My Hammerstein/Peter Hook experience:
1 - The Concert itself
Yesterday was the greatest day of my entire life! After waiting 8 years to see the band, I got to the Hammerstein at 12:00 PM (i know its insanely early but i had to be first) and was first in line for the show (blowing off my last day ever of college classes, like this was even a tough decision LOL)...and i got to see New Order front row right against the barricade dead center (i was the guy in a striped blue and green shirt)...it was the greatest thrill ive ever felt...i was beyond star struck being 5 feet from the band with nobody standing in my way. I was even more nervous knowing that the show was being taped, and its possible if its made into a DVD, im gonna see myself forever making a fool of myself in the front row. After Peter Hook made the comment about the Front row being fucking awful or whatever he said, i went INSANE with the jumping and dancing and screaming the lyrics, i tried to show as MUCH energy as possible cuz i truly felt bad, and me and my friend screamed out "God Like Geniuses!!" To Hooky a song later, and he smiled and put his arm up like "im honored" and he kept playing his bass, but he kept looking over at me cuz i was screaming Hooky! For me, the second half of the show had much more energy then the first half, i REALLY felt it after Anna Matronic came on for Jet Stream, from that point on, the crowd was just riding an emotional roller coaster. BLT was the best song of the night for me, i could feel the energy in my veins. The sound, the emotion, everything was going nuts..Was the 8 year wait worth it?? Without a doubt...The band were REALLY into it at this point. My friend got tons of pictures of amazing quality and a bunch of incredible mpegs...especially a really long one of Hooky smacking the electronic drum pads at the end of Blue Monday.
2 - Seeing New Order out on the Street
There was more madness earlier in the day, when me and a few other die hards that were there around 1:30 or 2:00 saw Peter Hook and Stephen Morris standing outside on the street with a guy guarding them, which prevented us from really getting too close, but they were like 15 feet from us, stephen morris waived back to us, and then they got in a car and drove off, peter hook was holding a shopping bag, so i think they were just going around manhattan buying things.
3 - I know a girl interviewing New Order
An hour or two later, i see this girl walk into the Hammerstein, and im like holy fuck i know that girl (all the ppl there were staring at me like umm who are you that you know her lol) so i ran up to her, and it turns out this girl i know (my ex girlfriends college roommate 'how fucking random lol' that has an internship/job working for NBC) was going to interview New Order, i was like WOW...so i gave her my friends camera, and she took a few really cool pictures with the band in a private area somewhere in the Hammerstein and gave us the camera back a little later on, i was just in awe, its good to know ppl in high places lol. She said that the band were really nice and cooperative.
4 - Meeting Hooky
Then after the front row experience, I went to the after party with my friend, and we were just chilling in an area behind the dance floor near the bathroom talking to fans and what not, and my friend says to me, "im going to the bathroom, but then lets get out of here cuz im exhausted," so im like "yea me too no prob." So im sitting there, and all of a sudden Peter Hook walks right by me towards the bathroom, so my heart started pounding, and i was like holy fuck, so like a stalker, i got up and followed him into the bathroom. I walk into the bathroom 15 seconds after him, and my friend is standing there motionless staring at me, pointing at Hooky, and i just gave him this silent nod like TRUST ME I KNOW...and i went to the urinal next to him, and i took a piss next to Hooky LOL...but all the time i was half staring, half trying to be discreet, which i definitely wasnt, i was also sure he knew who i was from the day cuz he saw me earlier on the street and he saw me dead center front row where i was screaming his name the whole time...so i turn to my friend as Hooky washes his hands and leaves the bathroom (left the bathroom attendant a pretty nice tip) and said "dude this might be my only chance to EVER meet/get a picture with Hooky," so i once again follow him right out of the bathroom, as he for some reason is just standing near the bathroom just chilling, and im like "Hey Peter! How are you doing??" And i shake his hand (nervous doesnt even begin to describe me at that moment, i was almost trembling) and im like "Is it alright if you can take a really quick picture with me? You were incredible tonight!!" and he laughs for a sec and says "Did you wash you're hands?" (cuz we were just in the bathroom a minute prior) and i was like "yeah i just did!" and he was like "joking joking" so i went to put my arm around him for the picture as my friend got the camera ready, and my hand was actually shaking, he turned to me and said "you're shaking.." so i actually took my hand off him, and just took the picture standing next to him cuz i was too star struck to even gain composure at that moment, and i think my friends camera blinded him with the flash a bit, so he couldnt have been too happy, and we thanked him again, and he walked off to DJ his set in a minute or two, but OH MY GOD...it was possibly the greatest moment of my entire life...I got a picture with Hooky!
