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PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT
Live from The Hollywood Palladium
September 23rd, 2026 Review by Shane Pase
There is something powerful about hearing music that once sounded like the future now carry the weight of history. At the Hollywood Palladium on September 19th, Peter Hook and the Light managed to make both sides of that equation work. The songs felt familiar, sometimes deeply nostalgic, but they did not feel stuck in the past.
The Palladium was packed, loud, and ready from the start. There was no opening act and no wasted time. Hook and the band split the night into two long sets, beginning with something unexpected for many: New Order’s 2001 album “Get Ready” played in full, in order.
From the beginning, Hook looked like he was having a great time. He never stopped moving, crossing from one side of the stage to the other, playing directly to the crowd, making eye contact, and smiling often.
Even his outfit had personality: red Dr. Martens Chelsea boots, tall socks, cargo shorts, and a bright Lady Madonna-themed button-up shirt.
It was an odd mix on paper, but somehow completely suited him. It was most certainly not a typical dark wave uniform.
The first set opened with “Crystal” and moved straight through “60 Miles an Hour,” “Turn My Way,” “Vicious Streak,” “Primitive Notion,” “Slow Jam,” “Rock the Shack,” “Someone Like You,” “Close Range,” and “Run Wild.”
“Get Ready” is not the New Order album most casual fans would name first, but many in the crowd knew it.
Concertgoers danced, sang along, and seemed more than willing to follow Hook through it.
The set also showed how much Hook still enjoys performing this music. He was in motion, leaning into the songs, turning toward different parts of the room, and feeding off the response in front of him. That energy kept the first half from feeling like a simple front-to-back album exercise.
The second set moved through both sides of Hook’s history, mixing Joy Division songs with New Order favorites. “No Love Lost,” “These Days,” “Digital,” “Isolation,” “Disorder,” “She’s Lost Control,” “Shadowplay,” “Transmission,” and “Atmosphere” gave the middle of the show a darker edge.
Hook dedicated several songs to Ian Curtis, and those moments never felt forced. Curtis was part of the night simply because he is part of the music.
The most memorable moment came during “Ceremony,” one of those songs that sits directly on the bridge between Joy Division and New Order. Hook brought out Robert Levon Been of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club as a special guest.
Before Been took the stage, I had noticed a thin young man in a black trench coat pacing behind the stage. I remember thinking, “Man, someone is giving off Ian Curtis vibes.” A few moments later, that same man walked onstage.
Been was excellent. He brought a different energy to “Ceremony,” but it fit the song perfectly. There was something in his movement and presence that briefly echoed Curtis without feeling like an impersonation. At the end of the song, Been and Hook embraced for several seconds while Hook stood there with a huge smile.
As Been left the stage to loud applause, Hook joked that he had done a pretty good job at his “audition,” which got a laugh from the crowd. Then the mood changed. Hook looked across the stage and said, roughly, that for a moment he could have sworn he had just seen Ian there.
That hit differently because I had thought the same thing before Been ever stepped onto the stage.
There was another family connection running through the show. Hook’s son, Jack, was on bass, and watching the two of them together was genuinely fun. Jack resembles his father not only physically, but in the way he plays. More than once he dropped the bass low around his knees in that instantly recognizable Hook style. Every so often, you could catch Peter looking over at him with the kind of smile that had nothing to do with putting on a show. It was just a father enjoying the chance to share a stage with his son.
From there, the second set turned into a run of New Order and Joy Division songs that transformed the Palladium into a giant new wave dance floor.
“Regret” and “Vanishing Point” helped shift the mood, but once the band hit “Bizarre Love Triangle,” “Temptation,” “The Perfect Kiss,” “True Faith,” and “Blue Monday,” the room seemed to move as one. “Temptation” was especially huge, with the crowd singing loudly enough to compete with the band. “Transmission” had already created one of the strongest responses earlier in the set, and “Blue Monday” delivered exactly the kind of release you would expect.
Through all of it, Hook kept working the room. He moved constantly, smiled at people in the crowd, and clearly enjoyed the exchange. There was nothing detached about his performance. He looked like someone who still loves being onstage and still enjoys seeing what these songs do to people.
Still, there was really only one way to end the night.
“Love Will Tear Us Apart” remains one of the defining songs of the post-punk and dark wave eras, and at the Palladium it became a full-room singalong. Everyone was on their feet, dancing. The crowd sang every word, and for a few minutes the distance between 1980 and 2026 felt very small.
It would be easy for a show built around music this important to become overly sentimental. This one never did. Hook talked about Curtis, honored the history, played with his son, and brought out a guest whose presence connected past and present in a surprisingly moving way. But the night worked because the songs worked, and because Hook remained such an active, generous performer at the center of it.
There were songs I wanted to hear that never came. “Warsaw” and “Age of Consent” were both high on my list, especially knowing they had appeared at the previous show. But with a full album, two sets, and nearly 30 songs, something had to be left out.
That may be the best complaint to have after a concert: the set was long, the crowd was exhausted and happy, and I still wanted more. Maybe that means I need a road trip to catch another one…
SHOW PHOTO GALLERY
by Shane Pase Photography
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SID 260925 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
