1986.03.27 Apollo Theatre

New Order

Apollo Theatre

Oxford, UK

March 27, 1986

Source: Soundboard

Lineage: SB -> cassette -> CDR -> EAC -> mkw audio compression toolkit -> SHN - > Flac

Taped/Transferred by: Brian Whittaker (Revenge touring bassist) -> Stash

Converted by: tom

Setlist

01. The Perfect Kiss   

02. Everything's Gone Green   

03. Broken Promise   

04. Lonesome Tonight   

05. Bizarre Love Triangle   

06. This Time of Night   

07. Shellshock   

08. Ceremony   

09. Face Up   

10. Sunrise 

Notes:

This show is from the 'infamous' 2003 Stash box of tapes.

Sounds review

NEW ORDER

Oxford 

The imperfect kiss. Tonight I should have stayed at home and played 

with my pleasure zone.

  I believe in the land of New Order, an ice dust island of volatile

emotions entwined with electro-wash creepers and rhythmic sidewinding

snakes of shake. For myself, I bring in the carrier bag of the mind

expectations of the excellence this band are capable of and fears for

the indulgences that sometimes crack their crystal citadel of noise 

into a million jagged edges. Tonight the latter prevailed, and 

unfortunately, it wasn't even funny. 

  The sub-culture New Order have constructed for themselves - and it is

just that, an aesthetic separateness - is now under serious threat

precisely because of their dancefloor popularity. They attract a large

number of stiffs for whom the band is a soundtrack to mewling and 

puking.

  I know that sounds like an elitist statement but it's something that 

the band are unable to cope with other than reverting to their infamous

cynicism and spite games. "God, you're so f***ing boring, no wonder we 

haven't played in Cambridge for six years" - Bernard Albrecht. "We are 

New Order and we don't give a f***" Peter Hook, pummeling his bass 

like it was a heckler's face. Just two of the many comments from the 

stage.

  I've always viewed such typical wind-ups with the chuckle they 

deserve, only this evening the effect was to lay to rest in a coffin an

audience that was for the most part dead already. 'Shellshock'? Sure,

we were suffering from it, but so did New Order whose streamlined

platinum fenders of melody became twisted and crushed under the 

jackhammer of their ire by the time the as yet unrecorded 'Broken

Promises' was launched. 

  A fan jumped onstage to grab Hook and was treated to a sullen stare.

The audience stood around bewildered for 20 minutes. I don't know 

whether or not an encore materialised because I walked outside. "What's

so good about New Order?" my partner asked. "They're like life itself:

unpredictable and occasionally magnificent," I laughed. It's obvious.

JACK BARRON   

Enjoy,

Rob