Just imagine for a moment, being able to finish a show with Blue Monday, Temptation, Atmosphere and Love Will Tear Us Apart, in that order.
Imagine being New Order, in general.
How many other bands could follow up the most iconic electronic track with the most iconic indie anthem?
That’s their unique advantage – their unparalleled versatility and decades-spanning relevance allow them to deliver a finale that other bands could only dream of constructing.
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Relevance is the keyword when assessing New Order in 2025. Why bother going to Golden Plains over the weekend when you could see the best of Fontaines D.C and 2manydjs mixed into one?
Admittedly, it’s not as if Sidney Myer Music Bowl was electric with anticipation – the Manchester legends naturally attract an older audience, despite a genre-defying catalogue spanning more than four decades.
Their choice to open with Joy Division’s haunting Transmission was a subtle signal though; the band wanted to establish that this wouldn’t be just nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake – it would be a masterclass in how post-punk evolved into electronic music and back again. How both have always been natural bedfellows in their capable hands.
Unfortunately, the message was lost within the significant technical issues with Bernard Sumner’s vocals for those first few songs. Fighting to be heard above Stephen Morris’s precise percussion and the throbbing synthesizers, they pushed forward with the confidence of musicians who know they have one of the finest setlist finishers ever played.
As Sumner’s vocals finally came to the fore to the jubilation of the audience, tracks began to arrive like old friends. Age of Consent and its distinctive bassline courtesy of Tom Chapman (filling the massive, pioneering shoes of Peter Hook, who slightly disappointingly is currently touring separately with The Light) cut through with surgical precision.
By the time they delivered Isolation they were in fine form, honouring their origins while evolving their sound. If you were wondering, their synths and kicks hit as hard today as they would have in Madchester. Age shall not weary techno. The middle of the set revealed rarities that delighted the diehards – Love Less performed for the first time since 1989 and Player in the League showcasing the band’s more experimental side.
Then came the finale that no other band could deliver – Blue Monday’s pulsating sequence triggering a collective movement across the amphitheatre, Temptation building the euphoria further, before the emotional gut-punch of Joy Division’s Atmosphere and Love Will Tear Us Apart.
New Order weren’t just performing songs – they were demonstrating their blueprint for modern electronic music, one that countless acts have followed but none have replicated. Technical hiccups aside, the night was a testament to a band that refuses to be defined by era, that remain as vital today as they were when they first emerged from Manchester’s grey horizons.
Get tickets to see New Order play The Riverstage in Brisbane tonight, ahead of their two sold out shows at the Sydney Opera House.
