“I asked him what he wanted for his birthday…  What do you think he said?  He said, ‘Dad, I wanna play ‘What Do You Want From Me?””  Peter Hook of Peter Hook & The Light, currently, and formerly of Joy Division, New Order, Ad Infinitum, Revenge, Freebass, and Monaco.  “What Do You Want From Me?” was the top single produced by Monaco, and as Peter Hook (more affectionately referred to simply as Hooky) recounted his conversation on stage before the packed crowd at Mezzanine in San Francisco last night, he held his hand on his heart, touched by his son’s request, and beaming with pride.  It was definitely a special sort of evening last night, with more than the one big surprise, as I don’t believe his current band Peter Hook & The Light – with son Jack on bass – have ever performed that song live for the public.  The other big surprise of the night was opening and supporting band Slaves of Venus… but more on that later.  In the end, it was nearly three hours of not just the promised first two New Order albums, Movement and Power, Corruption & Lies, but a bit of Joy Division as well.  Really much more to cover than I can even contemplate in this opening teaser, but it was a stellar show and a showcase of amazing music.

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