Get Ready Front‑to‑Back, Joy Division in Full Force, and a Balcony View
New Order has been one of my favorite bands for decades. So much so, that since YouTube Music introduced their top‑listener badges, they’ve been tied for the most I’ve earned. So when a Peter Hook & The Light show lands at exactly the right moment, it hits a little differently. Their September 11, 2026 performance at House of Blues Dallas arrived just as Joy Division/New Order were on the cusp of being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Peter Hook & the Light setlist included the full album Get Ready followed by Joy Division and New Order classics.
No Love Lost
Peter Hook has made it clear that he has no intention of reconciling with his former band-mates. He has said he hasn’t spoken to most of them in over fifteen years. In the case of Stephen Morris, their last interaction wasn’t friendly. Since New Order seemingly isn’t going to tour much anymore — and I completely missed their Dallas stop in 2023, which still stings — seeing Hooky is the closest thing to getting that experience.
The Balcony Advantage and Pre‑Show Ritual
I bought seats in the balcony, like we did for Echo & The Bunnymen earlier this year. At House of Blues, it’s simply the best way to see a show. Clear sight-lines, balanced sound, and none of the floor chaos I dealt with at Franz Ferdinand.
Hooky’s white bass from Blue Monday was prominently displayed onstage. Like a museum piece waiting for its cue — which didn’t come until the next‑to‑last song.
It’s the bass line that launched a thousand clubs. Seeing the actual instrument in person — the white finish, the long neck, the way it sat under the spotlight — was a reminder of how much of New Order’s identity came from Hooky’s hands. Sitting untouched for most of the night, it carried its own presence, like a piece of alternative‑rock history waiting for its moment.
Before heading up to ours balcony seats, I picked up a shirt — Hooky signs every one they sell — and an autographed poster customized for the Dallas show. They had a wide variety of merchandise, including signed albums and CDs.
Universal Amphitheatre, 1989 — My First New Order Experience
My New Order history goes back to April 1989, when I saw them at the now‑demolished Universal Amphitheatre. I went with my college roommate, Steve. I don’t remember much about the concert — just flashes of the Technique era and the feeling of being inside something cool and modern.
New Order was one of two shows I saw at Universal. I wrote about my family’s connection to that venue in my B‑52’s/Devo review. The building is gone, but the memories still echo.
Get Ready Front‑to‑Back — Peter Hook & The Light Setlist Highlights
Hooky opened the night by performing Get Ready in its entirety starting with Crystal, my favorite song from the album. The Peter Hook & the Light setlist continued with the remaining nine songs from the album. Turn My Way was another highlight for me.
Hearing the album straight through was a revelation. It’s a record I didn’t fully discover until the last several years, and hearing it live made me appreciate how muscular and melodic it really is. It’s the last New Order album Hooky toured on before the split. The final moment where the classic lineup still felt like a unified force.
After running through the album, the band took a short intermission. Then the night shifted to the beginning of Peter Hook’s musical journey with Joy Division.
Joy Division Intensity, New Order Melody — The Heart of the Setlist
This Peter Hook & The Light setlist covered every era — Joy Division’s stark intensity, New Order’s melodic shine, and even Monaco’s underrated corner of the catalog. He handled nearly all of the Joy Division vocals himself. He gave those songs the same stark, emotional weight they carried in their original form. After several Joy Division songs came Ceremony. It was the first New Order single, written in Joy Division’s final days and carried forward after Ian Curtis’s death.
From there the set shifted fully into New Order territory. Hooky and guitarist David Potts trading vocals through the set. They even worked in the Monaco track What Do You Want From Me? as a nod to Hooky’s post–New Order chapter. Finally, the moment Hooky finally picked up the white bass that had been sitting under the spotlight all night. He began playing that famous bass line from Blue Monday, giving the song an extra jolt of electricity.
The night closed by circling back to Joy Division with Love Will Tear Us Apart, which turned into a full‑room sing‑along. It was the kind of communal moment that makes attending a live show so special.
Fine Time
The rest of the band deserves credit for how well they carried both catalogs. David Potts handled guitar and shared vocal duties during the New Order and Monaco portions of the set, matching Hooky’s energy without trying to imitate Bernard Sumner, but sounding much like him. The drummer kept the Joy Division material appropriately sharp and mechanical, then shifted into the more fluid, dance‑driven rhythms of the New Order tracks. The keyboardist filled in the essential synth lines — the atmosphere, the pulses, the sequenced parts that define so much of New Order’s sound — without ever overwhelming the mix. It’s a group that clearly understands the weight of the material and plays it with precision rather than nostalgia. And anchoring all of it was Jack Bates on bass, whose presence added its own generational thread to the lineup. Usually when Peter was singing, Jack would shoulder the bass lines. Jack is an accomplished bass player having touring with Smashing Pumpkins.
Heart and Soul — A Father and Son Legacy
It also continued a pattern I’ve noticed over the past couple of years: bands passing the torch within their own families. Peter Hook’s son, Jack Bates, handled bass duties with the same intensity and melodic instinct of his father. (Jack uses his mother’s surname, which is why the last names differ.) He’s toured with Smashing Pumpkins, and he brings that arena‑level confidence to the stage. Seeing Jack onstage with his dad fit right into that lineage — different bands, different eras, same generational hand-off.
Colton and I saw The Vapors last year, where David Fenton’s son Danny plays guitar. Just a week after the Peter Hook & The Light show we saw Squeeze, with Glenn Tilbrook’s son Leon handling guitar. It’s been fun watching these father‑and‑son connections across different bands. Especially when they have been the ones I’ve shared with Colton.
Dreams Never End
The show ran about two and a half hours, with no opening act — a rarity these days and the perfect format for a night built around two full legacies. It felt complete, unhurried, and intentional. As the final notes of Love Will Tear Us Apart faded, it was hard not to appreciate how much Hooky still gives these songs, and how much history he carries with him.
If New Order never tours again, I’m glad I got this version — direct, loud, emotional, and played by the man who helped shape the sound in the first place. If this is the closest I ever get to seeing New Order again, I’m glad it was with Hooky at the helm.
