New Order at Jodrell Bank

Having spent Saturday at the Olympic Park watching Mumford & Sons, on Sunday I headed up to Cheshire to watch New Order play at Jodrell Bank. What a setting! I must admit this was the first time I had ever been up close to a radio telescope. I hadn't realised it was constantly, but almost imperceptibly, on the move. In addition they had laid on some demonstrations of various science things, including the Large Hadron Collider (in model form). and a big screen to show the Wimbledon Final. Well, its not every day a Brit could win Wimbledon (well done Andy).

The drop off point is not exactly close to the gig site!

Getting closer

Eventually I got to the stage

The tennis alternative

The LHC, or at least a model of a small part thereof

Indeed I used the tennis diversion to get myself settled into a prime spot, right at the front in the middle of the stage. Hence photos from this gig are the best I am ever going to get.  So on with the show.

Openers were Hot Vestry from that rock hotbed, Macclesfield. They were young and really pretty awful - the lead singer can't sing. (But then again this is a rather harsh verdict given half the headline act are from Macclesfield and their lead, Bernard Sumner, is an even worse singer.)

 Next on was Jake Evans. Actually not sure if this was a band or just the name of the vocalist. Fair voice and more accomplished act. But still most of the crowd were watching the tennis round the corner.

Then the Whip. And the first act I really liked. Very good dance band, with a trio of guitarist, keyboardist and a female drummer. Liked this a lot. And somehow they looked the part too.

But I liked Public Service Broadcasting even more. This is an even leaner stage act, just a drummer, Wrigglesworth, and his companion on guitar, and everything else. The "everything" is a computer on which is recorded the rest of the music, all the banter with the audience, and the lyrics, which are samples from various forties and fifties public service broadcasts. Furthermore the film backdrop to the act are also bits of public service broadcasts suitably spliced. Overall, different and totally entertaining. And fun.

On to the acts that had sold the tickets, although interrupted by the local science director trying to tell us a little about the telescope, and Pulsars. Not sure we were the best behaved audience for this. There was definitely some talking at the back. Even some chanting.

Back to the music and next up was Johnny Marr, legendary guitarist to the Smiths (as a drunken pillock near me kept shouting to Mr Marr, "Johnny, you're a legend!", as if he didn't know). He was quite terrific, combining new stuff from his pretty decent solo album along with some old Smiths numbers including a nice heavy guitar version of "How Soon is Now?" "Stop Me" and finishing on "There is a Light that will Never Go Out". Great stuff.

Guest appearance from Bernard Sumner

Johnny with his orgasmic face

And finally to a long set as the sun went down from New Order. Bernard Sumner is getting on a bit now, middle-aged spread taking hold - he looks a bit like a retired second-hand car salesman now. But he holds the stage well enough and played such a great selection of old New Order numbers plus some from Joy Division days, finishing unsurprisingly on Love Will Tear Us Apart.

The telescope was also brought into the light show. Well about time it did something more useful than listen to pulsars

The largely middle-aged audience loved it. Sadly many had now imbibed so much beer that they were no longer capable of dispersing unaided. There is something particularly sad, but funny, in seeing tubby middle-aged blokes so drunk they keep falling over as they try to stagger over the long, uneven fields.