Well that was one hell of a good weekend. I didn't arrive at Old Trafford until the start of the Doves set, but it was well worth it (even if the £3.50 veggie burger wasn't :)). New Order were simply fantastic, I've been lucky enough to see them a lot over the years but this was one of the best ever shows. I guess we were all dreading the same set as most shows this last year or so, so to open with Love Vigilantes was a brilliant success, it got the crowd going straight away. Atmosphere was really poignant, there was something special about seeing it back in Manchester with such a large crowd (is that the biggest show they have ever done in Manchester ?). Even 60 Miles an Hour sounded good. Digital sounded chunky, and the rest of the encore was a fantastc finale to a memorable night.
Sunday night was equally memorable in its own way though. The Homage tribute night at the Roadhouse that had been set up by Alex Staszko was a great idea, with several local bands and one from London all doing different Joy Division and New Order songs. First on were No1 Blue Murder, who did a kicking version of Truth that ranged between an authentic cover and a hardcore punk version. Awesome. Then the Blue Murder guitarist did three solo numbers, a very different take on Thieves Like Us that sounded like a Kurt Cobain version, an excellent Day of The Lords that had far more power than the original, and a couple of verses from Warsaw before thrashing it to a halt.
We then had a funky take on Touched By The Hand of God by local scallys Fat Shaft, a strange alcohol-fuelled Transmission, Gerd and the Volkswagens' Procession with very real-sounding vocals, an acoustic Run, and a version of New Dawn Fades that owed a lot to Moby's take on the song.
The real highlight of the evening was a simply stunning rendition of the Perfect Kiss, by the Ice Cream Bandits, with some great special effects, a killer Hooky-style bass and dual boy/girl vocals. This was followed by Drift's ambient and frankly boring take on Isolation that dragged on for 15 minutes, and an almost equally long version of Elegia by Gabrielle's Wish, complete with mid-song cock-up of Hooky-style proportions.
Mentalist had two takes at True Faith, a fairly straight cover without the bass power, and this was followed by local dub/rap outfit Hedz Jellmo doing a really interesting version of Heart and Soul that vied with the Thieves Like Us cover for most original version. The night's headliners were local favourites Tribeca, who proceeded to ruin Dream Attack, but the real stars of the show were the Ice Cream Bandits with their veritable snogathon Perfect Kiss.
Not a bad way to spend the weekend at all. Oh, and it didn't rain !
:) :) :)
ROCKET MICK