Some things to keep in mind before throwing on that old 12-inch copy of “Temptation” and gyrating ’round the room in celebration of the upcoming New Order reunion:
- It’s only for two gigs: A pair of charity shows in Brussels and Paris benefiting ailing artist and filmmaker Michael Shamberg, and
- While the performances will be New Order’s first with keyboardist Gillian Gilbert since 2001, they will not feature bassist Peter Hook, reflecting the ongoing rift between frontman/repeat rhyme-torturer Bernard Sumner and bassist Peter Hook.
Considering the fact that anyone who’s picked up a bass since 1980 has tried his or her hand at aping Hook’s playing style, Sumner and company shouldn’t have a hard time finding a replacement. (They may as well check in with Blur’s Alex James and add some Bad Lieutenant cuts to the set list.) Hook, meanwhile, will continue meeting with Roger Waters in The A.V. Club’s imagination, where the two grouse about their former bandmates and dream up ways to repackage their back catalogues as touring shows at bi-weekly meetings of the Estranged British Bassists’ Club—which enforces a thoroughly dickish “No Andy Rourkes allowed” policy.