into meeting up with any of you guys the night of the show... I probably wouldn't be able to go out drinking afterwards, but having some people to hang with would be cool.. I probably will be going to this show alone.. my wife doesn't want to go and I don't know anyone who even likes N.O. anymore.. anyway, later..

oh funny thing is, when I go to concerts in the city, I drive from Westchester and usually park in astoria and take the subway to the venue. yes I am cheap! or Manhattan prices are just WAY too much.. you guys take the pick! haha..

later..

im on Ditmars & 23RD Street great area, right near the park.  you can meet up with me Spotnick and wenorder and head to the gig with us.

im sure as it gets closer ot he show we will start a new meet up thread

designguy wrote: Let's hope Barney leaves the autocue/lyrics thing home in the UK!

Well if you want a set consisting entirely of instrumentals......

oldmonkey wrote:

designguy wrote: Let's hope Barney leaves the autocue/lyrics thing home in the UK!

Well if you want a set consisting entirely of instrumentals......

good point! Bring the autocue Barney! =)

JimGiliberto wrote: Gang of Four still in existence Green... fill me in!!!

Bloody hell Jim, long time since you've been around here, welcome back.    Don't really know much more than what's on the official site, listed down below, and that all four original members are on board this time..  The place in Portland where they're playing is my absolute fave venue, so it should be a top-notch show.  Bass player Dave Allen is also a resident of our fair state now.

Certainly are great men!

You going to the New York NO show?

Sure has been a long time, and nothing has changed here on the web site...actually the website looks GREAT just been so busy with life...

When I first saw NO coming to the east coast I was thrilled...until I saw the date. I teach a course at the library school at SUNY Albany (U.S. Government Info) on Thursday nights, and the last class is May 5th. Which was the final exam...but the students have been complaining that they have too many assignments, so I dropped the final works out for all of us :D

And if I choose to take the train from here it drops me off right next door to the Hammerstein ;) Just like the Guiness commercials...BRILLIANT!!!!

Now just gotta get tickets and I'm there!

Hope your well...

Jim

Frank Smarra wrote:

i agree there isnt much around the hammerstein except for a TGIFridays a block away, but we are only a short train ride away from anywhere we want. as for the tickets i would guess they will be selling for about 42.00 thats what i paid to see dave gahan there a couple of years back, so tack on ticketmaster charges and your paying 51.00. hopefully they wont be that much if not more.

i will look for a place we can all hang out afterwards, i know this lounge type place that serves food, its downtown but like i said its a short train ride, just need to see if its still open. but in any event its New York City we could just stumble into a cool place as well

Speaking of Ticketmaster, do any of you ever have a problem with its Will-Call service? I'm heading there to NYC catch some gigs in May and apparently there needs to be a match between the purchaser, the credit card holder and the photo ID for the ticket to be issued.

Problem is, the card has my name but it's billed to my bro. So the order confirmation says my brother purchased the tix. Think I'll have any problem getting my tix? I tried several times to submit a question about this on Ticketmaster's site but it kept going to an "internal error, please try again" page.

Appreciate if you guys could share your experiences if any, thanks!

If you are in the NYC Area-Gang of Four are playing at Irving Plaza on May 17 and 18- Tickets are $25.00 (without the additional charges) I am very excited to see them on May 17! Just got my tickets in the mail yesterday!!

More U.S. dates are on their website

http://www.gangoffour.co.uk

I'll be coming up from Philadelphia for the show, but i guess i won't make it to the front as I am leaving work at 5:30 on Amtrak and getting in just after doors open.....still no word on the opening act

And to think I may go for a trifecta between Oakland, Coachella, and NYC....what am I thinking, and when will I pay this off.....

i should be getting i the morning of the show--around 11, or so. returning to florida on sunday. it's been over a year since i've been in the city and i can't wait to have a giant corner bistro burger again!

Johnny Giles wrote:

Reading these threads about the US tour, do I get the impression people are gonna be waiting outside the venue for the doors to open so they can then run down to the front

Please tell me it aint so.

If it is so, how quaint will that be...:dead: BORING

Johnny Giles wrote:

Reading these threads about the US tour, do I get the impression people are gonna be waiting outside the venue for the doors to open so they can then run down to the front

Please tell me it aint so.

doubtful. i think most of us are too old for that!

i just got my ticket to NYC--nice and cheap.

My last show at the Hammerstein was Oasis in 1997. Only 20 at the time, I rushed that stage good and fast.  This happens regularly, but you may have apoint with all the "old heads" coming out for these shows.

God knows I want to be up front at least once for a NO show, since I have never seen them.

Cheers!

is the line up for the hammerstein different than other g/a venues?

Ok...calmly...catching...my....breath...

here's some logistical figures....I have a wedding coming up in June that I have to help pay for, so every penny must be pinched..The 'X' factor would be my bride-to-be, whether she wants to attend, she might be able to help pay for more since she makes (slightly) more than me

Transportation

Jetblue....$49 each way, depart Rochester, NY  5/5/05 11:15am arrive NYC(JFK) 12:20pm......depart NYC(JFK) 5/6/05 10:30am arrive Rochester, NY 11:45am

(Also, a $40 cabfare from JFK to manhattan )

Venue

$47.50/ ticket

Food/drink

Whatever fills me up, gives me a buzz (~$100)

CHEAP lodging

This one I am unsure of, does anyone know of any cheapo motels that I can crash in for a few hours before the J-E-T takes my eternally grateful soul back upstate.

Est. total (minus lodging): $ 178 transport + $47.50/ticket + $100 food/drink= $325.50

I know this post is mostly for me, but can any locals/fellow travelers give any advice/hints to a hopeful New Order virgin to arrive w/ enough cash leftover to buy a round for the craziest bunch of twats this side of Jupiter?

Well, you could save quite a bit of money by not taking a cab to manhattan at least.. While I have not done it, there is or was some kind of way of taking the subway or a train from the airport to Queens into manhattan.. I don't remember exactly... I am sure if you call JFK airport they can tell you how to do it exactly..

Aleph v 2.0 wrote: Ok...calmly...catching...my....breath...

here's some logistical figures....I have a wedding coming up in June that I have to help pay for, so every penny must be pinched..The 'X' factor would be my bride-to-be, whether she wants to attend, she might be able to help pay for more since she makes (slightly) more than me

Transportation

Jetblue....$49 each way, depart Rochester, NY 5/5/05 11:15am arrive NYC(JFK) 12:20pm......depart NYC(JFK) 5/6/05 10:30am arrive Rochester, NY 11:45am

(Also, a $40 cabfare from JFK to manhattan )

Venue

$47.50/ ticket

Food/drink

Whatever fills me up, gives me a buzz (~$100)

CHEAP lodging

This one I am unsure of, does anyone know of any cheapo motels that I can crash in for a few hours before the J-E-T takes my eternally grateful soul back upstate.

Est. total (minus lodging): $ 178 transport + $47.50/ticket + $100 food/drink= $325.50

I know this post is mostly for me, but can any locals/fellow travelers give any advice/hints to a hopeful New Order virgin to arrive w/ enough cash leftover to buy a round for the craziest bunch of twats this side of Jupiter?

Do you have to buy tickets through TicketMaster?  Or is it possible to go to Hammerstein Ballroom on 4/1 at 11am to pick them up?  I'm sure you have to go through TM...the monopolistic bastards!

I could not agree with you more about ticketmaster.. i hate them with avengence.. I mean how do they get off charging you 9 bucks for a 47.50 ticktet? that is just ridiculous.. unfortunatley I will have to get mine thru those scum since I live right outside of the city and cannot go to the box office on Friday. I mean, come on ticketmaster isn't doing any extra work to sell you a ticket, why should it be so high? They really take advantatge of people. While I always hated the music of Pearl Jam I really respected when they completely decided to stop playing venues that used ticketmaster.

I went to the box office to get tickets to see the Pet Shop Boys during the Night life tour @ the Hammerstein a few years ago.. I was quite surprised to find a long line when I go there, but being that New Order have not sold out SF or CHI I don't think this show is in danger of selling out quickly.

sjwoo wrote: Do you have to buy tickets through TicketMaster? Or is it possible to go to Hammerstein Ballroom on 4/1 at 11am to pick them up? I'm sure you have to go through TM...the monopolistic bastards!

Woohoo!!!! I can't believe I get to see them finally! I saw PSB at the ballroom a couple years back. The stage is kind of high if you are up close in the general admittance section. But its a very cozy atmosphere. So even if you get seats in the balcony, they will still be very close.

Is there a chance of this thing being sold out?  I'm gonna be in the city on that day and plan to go to Hammerstein to pick up a ticket.  If they start selling at 11am, should I be there like an hour earlier or something?

WTF!?!? It's 11am and still no link on ticketmaster to purchase tickets.

IS this thing sold out!?!? They finally put the link to purchase tix up.

"There were no tickets available that matched your request."

I get that when using "Best Available."

BULLSHIT I TELL YOU!!!!

Hello-

I got through at 11:10ish, the only seats availible were 2nd floor Mezz...Bought them, now when I re-try I get the no tickets availible msg. Either it's sold out or they're making tickets availible in batches. Who knows?

ok, back to lurking. --S

Monster wrote:

I remember Hammerstein from me yoof - is he still going?!

with his mate robojaws? classic!

BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!!!

I hate fucking ticket master! I had better luck getting u2 tix, but i cant score new order????

internet sales suck. i would have camped out for this shit.

have also been refreshing page since 11am and no joy - also just spoke to ticketmaster agent in NYC - after holding for 8 mins on a transatlantic call (ouch!! ) to be told no more tickets available.

Not sure what to make of this - either they all sold on the pre-sale or they haven't been properly released yet (??)

I'm not a violent man, but I'm about to stab somebody.

Al Jarvis wrote:

Best thing the band can do is announce a 2nd gig straight away to bring the prices down!

Spiffing idea sir. Means I'd have to change a flight ticket though.

i had to resort to buying tickets on ebay. hopefully they'll get here in time.

i cannot believe this! i have a ticket to NYC but no ticket to the concert as it's already sold out! any suggestions? anyone have an extra ticket???

Seems unlikely, but do you think that New York being sold out is a April Fools thing? Seems bizarre that they'd be sold out in 15 minutes when everywhere else isnt after week(s).

Not to confuse this with Morris getting arrested for driving tanks--that one is clearly true.

The only thing I can figure is that New York truly is land of the ticket scalping agencies (or brokers as I'm sure they'd rather be known as) and because the show is in NYC it's more on their radar than a show in Chicago...

They may on principal just scoop up everything they can get at the major NY venues regardless of who the act is figuring they can always make a ten or twenty dollar profit (there was a broker that was selling the tickets on ebay for only 79.95 which if you factor in the ticketron price isn't really that outrageous) but make money on sheer volume.

Anyway, hopfully the demand won't be too high and brokers will realize that they cant demand $120 bucks a ticket and lessen their rates as it gets closer to the show.

Goddamn, I hate Ticketma$ter, but I hate the ticket brokers/scalpers even more . For every event, they already have the best tix and loads of them. It pisses me off so bad that the good tickets end up in their hands instead of the fans.

Anyways, I hope the "sell out" gets them to add a second date in NYC or anywhere else closeby. It'll screw over the ticket brokers and give fans another chance to see them. I haven't bought my plane ticket yet, so it'll work out perfectly if they do add another one.

I am not surprised at all that the NYC show sold out! I live about 30 miles outside of NYC in New Jersey(lived here all my life -all 32 years) - and let me tell you-it's a competitive place- about everything. People are very aggressive here. Also New Order hasn't played on East Coast since 1993- people are hungry for them here. I know I am!!!!

Maybe they will add a second show- I don't think there are any events scheduled for Hammerstein on May 6.

What to know about Hammerstein:

1.You're better off with Mezzanine Tickets, because you can go from the Mezzanine to the floor (without being ticket checked), but not vice versa.

2.There is no ATM inside, so stop and get money on your way there.

3.The floor tends to be overcrowded.

4.Beers (small, plastic cups) are $6, or something silly like that...

5.There will be a line going for 3 blocks, so come early.

6.The sound is decent, but no Radio City... ;)

Fucking A... I'm gonna end up spending $90+ to see them in my own freaking hometown. Fans always get dicked. always.

I had tickets on ticketmaster, but I forgot my password and it only gave me 40 seconds to find it then it released the tickets and the next thing I know it's sold out! Those damn ticket brokers, i'll kill them all.

I did however find the best deal on e-bay. Bought 3 tickets for $79.99 each. Not bad, all things considered.

got one on Ebay for $85 plus $10 shipping and handling. i signed up for the K-rock pre-sale thing, but i had a major crisis yesterday so i couldn't buy it at regular price. poop. oh, well...at least i'm going!

So ebay is our last hope, hmmmm.

It may be worth it. I am apparently one of the lucky few to get tickets, and Hammerstine is a pretty good venue....Been there several times. Best of luck to everyone attempting to get tickets....Maybe you guys can gang up on a couple of scalpers beat them down and take their tickets......

I got my tickets Thursday. Had I known that this would sell out I would have picked up four instead of two. Very much looking forward to the final show for me. Just wish I could get out of work for 10 days so I could do Chicago too, but alas Oakland, Coachella, and NYC is good by me.

So, where is the NEWORDERONLINE crowd meeting beforehand???

I would love to meet everyone over a drink somewhere....

have we officially figured out a spot yet???

p.s. thanks for the info about this club in above posts!

They have got to add another east coast date now!

If there is another date added with a pre-sale, I'll be sure to post the password again (if there is one).

Flights booked - out Wed, back Sun - so if 2nd show materialises - Fri or Sat would be good...

People can really go from the mezzanine to the floor without getting ticket-checked? Are you absolutely certain that this is always the case? I have a floor ticket (which is apparently bad, but oh well!), and my girlfriend has a mezzanine ticket, and since we obviously wanted to be there together, we didn't know what to do! So would she definitely be able to move down to the floor once she got there?

Thank you so much!

-Ben

afr0puff wrote: Fucking A... I'm gonna end up spending $90+ to see them in my own freaking hometown. Fans always get dicked. always.

thats okay i spent 110 !

Conduct wrote: People can really go from the mezzanine to the floor without getting ticket-checked? Are you absolutely certain that this is always the case? I have a floor ticket (which is apparently bad, but oh well!), and my girlfriend has a mezzanine ticket, and since we obviously wanted to be there together, we didn't know what to do! So would she definitely be able to move down to the floor once she got there?

Thank you so much!

-Ben

I went to a PSB concert there two years ago. The floor was divided into two sections. The rear area, and the middle+stage area. You could walk freely around in the rear area, but if you wanted to get to the middle+stage area, they checked your stub. Keep in mind, that show wasn't anywhere near sold out, so you could easily leave, come back and get back to where you were in the "pit area."

The New Order show is sold out. I highly doubt people will be able to walk about.

I have never been to Hammerstein before- and I'm not quite sure I understand how the floor works. I have floor tickets- but you said the floor is divided into two areas- how do I know which part of the floor I will be able to go to? I have never been to a club before where they divided the floor into two sections- I prefer to get as close to front as I can!

OK... so who's bootlegging this show on video? I'll be front row and don't want Hooky diving in after me, so I'll just be taking digital stills.

wrote: I have never been to Hammerstein before- and I'm not quite sure I understand how the floor works. I have floor tickets- but you said the floor is divided into two areas- how do I know which part of the floor I will be able to go to? I have never been to a club before where they divided the floor into two sections- I prefer to get as close to front as I can!

i went to hammerstein once and there was no diveders on the floor. the floor was just wide open, i went about 2 years ago though.

All shows that I have seen at hammerstein, if you had Mezz tix, you were NOT allowed onto the floor. I have seen 3 or 4 shows there now and at each one, right at the door they seperate mezz holders from floor holders and then recheck them at the inner door going into the floor. My friend lucked out at the interpol show there by gettign a ticket person who was just scannign and too busy talkign to her friend to read that the ticket was for mezz and not floor, maybe some of you will get lucky. Also I might add that the Mezz is not bad either, it is GA meaning that you can pick the seat up there you want.

I follow up the last post...last trip to the hammerstein for a GA show, the rules were strickly enforced....GA floor meant you were stuck to the floor.....GA 1st Mezz meant you stuck there....etc etc etc.....truthfully, i have floor but would have preferred the 1st mezz....my gf is like 5'1".....alas we will just hang in the back....

You cant move back and forth they will throw you out if they catch you...

Floor will be GA and standing only...no seats down there. What do you need them for anyway

B4 party is at TGIF 34th and 8th

After party is at CROBAR...Get me names to put together a list for entry into the club.

djeckoh@yahoo.com

Someone save a spot for me cuz im flying bakc home that day from Houston.

eCKo

I was just there for the Pixies, and really, they were only checking those going to the Mezzanine, and not vice versa. The beer table is right down near the floor, and there was no checking in between there and the floor, but there was between there and the Mezzanine.

But...who knows, maybe they'll enforce this for NO.

That, and the floor was one main area...

Well from the sounds of it, my GF had better not rely on being able to move from the Mezzanine to the floor! Thanks a lot, everyone! :)

bleh, no cameras allowed.

very VERY excited.... it has been 12 years since I saw them...

what is the latest on the openers? is Baker spinning? what band is officially opening? and relative times?

might want to partake prior to the order and thus not be there at 6pm..... but don't want to miss baker if he is providing us with sonic indulgences....

and, is it totally confirmed there is no official or unofficial new order deal after the show at all? i can't imagine they are just gonna go to bed at 10.....

hmmmm....

Spotnick wrote: Less than 2 weeks to go! Getting excited? ;)

I cannot WAIT! I am doubly excited because May 5 is the day I hand in all of my remaining work as an Undergraduate student! :D

someone is gonna be a madly good mood! perfect... be sure to have lots of drinks, cause drinking on no sleep is the best...

:)

I know it says no cameras, but I was thinking of taking a few digital snaps. You think they'll take my camera from me or just tell me to put it away?

from my experience, they're pretty particular about cameras if it's actually written on the ticktet (metal detectors). when they announce "no cameras" at the show, you can hold an ultra compact cam in the palm of your hand, covered by your wallet on one side and ticket on the other. most times, the security doesn't even look up at your hands when they pat you down.

Lat time I was at the ballroom, there weren't any detectors or an entry check. Just give them your ticket, and you were good to go.

Monster wrote:

InTheComputer... wrote: from my experience, they're pretty particular about cameras if it's actually written on the ticktet (metal detectors). when they announce "no cameras" at the show, you can hold an ultra compact cam in the palm of your hand, covered by your wallet on one side and ticket on the other. most times, the security doesn't even look up at your hands when they pat you down.

You have METAL DETECTORS at concerts in the US?!

Fcuk me, only other place I've seen that is Glasgow. But then that's understandable!

yeah, the only recent shows i can remember them using detectors were for the strokes, the cure, coachella?, and ian brown. in l.a. that is, i've never been to the hammerstein.

I CAN"T BELIEVE I"M GOING TO SEE NEW FVCKING ORDER!!!! I am bugging out here at my desk!!!

there are 2 great irish bars nearby the hammerstein. tir na nog http://tirnanognyc.com/homepage.php

stout 133 west 33rd street (between 6th and 7th avenue) http://www.stoutnyc.com/

Yes, boys and girls, I´ll be there. All the way from Ecuador. I had to buy the tickets on Ebay (fckg ticketmaster sale didn´t last 1 minute).

And this is not just a concert, oh no no no no, this is the fckg second coming as far as I am concerned.

This is it. The mother of all bands in the mother of all cities. One time only (and knowing this lads probably the last.)

See you there.

Flavio

I'll be wacked by the time I get there

Airplane drinks on an expense account...Gotta love it.

And I'm leaving myself a present in the car for when I'm rushing to the show.

e C K o H

I saw Iron Maiden at the hammerstein Ballroom back in January 2004 and I brought a disposable camera with me. Needless to say, I have a good 27 pictures of Iron Maiden, and they did not catch me. If you have a jacket, it should be easy to get the camera inside. If no Jacket....then you have a problem

"Hello Hammerstein."

"We are New Order."

"You are the audience."

"Let´s rock the fckng house!"

And this is the part where I lose my fckg mind completely. Bloody hell!!

Flavio Arosemena wrote: "Hello Hammerstein."

"We are New Order."

"You are the audience."

"Let´s rock the fckng house!"

And this is the part where I lose my fckg mind completely. Bloody hell!!

I think that Reading intro was a one-off, but I'm sure it will be a great night! By the time they get to New York they should know how to play the new ones ;)

...I will be over for this one only on the US leg, but will make a fair few of the Euro dates - am coming along to Hiro as well - looking forward - a week and counting!

What time? I have mezz tickets and want to get a good seat, so I'm wondering when we should all head over there?

eCKOh wrote: B4 party is at TGIF 34th and 8th

I can't wait. This time next week we will all be alot happier!

Im not kidding when I say that May 5th might be the greatest day of my life...i finally get to see New Order live...i will need a new life goal now LOL

David Lubetsky wrote: Im not kidding when I say that May 5th might be the greatest day of my life...i finally get to see New Order live...i will need a new life goal now LOL

I finally get to see some songs I've never seen them perform as well like Temptation...

the symbiont - e C K o H

j wrote: I can't wait. This time next week we will all be alot happier!

Quite the understatement

The Symbiont - e C K o H

well, Still has a Parental Advisory sticker...

so, we need to be careful about these dangerous newOrder fans!

p.s. LESS THAN ONE WEEK LEFT!!!

p.s.s. I gotta wash my ancient lowlife tshirt... hope it still fits...

I don't recall seeing anyone else post this on here, but I just received a ticketmaster email saying that "Dragonette" is the opening act at the NYC show. Who is that???

my wife and i are going to hammerstein and have 2 extra floor tickets. i'm only asking the original value and i'd like it if they went to a fan.

with the b.s. ticketmaster charges it came to $66 per ticket. email me or call me (570) 470-9785 or JimPetch@ptd.net

we could meet up at TGIFridays before the show or do a quick fedex...it's up to you.[mail]JimPetch@ptd.net[/mail]

to say that we are very excited about thursday would be a huge understatement. 05-05-05...kind of a cool coincidence...i'm not sure what it means but i think it's good.

cinco de mayo...also cool.

yes, cinco de mayo. margaritas must be drunk! it's going to be strange seeing you all in person...should i be excited or scared?

AgentWood wrote: yes, cinco de mayo. margaritas must be drunk! it's going to be strange seeing you all in person...should i be excited or scared?

Depends if your anglicisation has taken in the casual or not!

Greetings from Vermont from this longtime New Order/JD fan, and first time poster..

5-5-05 will make the 7th time I will have seen New Order, but the first since 1989!

I first saw them in Detroit, 1983 at St. Andrews Hall. Then 3 times in the Cleveland area, where I'm originally from.

1986 I saw them in Toronto (Massey) and Detroit (Fox Theatre).

Welcome to the madhouse! Which Cleveland area gigs did you see?

oldmonkey wrote: Welcome to the madhouse! Which Cleveland area gigs did you see?

At the Akron Agora, Aug. 5, 1985. ACR opened. Nautica Stage, summer 1987. This was the tour with Echo and the Bunnymen. Blossom, July 4, 1989. Pil and Gene Loves Jezabel opened.

Not sure if this is the forum for this, but I have two Mezz1 tix i am looking to trade for two floor tix. Is anyone interested? Shoot me an email themauzys@mac.com. My wife and I are flying in form Minneapolis and can meet up with you at TGIF before the show.

I have an extra ticket for this show available. Will let it go for face value plus Ticketbastard's fees ($55 should do it). I want it to go to a true fan.

It's in the second mezzanine (sorry, but that's the best I could do).

Drop me an email. I'll give you my cell phone number and we can meet up before the show. Perhaps at TGIF if I can make it there.

-jeff

Jeff:

Let me know if this ticket is still available... It looks like I have one for myself but I'm hoping to get one for my girlfriend so that I can convert her into a fan...

Thx.

Kerry

You can email me at kerry.harris@disney.com

As well I sent you an email directly.

Does anyone know the general timing of events for the show in NYC? I'm coming from Philly, and can't get out of work until 4 pm. I want to make sure that I don't miss any of NO's set.

Greg Vincent wrote: Does anyone know the general timing of events for the show in NYC? I'm coming from Philly, and can't get out of work until 4 pm. I want to make sure that I don't miss any of NO's set.

While no one can know for sure, I think that Dragonette (whoever they are) will probably start at 7:30 or so (since doors open at 6:30) and end by 8:15. Then it will probably be maybe 30 or 45 minutes before New Order comes on at 8:45/9? Just a guess - I really don't know. So maybe this isn't very helpful.

What time are people planning to get to the venue to cue up? Trying to gauge what time I should leave DC.

if anyone has a ticket to spare please let me know. I'll pay $150 or more. Some asshole on ebay decided not to sell me the tickets. :( :( :(

max@maxexactly.com aim: maxexactly phone: (917) 402 9284

Radio Nine wrote:

oldmonkey wrote: Welcome to the madhouse! Which Cleveland area gigs did you see?

At the Akron Agora, Aug. 5, 1985. ACR opened. Nautica Stage, summer 1987. This was the tour with Echo and the Bunnymen. Blossom, July 4, 1989. Pil and Gene Loves Jezabel opened.

Cool - there's never been a recording surface of the Akron Agora show. Can you remember what they played?

So, in a cruel twist of fate, after waiting years for NO to (1) get themselves back together and (2) come to the east coast, it turns out I can't make the show. So, I have 2 Mezz2 tix available. I have them in the pdf from ticketmaster, and they have my name on them, but it doesn't appear they are nontransferrable. First reasonable offer accepted.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LEMME HAVE EM!!!

max@maxexacly.com aim: maxexactly number: 917-402-9284

Conduct wrote: While no one can know for sure, I think that Dragonette (whoever they are) will probably start at 7:30 or so (since doors open at 6:30) and end by 8:15. Then it will probably be maybe 30 or 45 minutes before New Order comes on at 8:45/9? Just a guess - I really don't know. So maybe this isn't very helpful.

Could this be the Dragonettes? - http://www.dragonette.net

I suspect NO will hit the stage no earlier than 9p, so I'll time my getting stoked accordingly.

This will be my 6th time seeing the band, and the first since '86. Was in NYC in May 1980 to see Joy Division at the club Hurrahs -- sadly that gig was cancelled.

Finally caught the boys twice in November '81 in New York, including the Tavras Schevenko (sp?) gig.

Then again in July '83 at the Paradise Garage in New York. Posing as fanzine reporters, my friend and I managed to meet the whole band prior to the afternoon soundcheck, and later go backstage after the gig.

In August '85, saw them at the Felt Forum in Manhattan. The gig ended with the house lights up, most of the crowd dispersed and the roadies taking down the gear, when the band ran back onstage to rip through a blistering version of "Sunrise."

Lastly at the 1018 niteclub in Manhattan in December '86. They closed the set with "LWTUA", dedicated to a NY-based concert promoter who had passed away that year.

So now nearly 20 years older, maybe I'll finally hear more of those JD songs. Either way, I'm glad we're all still here.

The 2 Mezz tix are still available, as Max found a floor single instead.

Wow, my first post...

Coming to the show in NYC from Boston... I gotta figure out where I will park (Liberty State Park?) and take the PATH over to Manhattan...

Been a NO fan for ages, I remember hearing about Curtis' suicide when I was a kid (I guess I was 8 or so). Living in the UK in the 80s, I always dug the band, but never really had them as one of my absolute faves. I guess when I moved to Texas as a high schooler I really got into them. People thought I was cool because I knew a lot about the British music scene, when it was more from watching Top of the Pops and reading Smash Hits! Consistently since '86 or so they've been one of my faves, and I am a huge Electronic geek - an amazing musical partnership between Barney and Johnny! I hope they get together on some level again in the future...

I've wanted to see the band live, but as a kid someone told me that they were crap in concert and so I believed it... but honestly, I can't remember an opportunity when they re-emerged where I was close by to see 'em.

The anticipation for the concert - up there for me, as high as seeing Johnny Marr at the Paradise here, or Oasis in '95 in Austin. Can't wait!!

Looking forward to a great show on Thursday night and meeting many NewOrder fans. I hope to make it to TGIF for a pint or two before the show. Be safe getting to the show and see you all there. To Spotnick - first couple of rounds are on me.:D

Can't wait. Less than 48 hours. Set lists look great from Cali shows, hope to meet many fans for pint or 2 before....

Just got back from San Francisco yesterday. My hearing is back to normal (no thanks to the chemicals). Can't wait for the 5th, looking forward to hooking up with some Brits! I'll be wearing an England soccer shirt and intend to be at TGIFs at 4:40 ish. Cheers, Pickles

I am coming to the NYC show from Connecticut!!!!!

YAY I had to buy a ticket through a damn broker, but I know that is going to be so WORTH IT!

It will be my first NO concert after being a fan since the Substance album came out!!!!!!!

Hello there. This is my first post as well. I love New Order, unfortunately I will not be able to come to New York to see the show. However, I have special request, I am not sure if it will be even possible.

Anyways, the opening band for the gig tommorrow is a band named Dragonette. They include two members of a band of an obscure Canadian band that I am also a big fan of called Flux a.d. Julie, the lead singer of Flux will be doing backing vocals, and their drummer, Joel is also the drummer for Dragonette. If it is at all possible, could someone please take some pictures of Dragonette's performance? I am not sure what Hammerstein Ballroom's policies on cameras are, but I thought I'd ask.

If anyone is able to grant my request, I will give you credit for the pictures, and if there is some sort of compensation that you need, we can discuss that. I would very much like to be able to put some live photos up on my website (http://fluxad.net) Flux a.d. is on hiatus, so live photos of the band are hard to comeby these days. It might be also interesting to note that the members of Flux involved in tommorrow's opener (I don't know much about Dragonette themselves) are influenced by New Order :).

On another note, it's unfortunate that New Order will not be playing Toronto anytime soon (if ever). I am fan of theirs as well, and I love the new album, as I did the last. If anybody can help me out with my request, please email me at david@2007.org I will check back in this forum as well.

Approximately 33 hours to go before New Order walks out onto the Hammerstein's stage. I can barely stand it...I'm totally useless here at work. I feel like one of those screaming teenagers anticipating the Beatles in 1964.

Unlike some of you, I've never seen New Order live. But I've been a fan of both JD and NO since the mid-80s (has it been 20 fucking years?!). First heard them in some little club in Jacksonville, Florida. It must have been '83 or '84. I was one of about 5 damn people in the place, and the DJ put on Love Vigilantes. I remember watching a cute blond with a goth new wave look dance to it, and later I asked the DJ what it was. Sometime later I remember asking a record store friend if Joy Division's albums were any good, and he replied: "Yes, but I wouldn't listen to them in the daytime."

Just thought I'd share. -jeff

Won't be able to go to TGIF's beforehand (damn work), but will be as close to the front as all you soccer hooligans will allow. So goddamn psyched, I might soil my skivvies. Since they added a YSF in Chicago, there's always hope that NYC gets an addition as well. *fingers crossed*

I am very very anxious right now about the coming show...

mainly, I am stressing about how to get as high as possible without blacking out and forgetting portions of the evening...

it is a delicate balancing act! gonna be a close one...

(wine is usually the best means to the ethanol portion of the buzz, BUT, they often only sell crappy lager in the clubs, so that makes things tough if you arrive too early... )

So here's a question for all you Manhattan-types...

My original plan was to drive down from Boston, park over at Liberty State Park, take the PATH to Manhattan and walk/take the train to 34th Street...

But if NO is on the stage around 9, they likely won't be finished until 11. The last PATH train leaves around the same time. So it might not be a good idea to park there - even though it's tempting and parking there is dirt cheap ($5 all day).

So is it feasible that I might find street parking in Manhattan in the late afternoon? Are there park and ride options that are fairly safe, but either in Manhattan or in Brooklyn/Queens? Someone mentioned to me that there is a large carpark on Roosevelt Island, which is accessible more or less all the time... any suggestions for the out-of-towner?

Raz Jazza wrote: But if NO is on the stage around 9, they likely won't be finished until 11. The last PATH train leaves around the same time. So it might not be a good idea to park there - even though it's tempting and parking there is dirt cheap ($5 all day).

My Jersey transit source tells me PATH trains run all night. However, there is a reduction of services late at night -- meaning you may have to wait longer, and go through Hoboken to get to JC.

Maybe more info can be found at http://mta.info

The PATH runs all night, but it's only about every 30 min's after 12:30. http://www.panynj.gov/path/PATH\_Schedule.pdf

If you're staying in Jersey, then I'd say park there, but if not, seems kinda a pain. Roosevelt Isl. is a pain in the ass to get to. Either that stupid tram or a subway stop that I think is nowhere near that lot, but I can't confirm. Brooklyn's too far from Midtown (20 min. minimum subway ride) and Queens I'm sure has options, but I can't speak for any.

Street parking isn't free in Midtown till after 7pm, I believe. But if you're willing to wait until then, the further West you go, the better your odds at finding free street parking. However keep in mind that you have the Jacob Javitz Convention Center in the 30s by the West Side Hwy, so you might want to go up to the W. 40s btwn 9th and 11th Aves. for your best shot.

cheers Drew - you are correct, the trains run less often (every half hour) but they do indeed run 24/7!

no worries on that front!

Hello all. Well, tomorrow is my chance at seeing one of my all time favorite bands in an amazing venue. But I'm not sure of how to even accomplish this. Just a little while ago I was Calafornia doing a PeaceCorps like program when I found NewOrderOnline. I was amazed at how committed and organized such a fanbase was. But what shocked me was that I saw New Order was playing a festival called Coachella in Sothern CA. I instantly bought tickets. After studying the bill later I found it was full of all these other names I know and love (e.g Wilco, Bloc Party, Autolux, etc...). But things didn't work out as planned and I abrubptly had to board a plane home to PA. I mailed my tickets to a New Order Fan I met online and asked for nothing in return. Now I'm home and I missed the ticketmaster sale due to work and I don't know how I'm going to get tickets, and more importantly, pay for them. My tickets I gave away could have easily gotten me three for this show, but I just gave them to someone who would appreciate them rather than being that jerk on ebay. I've decided I'm driving three hours to New York tomorrow to give it my best shot, but, hardly any money too my name (just namely a very large debt that I accumalated by doing the coffee cup on the roof of the car thing with my friends brand new laptop instead). So what I ask of you people (the ones with hearts and souls (I have a serious theory that all New Order Fans are this type)) is if you can help me out in anyway you can. I'm looking for tickets, If have extra tickets, or maybe know someone who does, please contact me at JKG12345@aol.com . I'm traveling with two die hard NO fans who also don't have tickets or much money (gas is expensive enough). If you can help in any way it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks you so much.

Sincerely, J.Kieran Garvey

Raz Jazza wrote: cheers Drew - you are correct, the trains run less often (every half hour) but they do indeed run 24/7!

No problem Raz. If you do find yourself in Hoboken, before or after the gig, it might not be wholly without meaning. Hoboken was the sight of New Order's first ever US gig. http://www.neworderonline.com/Live/ConcertList.aspx?BandID=1&Year=1980

Hoboken was also, I seem to recall, where NO laid down some early tracks with Martin Hannett, although I believe those recordings were ultimately not used.

Hope you can find a ticket, Keiran

My flight leaves in a few hours, can't wait to see the boys in action again.

see you all tomorrow @ TGIF? ok, then!

Raz Jazza wrote: So here's a question for all you Manhattan-types...

My original plan was to drive down from Boston, park over at Liberty State Park, take the PATH to Manhattan and walk/take the train to 34th Street...

But if NO is on the stage around 9, they likely won't be finished until 11. The last PATH train leaves around the same time. So it might not be a good idea to park there - even though it's tempting and parking there is dirt cheap ($5 all day).

So is it feasible that I might find street parking in Manhattan in the late afternoon? Are there park and ride options that are fairly safe, but either in Manhattan or in Brooklyn/Queens? Someone mentioned to me that there is a large carpark on Roosevelt Island, which is accessible more or less all the time... any suggestions for the out-of-towner?

If you are driving down I-95 why not park in Stamford/Greenwich etc and take the train into grand central? Trains run till late also.

Anyway, back from Chicago this afternoon. You guys are in for a treat if last night's show is anything to go by. A FANTASTIC experience that will stay with me for a long time. Was fun to meet up with so many people, before, during and after the show. Also, what a super building the Aragon Ballroom is, really interesting, had a real buzz about it.

Enjoy all, look forward to reading your reviews! COTCH

Raz Jazz - i believe your best bet is to drive into Hoboken, NJ and park. My girlfriend lives in Hoboken so I've gotten to know the area pretty well. I'll be heading into the big apple via Hoboken myself (e-mail me w/ cell # if you want. I'm going in early to enjoy the weather and pre-party well). I suggest once you're in Hoboken get to Washington St (it's the main drag). Go to 13th St (MAxwell's coffee shop and pub is on SE corner) and head east (toward city and water). You'll see a large construction site on the water (was old Maxwell's coffee plant), go south and toward water. You'll find plenty of parking for free. walk back to Washington St. head down town to path.

--- I hope this helps.

TAxi back to Hoboken about $25. NewOrder in NYC, at Hammerstein, on beautiful early spring nite, w/ NewOrder after party at Hiro w/ DJ Hook = PRICELESS!!!!

Set list from Chicago?

is there any hope for an "everything's gone green" in nyc?

didn't think so.

regardless of set list, tomorrow night's energy level is going to be off the hook....pun intended.

t minus 22 hours!!!!!

JP

Wow, thanks guys. Good advice all around. I think I will do Liberty State Park, Todd but thanks for the suggestion. cotch, I may try the Stamford train another time - who knew of all the options?

I am hyped about the show but a little put out as it seems we won't hear The Perfect Kiss - one of the all time best NO tracks! Not to worry tho', this will easily be the best show I've been to in years.

Anyone here into ear plugs? I've never used 'em but some friends of mind swear you can hear the mix better. I stuck my fingers in my ears at a Graham Coxon show and when I did, I could hear his solos - otherwise it was all pretty garbled...

Anyone in the city early & up for a martini lunch I'll be at the Ava Lounge (avaloungenyc.com) 210 W. 55th St., around 1:30 PM (really cool spot) and then to Cantor Roof Garden "bar" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's a great little known drinking spot w/ amazing views of Central PArk (also nice pick up spot). It closes at 4:30p. If up for meeting e-mail early on 5th or just come on out. I'll be the one humming No (all day long).

Raz Jazza. I've done the Boston to NYC drive and park thing many times. Stamford Metro North can be quite the blessing. Never thought about the liberty park place, could be good as well. A warning to you though if your coming in the afternoon, traffic can be a motherfucker around NYC/Jersey during rush hour. The Stamford train way will cost you parking, and round trip trains (which stop at 1:30a.m, but start up again at 5:30, a mere 90 minutes after last call), but you'll be saving on the elevated stress levels. Afternoon New Haven line Metro North trains often have a "bar car" where one can purchase and enjoy adult beverages as well.

Psyched for the show @ Hammerstein. Although I'm 28 (soon to be 29) years old, this will be my second time seeing New Order. Yep, got to see them @ Meadowlands Arena at the ripe young age of 17 in support of the "Republic" album. I believe Sunscreem and 808 State were the support.

I can't wait, almost couldn't get tickets, but finally got a General Admission ticket.

Anybody know if there are any other opening acts aside from Dragonette? I have yet to hear them and hope they are decent because I will definitely be antsy waiting for NO.

Marc Horowitz wrote: Yep, got to see them @ Meadowlands Arena at the ripe young age of 17 in support of the "Republic" album. I believe Sunscreem and 808 State were the support.

I was there, too, Marc! Sunscreem was great and 808 was a wonderful surprise -- they weren't listed on the ticket, as I recall. I can't remember whether Graham Massey played Spanish Heart -- I don't think so. I do remember Cubik.

The Chicago set seemed like a real good one. I hope tonight's will be along the same lines.

I'll be rolling in around 7:20 from Philadelphia with my gf. I'll be in khakis (from work) and the Green N.O. Ceremony shirt (which I actually got before the tour). we have stnading on the floor....the final stop on the tour for me. To paraphrase Meatloaf, "Four out of five ain't bad".

Who's Joe?

I highly recommend that you do not drive into the city. Also, for those of you going into Grand Central Station, see if there is a train you can take into Penn Station from your location. The ballroom is right around the block from Penn Station. I'm sure a lot of the other locals have it covered, but feel free to ask for directions or suggestions. I'll be coming in from Newark, NJ via the PATH as well. I'll check this thread every hour or so till 3.

Is parking that bad near the venue? or is it just a shady part of town? Am leaving in a little over an hour if anyone has suggestions. Thanks.

Todd

Greetings, Looks like doors open at 6:30pm (Is this a matinee show?) Is that normal for this venue ??

Anyone got any insight as to when the boys will hit the stage ? I've never heard of the support act and so might give it a miss. I've been a fan since my sister brought home Blue Monday when it was first released (Thanks sis) but have never been able to see them live so this is kind of special for me :-)

Regards, Mike.

Aarrgh!!! Lost my glasses this morning on the g*ddamn subway! (Not that it's the subway's fault, but once that train pulled out of the station, I knew my specs were gone for good). So I guess I'll have to move even closer to the stage tonite and/or have my wife describe the Barney dance to me as it happens. Well, i've still got my hearing -- for now.

So I guess barring huge car or traffic issues, I will be in NYC around 4 pm. I'll look for the TGIF - is it easy to find? I'm easy to spot, look for Black dude about 6ft with an Eng-er-land football t-shirt. Otherwise I will revel with you lot at the show itself...

If TGIF ends up being prohibitively expensive for drinks (which it was the last time I was there) there's also two bars on 8th Ave. between 30th and 31st called the Blarney Stone and Molly Wee's that will probably be a lot cheaper. My wife and I will be drinking margaritas at the Blarney Stone around 6:30 - 7:00 if anyone wants to join us!

I CANT WAIT!!!!

been reading these forums and listenign to their albums all day at work. like everyone else here, going to be the best night of my life!!!

Gregory Frederick wrote: Is parking that bad near the venue? or is it just a shady part of town? Am leaving in a little over an hour if anyone has suggestions. Thanks.

Todd

It's midtown dude. Not shady at all. Just good luck finding parking, that's all. If you can't find a spot on the street, you will end up paying an arm and a leg for a garage.

tgif is lame

Thanks for the info, Afro. I can't wait for the show tonight! It's been 12 years since my last NO show and I'm completely psyched. Heading out from Baltimore in about 15. I'll see you all at TGIF around 4.

Todd

just got in to the city. i'm at my friend's place near columbus circle--listening to WFTSC, of course.

Spotnick wrote:

AgentWood wrote: just got in to the city. i'm at my friend's place near columbus circle--listening to WFTSC, of course.

I'm at Kinkos near the venue... which time is the meet-up again? Ah well...

4 pm.

Spotnick wrote: WARNING - SPOILER AHEAD... DON'T READ IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED TONIGHT

Ok, so if you're here, you want to know...

Guys, Ana Matronic will be there tonight... :D she will be guest singing on Jetstream.

WOW!! That's awesome! Even thought I hate that song, its a nice touch. God I hope my friend is holding my spot in line by the time I get there.

Any word on when the bands hit the stage tonite?

Sorry if i missed this earlier in the post, but I thought Arthur Baker was opening/Dj'ing tonight before New Order, but then i saw that Dragonette is playing, does that mean no Arthur Baker? I hope he'll be there at same point!!! Thanks....

afr0puff wrote:

Spotnick wrote: WARNING - SPOILER AHEAD... DON'T READ IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED TONIGHT

Ok, so if you're here, you want to know...

Guys, Ana Matronic will be there tonight... :D she will be guest singing on Jetstream.

WOW!! That's awesome! Even thought I hate that song, its a nice touch. God I hope my friend is holding my spot in line by the time I get there.

I knew it:) Great news. Only other show I've seen there actually was her band. Fun show.

Last minute heads up, if you want a t-shirt get them before the concert, they sold out in Chicago!

Spotnick wrote: WARNING - SPOILER AHEAD... DON'T READ IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED TONIGHT

Ok, so if you're here, you want to know...

Guys, Ana Matronic will be there tonight... :D she will be guest singing on Jetstream.

I sure hope she's as good as the tape they've been using!!

It's down to minutes!

OTW TO SUBWAY NOW OH YES!

The Man Up North wrote: Isn't it strange by the way that two grenades exploded right in front of the United Kingdom's embassy in New York last night, just when New Order are in town ?

OK who doesn't want the Order to play?

and have they voted?

Have fun all.

11.37P any update?

My freind from NY called me during Temptation and then again for Atmosphere and Blue Monday. Can't wait to see the set list.

Here is the setlist:

Love Vigilantes Crystal Regret Hey Now What You Doing Krafty Transmission True Faith Run Wild Jetstream (with Ana Matronic) Waiting for the Sirens' Call Bizarre Love Triangle Love Will Tear Us Apart Temptation

She's Lost Control Atmosphere Blue Monday

Great meeting those of you I met tonight. Great show!

Awesome Awesome show

That break in the set list was during a five minute "intermission". Don't every recall them doing that before.

(remember when they didn't even do encores???)

Didn't check here in time to see about the gathering at TGIF. Darn.

Anyway good/bad news. According to Stephen Morris, NO tried to get another consective date in NYC, but it didn't work out. Apparently, they really had no idea that the Hammerstein was that small and that it would sell out that fast.

The Good news is that the band does seem interested (I wouldn't say eager, but interested) in coming back soonish, now "...that we are playing together again." said Stephen Morris.

Conduct wrote: Here is the setlist:

Love Vigilantes Crystal Regret Hey Now What You Doing Krafty Transmission True Faith Run Wild Jetstream (with Ana Matronic) Waiting for the Sirens' Call Bizarre Love Triangle Love Will Tear Us Apart Temptation

She's Lost Control Atmosphere Blue Monday

Hey everyone,

I just got back home to Philadelphia and I have to say "WOW!" The show was ranks up there as one of the top 3 live concerts I've ever been to, and that's saying something, since I usually go to see bands (from smaller indie acts to larger theater-sized acts) play live at least once a month. I was up front, about 5-6 layers of bodies back from the barricade, so basically I was about 10 feet away from Hooky. It was surreal being that close to the band.

Conduct's set list is correct, and although I was hoping for a unique surprise on the set list for this show, I am not dissapointed in the least. I still wish they would have played Ceremony though.

The boys were having tons of fun on stage and you could see it in their faces and with their between-song banter. Barney let the jokes fly at every possible moment, and even regaled us with a false but entertaining story about how his foot was injured when rescuing a friend from a shark attack while surfing in L.A. I noticed a large video camera on a crane taping the whole performance, along with a couple of camera-people on the floor between the barricade and the stage filming as well. Could a new live DVD possibly come out of this show? That would be an exciting prospect.

Ana Matronic was a great surprise during "Jetstream," and although it's one of my least favorite songs off WFTSC, seeing it live with Ana was lots of fun.

I would say the only thing bad about this show was the opening band Dragonette. How in God's name did such a horrible band get chosen to open for NO? I honestly hope it was a joke the boys cooked up to find the worst possible band to open for them, just for laughs. In any case, once NO hit the stage at 9:00 pm sharp, just about all memory of the opener was obliterated.

Lynn Koehler wrote:

That break in the set list was during a five minute "intermission". Don't every recall them doing that before.

Similar break at MEN arena in 98 - Barney said something about nipping off for a sandwich.

Sounds like a great gig last night - more reviews please! Hope it was filmed for release SOON!!!

I'll write my review tomorrow, I think - I'm too tired to write it right now! However, I can say that is was absolutely fantastic!

BIGINOIL wrote:

Lynn Koehler wrote:

That break in the set list was during a five minute "intermission". Don't every recall them doing that before.

Similar break at MEN arena in 98 - Barney said something about nipping off for a sandwich.

Sounds like a great gig last night - more reviews please! Hope it was filmed for release SOON!!!

I don't remeber a break at the MEN show...When was it?

We generally know them as the gap between the last song in the set and the encore!

I typed out my thoughts last night then submitted it and it came out as blank box. Grrrrrrr I was mad.

Anyway, my ears are ringing this morning. Haven't felt that in years and years after a concert. They were LOUD.

This was my first NO show. I'm floored. Just wonderful.

I've been asking myself for all these years why I like JD/NO so much. Such a unique, fragile, imperfect band...how do they do it? why does it work? If they have been pulling the wool over my eyes for 20 years, then I am one grateful fool! :D

Hightlights for me were:

Waiting For The Sirens Call: such a melodic beautiful song with Hooky's sweeping bass line, and Barney's vocal delivery swirling around each other. Really worked super well live. Brilliant. A gem.

Transmission: Just seeing 3/4 of JD was very exciting for me. I was really caught up in the moment, jumping, lip synnching the vocals, rocking and rolling. I put both fists in the air and silently screamed to the heavaens on, "and we could daaaAAAAAANNNCE!!". It's easy to criticize Barney on the vocals for the JD tunes, but this one is the most satisfying of the three they are doing if you ask me. Atmosphere is second. Gorgeous bolts of LOUDNESS on the chimed musical chorus. Glorious. Stephen on SLC was awesome too. What a machine after all these years. he still looks like a kid behind the kit too! During the JD tunes I was just marveling a far how these boys came from the days of Hooky in a white shirt and skinny tie.

Temptation: I waited 20+ years to hear this song live. What a payoff. The synth mix was excellent, the guitar playing spot on. The drum roll on the verses..all there..chills down the spine. Especially on Barney's last sighing "oh you've got greeeYYYYY eyes"- just the way I like it. It went on and on and I never wanted it to end.

Was very funny seeing hard rocker types dancing to Blue Monday. They probably came alone and won't be talking about that to their friends. Hey, it's irresistable, I submitted myself and danced like a weasel in heat with a big goofy smile on my face. More so to Temptation, BLT, and True Faith.

Of course the rockers were great too. Love Vig's, Regret, Crystal, all very good. I especially got into Regret. What a great single.

It was imperfect perfection. All I could ever ask for in a NO show. A dream come true.

Hi all:

Long time lurker first time poster....

So last night was simply great. I have seen New Order twice before. Once was way back right after Substance came out with Echo and the Bunnymen at Jones Beach. We were in the first row and it was g rest show! Just fantastic.

I saw tehm again at the meadowlands with PIL and the Sugarcubes. I bthink this was around the time of technique...and it was not nearly as good. NO looked kind of bored and the show was a little lackluster. Althoguh I love NO they weren't ON that night, and PIL stole the show....

LAst night was much closer to that Jones Beach show! Killer setlist, and unlike the previous poster from wher eI was the sound mix was great. Temptation was a definate highlight. I also thought NO did fine with the Joy Division stuff. I mean its not going to sound exactly the same, but it was a fitting tribute.

The new material sounded great, adn they all looked enthusiastic.

Prior to the show my wife and I were walking around and out of the coner of me eye I thought I saw Bernard walk past. Sure enough when they came on he was wearing what we saw on the person who past us in the street. DOh1 I should have said Hi!

Anyway I won my tickets lst night from K ROck. My wife and I have a 3 month old at home so Im not sure if I would have been there or not otherwise. Thank goodness I won those ticckets! Great night and a good chance for the wife and I to recharge our batterise so to speak! Thanks NO!

First time poster here as well.

I've been a big fan of NO since 1987 during high school. This was my first NO concert, and although I can't stand Hammerstein Ballroom as a concert venue, the show was so awesome! The lighting was awesome but the sound system left a lot to be desired (I was on the mainfloor). I do agree with Will's post up above, particularly in regards to the new version of LWTUA. I also actually thought that Dragonette was pretty good! They were like Missing Person meets Blondie meets The Killers. We can't expect the openning act to always sound exactly like the main band, just like Elkland who openned up for Erasure at Irving Plaza here in NYC recently.

Anyhow the setlist was wicked! I'm definitely going to catch any future NO tours in NYC after lastnite (I've caught 1 show of every Depeche Mode tour in NY since '88). I also loved the energy and humor of the band onstage.

"The lighting was awesome but the sound system left a lot to be desired (I was on the mainfloor)."

That's an understatement!

The band provided performed a great set, a very spirited performance - too bad the sound was marred by a terrible mix.

Bit of a recurring theme here at all the US shows (and indeed just about all the 2002 gigs across the world as well) - desperate sound that ruins the spirit they put into the performance. Where's the problem lie? Poor venue selection? Ineffective soundchecking or in-gig board management? Insufficient PA power to carry it all off? All three?

hmmm....

My wife and I were on the floor in the middle but maybe a little more towards the back, not too far away from teh sound board....

it sounded pretty good where we were. The only thing I did notice were a couple of places where for a few seconds guitar or vocals would get a ittle louder than the rest, but overall Ive ehard much worse mixes at some of the many club shoes Ive been to..strange....

"This is the most fucking insane front row I've ever seen!" - Peter Hook after the freak in the front row is yelling/screaming at the top of his lungs.

That freak.... :D

I'm uploading my pictures now. I took some video, but its so ridiculously distorted. BTW, this show will be out on DVD.

I was pretty sure he said it was the most ugly front row--which got a laugh out of me...

MARCX wrote: I was pretty sure he said it was the most ugly front row--which got a laugh out of me...

Yes, I'm 90% positive he said UGLY. HAHaaa! FYI I was in the middle-right side

HAHAHHAHAH!! Are you guys sure!? Cause right after that he said I feel right at home. Everyone around us was confirming insane also. LMAO!!

The show was brilliant. I was lucky enough to be at the front with the other insane/ugly fans yelling at Hooky. I couldn't believe my luck when he passed me one of his picks (I can't remember what song they had finished playing). The sound was terrible up front, but most of the people around me didn't care. Hearing Love Vigilantes was definitely one of the highlights for me. My buddies and I used to jam that all the time back in college. Only carp event of the evening was having to drive back to DC after the show. Kudos to Flavio for coming all the way from Ecuador!

From an "old school" New Order/JD fan, let me tell you cynics out there that last night's NYC concert was the best of the 7 I've seen them do.

I saw them "in the good old days" of 1983-89 and the Hammerstein show topped those.

16 songs in all. Played nearly 90 minutes. 4 JD songs. The "upside".

The downside for me was the crap vocal mix for Barney. Whenever Peter sang he came through better than Barney.

And I could do without Run Wild and Hey Now.

But if you had told me a month ago they would play Regret, Love Vigilantes, BLT, True Faith, Temptation, Blue Monday. Krafty. WFTSC, and for JD songs, I would say that would be fantastic.

Hooky definitely called you front-row types UGLY.

Great fucking show.

Not only was Ana Mantronic great, but did anyone else notice that she then went back to a platform to the side of the stage and then danced with the Scissor Sisters for the rest of the show?! (Actually I can't 100% confirm this since I couldn't pick the SciSis out of a lineup, but at least 6 people confirmed it around us.)

And holding court in the box seat closest to the stage was Carlos D of Interpol. He pretty much sat there with his hands folded in his lap the entire set. Strange. But I guess with an entire section around me sort of staring at him off and on as if he were the show, what can you do?

Did I miss anyone mentioning the cameras and what they were filming for? (sorry if I missed that if you did) The jib camera kept smacking me and the people around us in the head. Not only was the soundboard operator a novice, but so was the camera guy, clearly. But I guess that means that my hands were filmed at points.

Dragonette were pure garbage. You can do synth pop without 80s costumes. But when you do both BADLY (hello Miami Vice!), it's time to get a dayjob.

usually the venue has far better sound than last night, i wasnt sure if it was just from being up front or not. have seen many bands there & hammer can def. do better than that.

brilliant show tho- they were all in rare form! have been waiting to see them again since 1989.

"i used to think that the day would never come"

Forgot to mention that Barney blamed his lack of dancing skillz on a shark bite while surfing.

OK I've got to get my 2 sense in here. I've seen every NO tour in NYC since the Ukranian National Home 11/81. Last night's gig was exceptional despite piss poor sound (we were about 2/3 of the way back in the middle) on the vocals, drums and bass- doesn't leave much. It did improve slightly throughout. Disagree with previous post about JD tunes being "popized". Transmission absolutely rocked. But what was the deal with the crowd? I couldn't see the front but where we were nobody was dancing except for the geezers like me. I remember when they opened the Meadowlands show with Regret and 18,000 people simultaneously started jumping. All the "kids" at this show seemed interested in is playing with their fuckin cell phones or pda's - losers...We couldn't hear Barney's dialog except for part of the shark tale. Could someone post his comments if possible?

This was my 6th NO gig, although the first since '86. But it was similar to previous gigs (and perhaps not unlike NO's career) in that the performance could not live up to all the pre-show hype. We all love and treasure JD/NO's recorded ouvre, but can the live shows ever live up to such expectations? As perfect as NO are, the live shows often seem a bit... loose. Not that there's any person(s) to blame; Barney himself has talked about the need for the band to rehearse more. So we have a group of brilliant musicians who create such beauty in the studio, and then try to get it together to share the music in a live setting. It doesn't always work, but I'd still pay to be in the same room with them.

When it does work, it's transcendent. Just the bass line to "She's Lost Control" is a thing of resonant glory. And "Temptation" might be the classic New Order song, rising and spiralling like a dream dissipating in the pre-dawn light. It was just as precious last night as it was the first time I heard it at the Ukranian National Home in late 1981.

The new New Order (post Get Ready) is a riff-machine. A good riff-machine, unique to NO, but just a riff-machine. In a live context, those riffs were catchy, and hearing the Get Ready material (in my case, for the first time ever) the songs fit nicely in the set in a toe-tapping, rocking kind of way. But if NO's material consisted only of the last two CD's, I don't think I'd be a big fan.

It's the heritage that keeps us coming back for more, and wanting more than perhaps they can deliver. But they do try to appease -- some Joy Division material is put forward. But I agree with what a previous poster alluded to -- they can no longer play the JD stuff. I would love to hear "Shadowplay", but one gets the impression that without the necessary rehearsal time, the band just can't pull the JD chestnuts out of their bag. Two of the songs still work -- "Transmission" and "SLC", and there are moments in both songs when Stephen Morris' drumming breaks free, a dynamic industrial-strength explosion that reminds us of what attracted us to JD all those years ago.

"LWTUA" is of course a classic, but a difficult song for Barney to sing and it seems to have become nothing more than an anthemic crowd-pleaser. And "Atmosphere", shorn of it's distinctive synth riff, might only be an average JD piece.

But I will always love NO, in part because, like all of us, they are (pardon the cliche) survivors. Out of something dark and chromatic, they fashioned beauty and color. They embraced dancing, and joy, and silliness. This was important for them, and for us, in our maturation process. Now they seem to be content in middle-age, trotting out the riff-machine, and hitting the floorboards when they feel like it. More power to them.

The sad thing for me is that this is probably the last time I will see the band. Fitting then that the final song (in the regular set) last night was "Temptation", just as it closed the set when I first saw them 24 years ago. "Oh, it's the last time" will never sound more wonderful than it did yesterday evening.

Regarding the sound quality at hammerstein - whilst far from perfect, as a seasoned NO gig go-er this really was not that bad. I thought Temptation sounded really good for example. It must be a nightmare mixing electronics with live drums, guitars etc. and this has plagued NO gigs from day one.

We were in the 2nd row on the 2nd tier, so I think (at least my wife tells me - shes seen kraftwerk & the cure there) the sound is far better up there than on the floor. The only think that really grated soundwise was barneys yelps he seems so fond of.

This was the most fun I ever seen NO having on stage. Lots of jokes (they played the 'cant get you out of my head sample' at the start of Blue Monday -dead funny) and hooky really hammed it up for the audience. I thought it was really touching the amount of JD covers they did considering the closeness to the 25th anniversary of Ians death. Agreed, barney could never do the JD lyrics complete justice, but really I still found the songs very emotional.

Finally as a sissor sisters fan, it was great to see Ana Matronic on stage, and also the rest of the band dancing away at the back of the stage on some kind of podium for the bulk of the show. Any one who doesnt like the scissor sisters - get with the program - NO obviously loves them and they have fine music taste!

my voice is gone and my feet are sore from a great evening spent up by hooky with al, gary and johnny giles, among others (all sound lads!). great show, although the audience were a bit sullen.

Its great to hear that everyone has enjoyed the gigs so far. Cant wait for Jarvos and JGs stories from stateside.

One thing that does surprise me is the lack of Ceremony and where has the rumoured EGG gone to ??

Man, man, man, what a great fucking show! Christ! Some additional bits about the night:

The band came in while some spaghetti western (Fistful of Dollars?) music played. Kinda funny.

Regret -- it sounded different than any other version I know -- or was it because the sound was messed up?

After playing Krafty, Hooky: "I feel totally at home." Crowd goes wild!

Was it just me, or did it seem like Hooky didn't want to leave the stage? I absolutely loved how he ended Blue Monday and the concert -- playing as he slowly left the stage, and then the final "Ah!" gesture, his playing hand raised high in the air. It was so totally beautiful.

Unlike most of you, I was on the first mezzanine. After Dragonette finished, a guy (a bloke, I should say, as he was English) was looking for a seat and luckily there was an empty one right beside me. It turns out that he works for Musicchoice.com, and they were one of the two interviews NO did in NYC (the other being K-ROCK). The interview was conducted at Hammerstein earlier int he day, and for it, NO recorded some soundtracks including Atmosphere. This bloke was there (not as a part of the interview team, but the folks at his company knew what a huge fan he was)! He said it was fantastic and he couldn't believe his luck. He got to shake their hands at the end, the lucky bastard!

So check out musicchoice.com in a month or so -- he said the interview will be available via broadband and also through cable (Time Warner, Comcast, etc.).

This guy also confirmed two things:

1. There will be an album next year. Cunningham is contributing lots. So maybe we'll see them again in 2006. Unbelievable.

2. There will be a DVD of this concert coming out in a little while. That's why there were all those cameras out there.

As far as the concert itself is concerned:

1. I wish Hooky sang the JD songs. He's got a booming voice, and I think he could do those songs more justice. I know the mixing was poor, but let's face it -- Barney's voice has always been a studio voice. I love it, but for live concerts, it leaves something to be desired.

2. They ran out of t-shirts! Bastards! I guess I should've gone there earlier. Oh well. I'll get a neworderonline.com shirt instead. ;)

3. Hearing Temptation, Love Vigilantes, and True Faith was more than I could have hoped for. But of course (and I know you feel the same, Kyle!), if they'd played Love less, I could've absolutely died happy right there last night.

4. Thanks to the nicest, coolest people I met at TGIF yesterday -- Spotnick, Frank, Tracy, Kyle, Jethro. There's more of you, but I can't remember your names! I still can't quite reconcile having met so many people who know and love NO so much.

It was just a completely memorable day in every possible way. Thank you, neworderonline. Thank you, New Order. Thank you, Joy Division. And thank you, Ian.

• Sung

yes...to all those i met and those i didn't get a chance to speak with at TGIF--i hope everyone had a fantastic time with the NOOL COMMUNITY!

oldmonkey wrote: Bit of a recurring theme here at all the US shows (and indeed just about all the 2002 gigs across the world as well) - desperate sound that ruins the spirit they put into the performance.

! nothing wrong with their spirit last night!

Thief Like Me wrote: Forgot to mention that Barney blamed his lack of dancing skillz on a shark bite while surfing.

He used that joke in Chicago and it fell flat. Surprised he resurrected for N.Y. No wonder why people say Manchester is so bleak, could be a lacking in the humour department.

First time poster, long-time lurker:

I was at the show last night and it was flat out amazing. I run a blog with a friend and I've posted my review along with a bunch of photos I took.

They're over here:

New Order - Hammerstein Ballroom 5.5.05

Great photos!! Thanks.

does anyone have pics of the t shirts on sale?

(First, a disclaimer. I probably have some of the exact quotes wrong, or in the wrong order. But's it's my best recollection of what happened - feel free to correct me!)

What a great f**kin' show!

I left Boston 2 at and made good time all the way down to the Bruckner Expressway... and I thought, what the hell? I'll go down the FDR and look for a spot near MSG... after about an hour getting to midtown I found a spot on 32nd and Broadway! No parking fees or trains!

The wife wanted to get to the venue but I persuaded her to stop by TGIF's and meet you lot. I'm so glad we did. I forget so many of the names, but John, Al, Gaz (cheers for the pint) and Rob among others were so friendly and cool.

We headed over about 7:45 or so - the Hammerstein was pretty empty when I walked over at 7:15 but it was packed. There were about a million scalpers, which I thought was a little odd. Call me cynical, but I somehow don't think a lot of the blokes asking for tickets actually planned to see New Order...

A bunch of us from TGIF's started at the back and inched forward to the fifth row or so. Hammerstein was a nice venue, much larger than I'd anticipated. I'd say there were easily about 2000 people there. I settled in a spot stage right and watched the opening act. They weren't much cop, I'm afraid. At least to my ears. The folks around me seemed to be friends with the band, so they were going on about how this one looked, and how that one played so much better... Thanks, guys, but it's a FINE TIME for New Order!

As they were setting up the stage it struck me - the most legendary and influential band of our time (in my opinion) were about to be on stage. Now follow my logic here. With JD, the boys gave the punk movement an industrial, iconic image and sound. When I first heard Hannett's production I thought, "I have never heard anything like this before..." Listen to the start of "Autosuggestion." Have you ever heard a track open like that? The match (or whatever it is) being struck, the ambient noise... Amazing. Then they emerged from the ashes with NO, created a completely different sound, even experimented with NYC urban music (Confusion) and created one of those songs everyone knows (Blue Monday). They invented Madchester with Technique. Even when they were on hiatus we've got connections with the band and The Smiths (Electronic, Freebass), Chemical Bros., 808 State... I was about to witness the three lads from up North who changed popular music.

Then some weird stuff started to happen. These canisters of dry ice started going off. I mean, about five feet from me. The girls up close were completely enveloped in it. It was fine for me, as I'm a little taller than most folks around me, but still weird. They kept discharging, I guess because it never remained particularly smoky. From my side of the stage, you could see a little window in a staircase - and about 8:55 I saw a familiar figure, Steve Morris! Followed by some other people, Barney, Hooky, and Phil. Then the lights started to flash, the floor rumbled and...

F**KIN' NEW ORDER WAS ON THE STAGE!!!

Phil comes to my side with the red Les Paul. Barney has the Gibson SG with the Confederate flag on the scratchplate (seriously, Barn, what's up with that?), Steve goes to his digital set (replete with Roland digital cymbals!) and The Viking, Hooky, arrives stage left with the lowest-slung bass in rock 'n roll history. He's got a black Eccleshall hollowbody that just looks like it may have been an axe in a former life.

Barney says the ceremonial hello to the crowd, which explodes when the band takes the stage. He looks back at Steve, whips out a recorder thingy, and says, "This is Love Vigilantes!" And they're off. Phil is expertly playing in front of us, handling the chords as Barney sings "I want to see/My family..." My whole section is legit - boys, girls, younger, older, all are singing in unison and pogoing like mad. At this point I take out my earplugs. I agree the sound wasn't perfect, but it was pretty good and it didn't kill my ears like the Graham Coxon show I saw last month did. Barney ends by saying, "That song's about Vietnam." Who knew?

Barney next says, "This is a song of our last record, Crystal," and again the crowd goes mad. It's here where I realize that the song is heavily sequenced - the "whoos" after "We're like crystal/we break easy" are sequenced. Nevertheless, it sounds top, and Hooky ventures over to our end of the stage, behind all of the wires, and gives us the full Hooky treatment, playing his bass at angle length. We, of course, go nuts!

I think here Barney engages in a little banter. He says, "Do you want us to play or do you want us to f*** off?" Of course, the crowd yells, "PLAY!" Barney smiles and says, "Well, if you want us to play, we'll f*** off. If you want us to f*** off we'll play." It was a funny exchange between the band and the audience.

Next is Regret - again, sounds great. After, Barney tells us a story about how he went surfing in California, and a mate of his was attacked by a shark. So he saved his friend, who was unharmed by the shark, but it bit him instead. "'Cause that's the kind of person I am," he sasses. Hey Now What You Doing comes next, sounding in the beginning like Hole's Malibu. But it's fresh sounding, and we're subjected to some of the twee-est lyrics in the NO catalog (doing/ruin and future/computer replete with the typing hand gestures). But it's good, and conveys the despair of the character who's about to fall off the edge. (Is it the same bloke Barney sings about in Like No Other? It's not the friend from Perfect Kiss, as he "took his final breath" in that one.) Krafty is next, and the crowd perks up and sings along - these guys know their way around a (no pun intended) hooky chorus.

Now Hooky comes on the mic (agreed, his mic is better sounding than Barney's) and says, "It's time for a good old fashioned singalong, like we do up North." Or something like that. The familiar duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-DUH-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh comes on and we know it's TRANSMISSION! This rocks like a bastard, especially when Barney yells, "Dance, dance, dance to the radio!" And we do.

Then it's True Faith. I have to admit I was disappointed with this one: TF is either a song a love to hear or I skip it, depending on the mood. (And which came first, Peter Schilling's song or TF?) The explosive drumming from Steve is missing - it's a simpler, less impressive drum pattern. And Barney sings the line "When I was a very small boy/Very small boys talked to me/Now that we've grown up together/They're afraid of what they see" instead of the "now they're taking drugs with me" bit like he does in the 511 DVD. A newer, teetotal Barney? TF ends... it's okay, but not as incredible as it might have been.

Run Wild is next, and Barney comments after that "that's not a song you can dance to, but we need some of those to bring it down." (Or something like that.) He mentions that it's a sensitive lyric. I wasn't a big fan of it on Get Ready, but it's okay here. Again, not earth-shattering but nice (Ear plugs went in here).

Next, Barney tells us he has a surprise - NYC's own Ana Matronic, for Jetstream. For me, it's a "Let's Go" - this song does nothing for me! I'm shocked to hear Barney say it's the next single. Why? Why not Who's Joe? Ana does a good job I guess, but I'm not too impressed with the Scissor Sisters so I'm ready for what's next." Barney thanks here at the end and says, "She's fuckin' great!"

WFTSC is next, again, it's a nice tune but I'm ready for some of the other tracks off the album, or some older stuff (I only bought the CD a week ago so I'm not totally familiar with it). Clearly, Barney senses my impatience, as he summons Bizarre Love Triangle - again another song everyone knows. Here the crowd sings along, and Barney treats us to a show of his... dancing. How to describe it? It definitely has a monkey-like vibe to it. The gurning he does when he's really into it makes this even more memorable. But it suits him, he doesn't look *too* daft doing it, and it's fun. The BLT version is a carbon copy of the recorded version and we see our kid Phil doing the keys work up front stage right along with Steve in the back. It's a crowd pleaser for sure.

Next, I think Barney switches the SG for a Rickenbacker and says, "It's been 25 years since our lead singer died, so we'd like to do this song for him." It's LOVE WILL TEAR US APART! This is when we, as a crowd, get emotional. For some, the song reminds them of their own adolescence. For others, it's a disturbing recount of a crumbling relationship. And for some of us, it's almost IC's suicide note. It's a great song but hard to hear. The lads do a nice job of it, but the old fans for sure think about how much we miss Ian. I'm sure they do too.

Temptation is next, and thanks to the billions of compilations it appears on (along with the prominent role of the song in Trainspotting), everyone knows this as well. It's a great way to end the show. At the end, Barney says, "Thanks for coming out, we hope we can come back again a lot sooner." Cheekily, he adds, "If you clap for five minutes we might come back."

So we do, and they come back. Barney mentions that they'll do two JD songs. First up is She's Lost Control, which is played live like the version on Substance 1977-1980. Again, it's a poignant moment for band and audience, but it sounds great. Next it's Atmosphere. Phil is doing the keyboards and it sounds spot on for a Barney take on Ian's lyrics. We know the end is near so...

There's a lot of commotion stage right with the technology near Phil's Roland keyboard. A rack similar to the one you can see Gillian messing with in the TPK video is there, and Hooky shouts, "Hey Phil, is the technology ready?" Barney gives up his guitar and grabs a mic. You know what's coming next.

It's Blue Monday.

We're all teens again. Steve is back on the keys in the back and occasionally Barney twiddles a knob on the computer. It becomes obvious to me why Hooky is known as "The Viking" - he has the massive six-string bass this time, and a drum pad set up. He pounds the pads in a majestic, primeval way - like Thor forging steel - and it looks like he is fashioning a weapon rather than playing a song. Yes, boys and girls, Peter Hook is the coolest mutha in rock 'n roll. Quite possibly topping The Clash's Paul Simonon. Like Paul, he took the most awkward, dull instrument in the band - most frequently played by the unhippest, swottiest musician - the bass (hey it's cool, I am a bassist as well) - and made it cool for a generation of us to look cooler than the guitarists! Thanks Hooky!!!

The band retire one-by-one, except for one Peter Hook, who remains on stage slowly playing the Blue Monday bass riff. He hands it over to the roadie, but not before bashing it a couple of times. He walks off, and it's over.

Music for pleasure, indeed!

We headed out of the Hammerstein. I was so freakin' high that I walked past t-shirts without picking one up (oops!). I saw Al and Gary a little behind us as we walked out - hope it was ace for you as well. You were right - it was a life changing experience!

I didn't mention this earlier, but one of the best parts of the show was watching the folks backstage (Scissor Sisters/entourage?). They were dancing on the risers, all backstage - no one stood or sat quietly. They were all dancing their arses off! Really fun to see that.

So I got home at 3 am, after driving back. I was so buzzed (and in need of preparing for my 8:30 class which I was leading!) that I only got 4 hours of kip last night, but before I crash on the sofa, just want to say that this show is up there for me with Blur in '97 as far as energy goes. Crowd was great! Another amazing thing to me is the fact that the lads all have all of their hair! No one appears to be thinning. Steve looks timeless, while Hooky looks like that cool dad of your mate's that rides a motorcycle. He wears the beer belly quite well. Barney looks like... well, Barney, only with a little more poundage and wrinkles. The lads are remarkably well preserved. Phil seems to have this very mellow air about him, the lads don't give him grief and seem to genuinely like him. If Gillian comes back (let's hope so) I could imagine them keeping him as well.

That's my report. You are in for a treat if you are a NO concert virgin like me!!!

GBUK wrote: But what was the deal with the crowd? I couldn't see the front but where we were nobody was dancing except for the geezers like me. I remember when they opened the Meadowlands show with Regret and 18,000 people simultaneously started jumping.

I was up front and many of us in the middle area were jumping like mad. My legs are still aching! There were a bunch of people on the right side of the stage who didn't do shit the whole show. What a waste of space. BTW, there were some photogenically challenged people in the front, excluding myself of course.

Fantastic show last night indeed..So much better then their set at Coachella..I think the problems Sunday were the sound of Hooky's bass being way too loud in the mix and a lot of the crowd not being too into it..Partially because so many of them were waiting for NIN..

Highlights for me included True Faith and She's Lost Control..Unlike some people, I'm very happy that they still play Joy Division songs..Thoses songs still need to be heard and who better to perform them then New Order. I've seen Ian Brown and Morrissey this past year and hearing those Roses/Smiths were so touching..

One think I'd like to add is that I thought the opening band last night, Dragonette was one of the wrots band I've ever heard. Totally riping off bands like The Killers and The Bravery who are just rip offs of bands from the 80's. How do they know to open such a prestegious show?? Bloody awful I reckon..

Darren

I hate Hammerstein. NY crowds are even worse. That's why I skipped this one.. seeing New Order at Big Day Out in Australia is enough for me forever.

over from little england can not beleive how little the fans dance or show any sign of life. been to all four shows and really upset people for showing any emotion or passion. give me a european gig any time. saying that all the people i have met have been great. its just the rest that have displayed coma like symptoms. chicago best gig out the four period, atmospheric areana, band played well. yes hooky did say ugly fuckers on the front row. prozac munchers would have been more appropriate. with love from Portsmouth uk

forgot to say that we were guest listed upstairs. we had to use all our colditz escape spirit and a service lift and distraction techniques to get down stairs to give the show any kind of atmosphere. we definately broke federal law

M wrote:

Thief Like Me wrote: Forgot to mention that Barney blamed his lack of dancing skillz on a shark bite while surfing.

He used that joke in Chicago and it fell flat. Surprised he resurrected for N.Y. No wonder why people say Manchester is so bleak, could be a lacking in the humour department.

Funny thing is, when Morris tried to help out the joke with a "Bada Bing" hit on the Drum kit, lol!

M wrote:

Thief Like Me wrote: Forgot to mention that Barney blamed his lack of dancing skillz on a shark bite while surfing.

He used that joke in Chicago and it fell flat. Surprised he resurrected for N.Y. No wonder why people say Manchester is so bleak, could be a lacking in the humour department.

Last night he gave his first explanatory joke after Love Vigilantes. He says "That's about Vietnam...I was there...I got shot in the foot and that's why I can't dance." (paraphrased)

I believe Hooky's comment about the ugly first row was followed up by him saying: "I feel PERFECTLY at home."

Jason Bell wrote: First time poster, long-time lurker:

I was at the show last night and it was flat out amazing. I run a blog with a friend and I've posted my review along with a bunch of photos I took.

They're over here:

New Order - Hammerstein Ballroom 5.5.05

That's excellent man, thanks for sharing.

Bringing a tear of joy to my eye.

May not have been the most technicaly brilliant concert I have ever seen in my life, but it sure was one of the most emotionaly satisfying for me.

Mike

Raz Jazza, that was the best thing I have read on here in ages!

I hope someone from the UK Music press sees this - they need you on their staff!

You even know to say "rose from the ashes"

Excellent review mate, glad you enjoyed it!

I think Barney sprung "She's Lost Control" as a change from the originally planned encore with "Your Silent Face". From what I could see, the list read as:

Atmosphere + KW1 Blue Monday

After Barney announced SLC, Hooky looked over at Barney bewilderingly.

I figured if they were going to make a dvd of this performance, Barney would be on better behavior with controlling his voice, but he wasn't even really singing during the 2nd verse of LWTUA, more of read/sing mode. And he added some more "whoops" and "..2-3-4"s in parts of other songs where he hasn't done it before.

Hehe, you can bet they'll cut away from Barney when he falls on his ass during Jetstream. Poor guy. It was funny seeing Ana turn around with a "what the heck just happened" sort of expression when she saw him on the ground.

Spotnick wrote: I am back! I am copying pictures right now.

Did anybody post yet that they taped the show? there was 3 cameras... so I have no idea what they will do, but it's taped!

I spoke with the crane operator and one of the hand held operators. Both said it was a for a DVD release. However, the hand held operators were morons. Both synchronized the tape recording at the same time, meaning that they would both would have to stop recording at the same time while they inserted a new tape. There wasn't any overlap. And they missed some great shots of hooky playing in front of the fog machine. I think there were four cameras from what I could see. The crane, the two hand helds in the front, and one by Morris in the back.

Spotnick wrote:

I think this is my best one.

No, this is the best one!

Brilliant pics, Nic!

I know the reception toward Dragonette was mixed. I haven't actually heard them yet, but I had posted earlier wanting pics from their set if it was at possible. The reason being, that two of the members are part of Hamilton, Ontario band called Flux a.d (http://fluxad.net). that I really like. For those who were unimpressed by the apparent Killers-esque sound of Dragonette, I think you would be more impressed with Flux-who are influenced by bands such as Radiohead, New Order, The Beatles, Neil Young. So if anybody took one or two pictures just for the hell of it, I would be greatful, as I would really like to put them on my website. You would get credit of course.

As for the New Order concert, I am glad it was fun, I wish I could have flown out there. We may not be getting a New Order show in Toronto, but it looks like Peter Hook is doing a DJ set here tonight. I might just make it out for that. What kind of set does he typically play?

Well, the 20 year wait was well fuckin' worth it. I felt priveledged to be part of the experience. Yeah, the sound wasn't perfect (i found it to be charming in a vinyl vs. cd kind of way), and NYC hipster types often don't know how to have fun, but there were enough people dancing and singing their asses off to boost the energy level. The classics were great, and the JD songs were priceless as far as I'm concerned. Ceremony and Perfect Kiss would have made it perfection for me. Maybe next time Hooky Rocks. Enough said there. Only gripes were the damn kids holding their cell phone/pda cameras in the air for the length of a whole song. It's gonna look like shit. It's gonna sound like shit. So put it away. Live the moment, dance like your ass is on fire, and etch that experience into your heart and soul so you'll have it as a part of yourself forever. I've been waiting a LONG time to see the boys play live, and they far exceeded my expectations. I'm still buzzing from the experience.

TGIF pre-show was a good way to meet some other fan/freaks, and get in the spirit. Kyle, Sung,Tracy, Spotnick, Wenorder, and the others whose name I forgot, it was nice to meet you. You all seem like real kind hearted people. Just what I would expect from a New Order fan. Hopefully there will be more shows with next years release, and we can do it again.

Show was amazing. I had always heard stories of their live shows never beeing good compared to the CD's, NOT TRUE! I was up front to the right of the stage, about 20 feet back. Was really glad everyone around me was dancing so we all had fun in our area. Too many people though were just standing there, its a real shame.

Also, does anyone else get annoyed when people decide they are gonna leave the front to get a tray of beers, then expect to push and shove their way back front while still carrying all of the beers and tellign you to stop dancing so they can walk past?? was getting soo pissed. If you need a beer and can't wait till the show is over, drink it in the back.

All in all, last night was great.

Spotnick,

Thanks for the pics. They will serve as a visual reminder of one of the greatest nights of my life.

Not the first time I've seen them, but the closest I've ever been, and the best venue. The set list was amazing. I'd have liked a better sound, especially with the lads on top of their game.

At any rate, it's a night I'll never forget. I was speaking with my brother earlier today, with whom I attended the show, and he and I agree...today was like the day after Christmas. The gifts are all unwrapped, and now you count down to the tree being taken down.

What a great show - possibly the best concert I've ever been to. Went with my brother, fiancee and a friend from college.

Stood stage left to watch Hooky, but Barney was compelling viewing too.

Was impressed by the fact that just about EVERYONE in the crowd sang along with with every song, except the really new stuff, and quite a few were in synch with that. But it added to, rather than detract from, the show. There was so much heart and so much energy.

I'm closer to 40 than I might like, and Joy Division was history when the New Wave swept me up. But I found it so emotional to hear those songs, particularly Atmosphere.

Looked like they were shooting video. Hope something comes out. Just one of those special nights in one's life.

These are my thoughts from the show... First of all, I drove from DC so bear in mind this is my first experience at Hammersteins. But the sound sucked! I go to a smaller club called the 930 and the sound is so much better. I was about 15 feet back from the center stage on the floor. I, too, was shocked that the majority of those surrounding me and my friend were standing still. He and I were danced non-stop from the time they started Love Vigilantes. We are both in our mid 30's (don't look close to it though :D ) but obviously have more enthusiasm than the kids around us! My other pet peeve is a guy dragged 6 of his friends into his space, crowding and pushing all of us around him. It really annoys me that people think they can show up right before the show starts when I've been standing there since the doors opened. I'm only 5'2 and tiny so being mouthy when no one else around is willing to do anything does no good. And then of course, my view was blocked for most of the show...

But New Order was awesome. They played alot of my favorite songs, a few were left off (a perfect kiss for one), but all in all it was an amazing night!

And then we were standing outside on the sidewalk deciding where to go to eat, and out the side door came Carlos D! Extra excitement for me since I've seen Interpol 3x in the last couple of months. What a night, certainly one I won't forget for awhile.

I'm sorry guys, but I dont agree with a lot of reviews here about the Hammerstein show. I'm a diehard New Order fan and I really think the show wasn't all that good. I know everyone here in this forum are diehard NO fans, but let's be realistic...the show sucked. Bernard doesn't have strong enough voice to handle Hammerstein. The sound overshadowed his voice. I did find Bernies dancin' quite amusing...Hook's bass playin' is off the hook.

Jammasta wrote: I'm sorry guys, but I dont agree with a lot of reviews here about the Hammerstein show. I'm a diehard New Order fan and I really think the show wasn't all that good. I know everyone here in this forum are diehard NO fans, but let's be realistic...the show sucked. Bernard doesn't have strong enough voice to handle Hammerstein. The sound overshadowed his voice. I did find Bernies dancin' quite amusing...Hook's bass playin' is off the hook.

I think if you were going there and expecting some big effects and MTV style fireworks or choreography then yeah you would be dissappointed.

The guys are 50 yrs old and stil make great music. Plus Barney had been singin since the week before so maybe his vocals were wearing down..who knows

overall it was a good show

e C K o H

Its amazing how die-hard fans are complaining about the show/sound/barney's dancing/whatever. The only legitimate gripe should be that most of the people at Hammerstein were zobmies with sticks in their arses. If you're that picky, stick to your iPod and don't bother buying a concert ticket and let others enjoy listening to an imperfect band and love every minute of it.

Occasional lurker, first time poster. Thanks to all for a great source of NO info and great forum.

Agree with many posters that the crowd was a little inactive, but this is NYC in 2005. Having seen NO in concert in NY Metro area in 1987, 1989, and 1993, I found the Hammerstein show quite interesting sociologically.

Here are some observations:

1. The crowd was full of 30 to 40 years olds... people who would have camped out overnight for tickets back when they were kids in the 80's, but now are making enough bucks to pay the scalpers' prices for tickets. Overall, I think this crowd is sedate, comfortable, very self-conscious, and deathly afraid of getting any beer spilled on them.

2. Like Times Square (remember the pan of the XXX and kung fu movie marquees in Times Square in the Confusion music video?), NY has become a more sanitized, upwardly mobile, middle class, follow-the-rules kind of place. Ironically, the crowd has become "Japanese" (as in the crowd in the Pumped Full of Drugs concert video).

3. At least the 30+ year olds did not appear to be obsessed with capturing really crappy, grainy photos with their cell phones. As other people have said, jezz, would you just stop recording your life and just LIVE it. Talk about "turning Japanese"... back in the day the big joke was the Japanese tourists go around and take pictures of everything. Now that digital photography is cheap it seems that we Americans were just jealous of the Japanese tourists. Don't live life as a tourist... experience it first-hand.

4. Dragonette - wow, these guys would have had stuff thrown at them in the old NY. I remember going to see DEVO at The Ritz in 1988 and the opening act was a synth-pop duo called Red Flag. The poor guys of Red Flag were pelted with ice, beer, and balled-up paper cups. Dragonette got a smattering of polite applause after most songs.

What was the deal with the Don Johnson/Miami Vice outfits on two of the guys in Dragonette? The lead singer of Dragonette reminded me of Rod Stewart during his "Do ya think I'm sexy, come on sugar let me know" era.

5. There's nothing worse than aging, hipster dufusses. This hipster couple was making their way toward the front after the opening act and then hit a road block immediately behind me. The guy was wearing a tan beret, and his wife/girlfriend was sporting white-rimmed and rhinestoned librarian-style glasses and a tacky blond dye job. The woman was having some kind of passive-aggressive jostling match with some dude behind her, and when her boyfried/husband was trying to get her to chill out and stand on the other side of him, she started arguing with her boyfriend/husband. The hipster couple were as dead as doornails whenever they didn't know a song (which was any song that isn't from the "Pretty in Pink" soundtrack era). When they danced, the woman only knew one dance which can be best described as a Boy George-ish hip sway (and I can't think of a more troublesome dance in a standing-room only crowd). Anyway, my point is: This is the kind of audience you get when scalpers are allowed to get a hold of a substantial number of tickets and real fans are priced out while hipsters are willing to pay $130/ticket to re-live their Molly Ringwald days.

The only legitimate gripe should be that most of the people at Hammerstein were zobmies with sticks in their arses. If you're that picky, stick to your iPod and don't bother buying a concert ticket and let others enjoy listening to an imperfect band and love every minute of it.

why does everybody has to dance and move around in order not to be considered picky? some people (including me) just like to stand, watch and listen

eCKOh wrote:

Jammasta wrote: I'm sorry guys, but I dont agree with a lot of reviews here about the Hammerstein show. I'm a diehard New Order fan and I really think the show wasn't all that good. I know everyone here in this forum are diehard NO fans, but let's be realistic...the show sucked. Bernard doesn't have strong enough voice to handle Hammerstein. The sound overshadowed his voice. I did find Bernies dancin' quite amusing...Hook's bass playin' is off the hook.

I think if you were going there and expecting some big effects and MTV style fireworks or choreography then yeah you would be dissappointed.

The guys are 50 yrs old and stil make great music. Plus Barney had been singin since the week before so maybe his vocals were wearing down..who knows

overall it was a good show

e C K o H

Well I'm not really criticizing the choreography or light effects, etc... It's really barney's vocals. It was just horrible. You can't say because he sang the week before that his vocals were just not up to par. Even the first time I saw them in Jones Beach with the SugarCubes opening for them, Barney's vocals weren't there (and we are talking about when he was in his mid 30s). They are definitely a studio band more than a live band. I saw Erasure 2 weeks ago, and Andy Bell definitely didn't have any vocal issues and the crowd was by far more "alive" than the NO show. Of course, I can't really compare to the 2 shows since Erasure fans are you can say.... "different".
If you read about New Order's profile on this website, you will read that Barney was never big on doing live shows. But don't get me wrong, because I don't think he's a good live singer doesn't mean I didn't enjoy seeing the band. :)

I'm happy to read here that enough people seem to agree with me about the fucking corpses in the audience. Just so hard to believe. When they did LWTUA I started pogo-ing and going nuts and the guy behind me whined and told me to "calm down" because I was pushing him off a little bump in the floor. I snapped back with something to the effect of "don't tell me to calm down at a New Order show during a song like this, I'm 37 and can remember the more passionate days of music, sorry you can't and that you're so boring" In any case I thought the show was great and if/when they come back to NYC again this year I will buy another ticket.

This was the most expensive concert of my life (plane ticket, paying double at ebay for the concert tickets, etc) and let me tell you, it was worth it. Every single cent. Maybe it is because I am 27 and I have only been a fan for 4 years, but I never ever though I would get the chance of seeing New Order live, in such a great venue, with so many nice people and close to the stage! (I thought, well, I became a fan too late, I missed the moment, you know?) But now I get to see them and now you are telling me the thing is coming out on DVD?????

No "new" New Order fan deserves it this good. But I am taking it. Oh yes, I am.

All the best, and for the "old timers" that waited all their life to see them and were there on Thursday night, here is to you I salute you.

Flavio

God bless New order there one of the only bands that can make this jaded 28yr old dance so much. I posted before that i wish they dropped true faith. I was so wrong. I wish they played more songs maybe 22 songs. All their fucking dance tracks they should play. If only perfect kiss,thieves like us, and fine time, i would be sobbing.

Is a song really a song if it is not performed live. Whats the use of releasing new material if is buried underneath the hits. My guess is after jetstream the title track will be the next single. There were 3 songs played off the new album.

I guess my point is that i believe that songs needs to be consumated by playing at gigs. Do they really exist if they are not?

I hope they ditch love vig. and run wild next time. Good songs but not what i want live.

Last random rant: I must confess no new order show is complete without self-indulgence. Did anybody else have a little fun in the bathroom?

I hate bathroom attendants. I hate the idea of somebody being subserviant to myself.

Let me start off saying that I am a pretty big fan since around 88.. I am in my early 30s.. never got to see them live... except on the recent official live DVDs, where they were pretty good.

Also, let me say that the Hammerstein sound is generally fantastic, I have seen tons of shows there since the mid 90's I think. Including a great Primal Scream show when they were here pushing the XTerminator cd..

This show had me excited... then N.O. hit the stage, and barney's vocals are crap! I think it had a bit to do with the mixing on his mic, as it did get somewhat better as they progressed. At times you couldn't even hear certain lyrics until he screamed, and then you REALLY heard him scream... vocals aside, I thought they sounded great though.. Luckily the vocals seemed to get somewhat better after a few songs, and I was pretty happy probably 3 or 4 songs into it.

Overall, I would give this performance a 7.5/10, which is pretty good. Also, I see alot of shows, and I just saw Trail of the Dead at Irving Plaza, and that was a fantastic show..

New Order / J.D. will always be one of my favorite bands, and will always be, but Bernie just isn't a great live performer... he tries to add too much and improvise on the live stuff.. his vocals seemed to need "filling in", and whenever Hooky added in it was better. Bernie's guitar work was NICE to say the least! His dancing? Well, having never seen N.O. in the 80's except on the Tarchavkis or whatever it is called tape, I liked it more when they didn't try so hard.. I liked the talking to the audience, but the whistling and screaming.. It would have helped if he didn't do that I think.

Well, to those who travelled, I hope you liked the show! To Flavio, hey dude, I am ecuadorian too, at least my mom is! I was born here in NYC though.. that must have been one expensive ticket for N.O. =)

also, I wish they hadn't done Run Wild, and Jet Stream.. probably the 2 weakest songs on the setlist..

titus bondi wrote: The only legitimate gripe should be that most of the people at Hammerstein were zobmies with sticks in their arses. If you're that picky, stick to your iPod and don't bother buying a concert ticket and let others enjoy listening to an imperfect band and love every minute of it.

why does everybody has to dance and move around in order not to be considered picky? some people (including me) just like to stand, watch and listen

let me get this straight. you first write that it is a 'legitimate gripe' to call the NY crowd 'zombies' yet you then complain about how one should have the right to just stand and listen without others making a big to do... which completely contradicts your first statement. utterly confusing.

perhaps we have different definitions for the word 'zombie.'

novadancer wrote: My other pet peeve is a guy dragged 6 of his friends into his space, crowding and pushing all of us around him. It really annoys me that people think they can show up right before the show starts when I've been standing there since the doors opened.

that must have been myself, jarvo, gary, john and johnny giles. we were across the street enjoying ourselves, having drinks at TGIF with other NOOL people instead of waiting in line outside the venue. you should have joined us--perhaps then you would have been in better spirits at the show!

Flavio Arosemena wrote: This was the most expensive concert of my life (plane ticket, paying double at ebay for the concert tickets, etc) and let me tell you, it was worth it. Every single cent. Maybe it is because I am 27 and I have only been a fan for 4 years, but I never ever though I would get the chance of seeing New Order live, in such a great venue, with so many nice people and close to the stage! (I thought, well, I became a fan too late, I missed the moment, you know?) But now I get to see them and now you are telling me the thing is coming out on DVD?????

No "new" New Order fan deserves it this good. But I am taking it. Oh yes, I am.

All the best, and for the "old timers" that waited all their life to see them and were there on Thursday night, here is to you I salute you.

Flavio

I agree with Favio! This was my first time seeing New Order live, and I only waited 15 years Favio, ojala nos veamos pronto en Guayaquil. Saludos.

I am 27 and have never seen them live. I can now die in peace. Some people are saying that the show wasn't that great. I beg to differ. All I have to say was that it was incredible. I was in the mezzanine and everyone was dancing like crazy. Some guy standing next to me was even doing a horrible Morrissey dance impression too. From the opening of Love Vigilantes to the Blue Monday encore, I was on my feet. I think the biggest hits were Regret and LWTUA. Unfortunately New Order aren't as massive here as I would like to see them be but the crowd loved them. I wish their new album came out last month rather then a week ago as people weren't as familiar with the new songs. Ana Matronic came out for Jetstream, which sounded great. Bernard was jumping around like a man on fire, Hooky was never in the same place twice and Phil and Steve were just great. Steve's drumming is one of a kind. I think my favorite songs they played were Temptation and Atmosphere. Here is a rundown of the setlist(It might not be exact but I am trying to rack my brains-I didn't write it down during the concert- I was having too much fun.)

Love Vigilantes, Crystal, Regret, Hey What You Doing?, Krafty, Transmission, True Faith, Run Wild, Jetstream, Waiting for the Sirens Call, LWTUA, Bizarre Love Triangle, Temptation, ENCORE: She's Lost Control, Atmosphere, Blue Monday

(would have liked to see them play Ceremony or Dreams Never End but maybe next time!)

AgentWood wrote:

that must have been myself, jarvo, gary, john and johnny giles. we were across the street enjoying ourselves, having drinks at TGIF with other NOOL people instead of waiting in line outside the venue.

Doesn't this kind of pleasant behavior just make it so much fun to go to rock concerts? You'll go far in life with this kind of attitude Agent Wood!

When people like Wood and his little friends try to push past me and my wife, and profer half-hearted "excuse me's", I just push back a little harder in their direction and offer my own, "No, excuse ME". Between the assh*les moving back and forth in the crowd during the show, and the attention-deficited loudmouths who decide to carry on conversations during songs that don't interest them, attending large-scale rock concerts like this can be a test of concentration. And I like to dance during the shows, and did a bit on Thursday, but the sardine-like conditions don't allow for a lot of movement. Maybe up and down pogo-style, but NO's music is rarely conducive to that sort of dancing. And as enthusiastic as I am about NO, I don't want some person falling into me while they attempt to put together their dance moves. This ain't no disco, it's an incredibly crowded old theatre.

Drew Olewnick wrote:

AgentWood wrote:

that must have been myself, jarvo, gary, john and johnny giles. we were across the street enjoying ourselves, having drinks at TGIF with other NOOL people instead of waiting in line outside the venue.

When people like Wood and his little friends

that would be her friends. i am a female, after all. and who says i was pogo-ing? the others were, and good for them, but i was breaking out my own dance moves. sorry if that isn't acceptable to you and your standards. you don't know me from eve, but i guess that doesn't matter, right? i guess 'me and my little friends' are worthy of your vitriol despite this fact.

and what 'attitude' would that be? wanting to meet other fans of the band? actually, kindness has gotten me pretty far, drew. i was being genuine, drew, when i brought up meeting at TGIF.

anyway, it's heartening to hear that many others enjoyed the show and the music as we did, be it through dancing, standing, or lying on the floor (if that's your thing). it's been nice to read these excellent posts!

i really enjoy the kylie minogue sample on blue monday. It got me going as i love the song cant you get out of my head.

Anybody have the mix of blue monday/cant get you out my head?

I know Blue Monday is their biggest hit, but next time would love to hear Thieves Like Us or Perfect Kiss in it's place.

AgentWood wrote:

Drew Olewnick wrote:

AgentWood wrote:

that must have been myself, jarvo, gary, john and johnny giles. we were across the street enjoying ourselves, having drinks at TGIF with other NOOL people instead of waiting in line outside the venue.

When people like Wood and his little friends

that would be her friends. i am a female, after all. and who says i was pogo-ing? the others were, and good for them, but i was breaking out my own dance moves. sorry if that isn't acceptable to you and your standards. you don't know me from eve, but i guess that doesn't matter, right? i guess 'me and my little friends' are worthy of your vitriol despite this fact.

and why the nasty, long-winded rant? i was being genuine, drew, when i brought up meeting at TGIF.

Pardon my gender misidentfication Wood, however you responded to Novadancer's comment about "some guy and 6 of his friends"... er, are you sure about yourself?...

And you seemed to take some delight in implying that you forced your way through a crowd of people who had been occupying their spots for some hours. Why is it that most forms of common courtesy are chucked out the window at rock concerts? Oh yeah -- rawk-n-roll!

I wasn't referring specifically to your dancing. I've done my own share of pogo-ing in my time. My point was that these incredibly crowded concert settings do not lend themselves to dancing. So most people choose to tap a foot, nod a head, or sway side-to-side. It's not that they are not enjoying themselves or the band, it's simply that they just can't move.

Spotnick wrote: Forgot to add for the pleasure of people not there...

On Jetstream, Bernard went down on his knees to play the gee-tar at Ana's feet.

That wasn't planned at all, the management beside me were all laughing in a way saying "wow, that is great"... :D

Yeah I dug that, too!

About people not being "active" enough, I was up front row for Oakland and NYC, and the NYC was by far the most docile crowd. No one touched my back the entire time. You can't really compare Coachella with the regular crowds though since it's a festival. But no matter, New Order were amazing nonetheless. It didn't diminish them at all.

I arrived in New York at 7am the day of the show. Between meeting other fans, the show itself, and the after party, this was one of the best 24 hrs of my life. I only got half an hour of sleep that night because my flight was at 7. Trying to sober up on a plane is not a fun thing.

Spotnick wrote: Forgot to add for the pleasure of people not there...

On Jetstream, Bernard went down on his knees to play the gee-tar at Ana's feet.

That wasn't planned at all, the management beside me were all laughing in a way saying "wow, that is great"... :D

Are you sure? It looked like he totally busted his ass when doing one of his dance steps. His bum ankle must have gave way. I saw a grimace on his face and he also used his hand to brace his fall. Ana also had a "wtf" look on her face when he fell.