New Order in Wynwood, Miami 2019.
As Joy Division they helped to define what post-punk would be in a world still coping with the first wave of punk, and in the wake of their frontman’s suicide they pivoted to the dance world underground, completely redefining their sound as New Order. If that isn’t the most punk thing to do in the face of adversity, I’m not sure what is.
If you’ve read this far, you probably know a thing or two about New Order. But if you aren’t privy to the full story of one of the first and still most interesting of Manchester bands, there’s plenty of available reading (“Substance”) and viewing (“24 Hour Party People”). Our concern here is with with the now and the future of New Order.
The group has decided that the only residency in the states they are interested in doing is here in South Florida. This course of action makes total sense for a band from Manchester that seems to be constantly on tour; daytime is beach time, night time is show time and the after party never has to end in Miami.
As part of this extended engagement, entitled “Four at the Fillmore,” the band promises a stripped-down variation of their 2017 hometown performance at the Manchester International Festival, which formed the basis of an impossibly titled live album: “∑(No,12k,Lg,17Mif): So it goes..” The Miami Beach residency will forgo the Manchester performance’s 12-piece synth orchestra and live art installation.
The thing about New Order is, that they have the chops, the lineage and the material to do a four day stint. Given that Iggy Pop was a guest vocalist on the groups’s 2015 album, “Music Complete,” and is also a South Florida resident, it might be wise to expect some interesting surprises. They have a measure of peace now, having settled their long-running feud over music and naming rights with founding bassist, ex-bandmate and memoirist Peter Hook. The New Order core of Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert are still putting out great records and reaching new generations.
New Order Residency perform 8pm January 14, 15, 17 and 18 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater. neworder.com ~ Tim Moffatt
