"How the f*** did YOU mange to get a photo pass for New Order" Well Alex, since you ask, I like to think that it was in
recognition of my photographic abilities. The truth is less comfortable and is the usual "friend- of-a friend" routine, so
Jon, eternal thanks
So today is a bright sunny day in Manchester and the ice cream sellers are doing
a brisk trade. What? Did I write " bright sunny day in Manchester"? Something
must be wrong, but a quick sanity check reveals that it is not. For the Move
festival, everything have come together for the last day.
Elbow begin show that they are now ready to build upon the recorded success of
"Asleep In the Back" with a display of haunting fragility without sacrificing any of
the subtlety, so often a problem for bands making the transition from toilet venue
to arena.
The Bunnymen plough through what is effectively a greatest hits set, which
indeed contains some great moments, including "Rescue" & "The Cutter", but
perhaps it was just a bit too padded out
Was the really nail varnish that Anthony H Wilson was wearing? If it was, then he
needs to seek advice from Lynette, because it did not go with his shoulder bar
And who were the pair exchanging fisticuffs during a back stage scrap?
Doves not so much as take to the stage but embrace it, embellish it, then throw
out a shimmering beauty of a soundscape for the delectation of an eager audience. The use the video screens to
relay the videos that accompanied previous singles, whilst showing they are not afraid to include items from their
previous incarnation of Sub Sub, and they close with "Space Face"
I'll come clean and own up to the fact that I am biased, old enough to
remember being given a free ticket for a concert by New Order as a way of
getting the punters in to a rapidly dying Hacienda back in `83 Yet after all
this time, the excitement of seeing them again is still there, and it's reflected
in the crowd, a mixture of 30 something's relishing the freshness of the
sound, to the youngsters having heard the records & their mum/dad natter
on about
"..it doesn't matter how old you are, good music will always be timeless"
and
" never mind that Eminen (sic) shite, this is what you call music"
Well this is the day that the old buggers put forward one of the strongest
bodies of evidence to support the case. "Love Vigilantes" & "Crystal" open the show before they become the second
band to embrace tracks from their past, this time from the Joy division back catalogue, with "Transmission"
When a band comes on and says "We're going to play our hearts out for you" , as New
Order do, without an single jot of falsehood, the hairs on the back of your neck prick up
with expectancy.
No stage is big enough to limit Hooky as he goes on walkabouts, and he is as determined
to enjoy the "Atmosphere" as much as anyone else fortunate to be here tonight.
A smile occasionally breaks out on
Hookies unshaven face as he
recognises faces in the crowd. Having
recently played different venues in
different countries in a short space of
time, a degree of lethargy or tiredness
could be understood, but is nowhere
evident, and the crowd respond by surfing, singing and sliding
their way into joyful oblivion.
And as the sun sets on Manchester, it not the only thing that is
glowing