Review: New Order at RAC Arena
New Order at RAC Arena
w/ Great Gable
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Returning to our shores for the first time since 2020, New Order kicked off their Australian tour at Perth’s RAC Arena on Wednesday night. Forged in the ashes of post-punk luminaries Joy Division following the death of frontman Ian Curtis in 1980, few would have predicted the profound influence they would go on to have in popular music. Even fewer would have expected them to still be touring, and commanding the attention of massive stadiums some 45 years later.
The night kicked off with Great Gable, a local indie rock act that have been making waves recently with some top support slots and festival appearances. The four-piece didn’t seem overawed by the occasion and won over the growing crowd with their entertaining banter and a flurry of their best hits to date, including All My Friends and Fine Wine, before finishing up with the irresistibly catchy Hazy.
After a short intermission, the lights dimmed and New Order hit the stage. As the driving intro riff from Joy Division’s Transmission kicked in, fans rose from their chairs, and some didn’t resume their seats for the rest of the night. Being Joy Division’s first ever single, it was a fitting way to kick off the set and highlight the evolution of the group’s sound since its first incarnation.
Next up, the band time warped all the way to 2001 with Crystal, and the crowd found their voice with its rousing chorus. “The first song was a Joy Division song,” said Bernard Sumner as he greeted the crowd. “The second song was a New Order song, and this one is somewhere in between.” The band then launched into the epic Ceremony, a track originally written by Joy Division, but released as New Order’s debut single in 1981.
Entering the thick of the set, New Order came in hot with a stack of fan favourites from their 80s heyday including Bizarre Love Triangle, Age of Consent and State of the Nation. “We should call it ‘State of the World’ nowadays,” said Sumner, which hit home given the current global political climate.
On a more recent note, Plastic from 2015’s Music: Complete was lively with its EDM, disco-styled beats. Sumner’s voice, however, had started to give way, which resulted in some rather pitchy choruses. Given that the band’s vocals have always been hit and miss in the live sphere, the off-key moments bounced right off the agreeable audience.
Hitting the home stretch, the band dug deep into their back catalogue and dusted off some of their biggest hits. The uber-melodic True Faith had the crowd clapping along, while the rhythmic kick drums that ushered in Blue Monday received the loudest reception of the night. It was Temptation, however, that really stole the show, as its infectious hooks and sing-along elements induced a wave of nostalgic happiness across the arena.
Following a brief respite, the band returned to the stage for an encore that marked a reflection of the past and their origin through the invocation of two Joy Division numbers. Commencing with Decades, the track served as a loving tribute to the late Ian Curtis, as his celluloid self came to life on the screen behind the band, before Sumner strapped on an acoustic guitar and led the group through the classic Love Will Tear Us Apart.
By returning to the start of the career, the group was acknowledging how far they have come on a journey that is now almost fifty years in the making. While the inclusion of the Joy Division songs in their set could be seen as a retort to original bassist Peter Hook, who has toured the same material extensively over the past decade with his own band, it seems rather fitting that both sides are ultimately doing the same thing: celebrating the old order as it is and was with their loyal fans.
BRAYDEN EDWARDS & MICHAEL HOLLICK
Photos by Duncan Barnes
