New Order. O2 Brixton Academy. 2nd May 2012

New Order. O2  Brixton Academy. 2^nd May 2012

Further to my review of New Order’s gig in Birmingham, I thought I wouldn’t have much to say to review the same show again. Only, what a difference a venue makes!

Our hotel (Comfort Inn) was fab and even had an en-suite Jacuzzi bath! It was within comfortable walking distance of the venue. We had spent a few hours in Camden earlier in the day (My spiritual home due to the quirky edge it has), and although I had not bought much, I was enjoying being in London.

I hadn’t realised that it would start earlier so we didn’t have much time to find the venue but actually it was two straight roads away from the hotel. The queuing was around the side and I did feel slightly annoyed that O2 users get priority entrance to the venue. I was not aware of this in advance or I might have been tempted to borrow a phone!  Then some guy came begging for money for a charity. I was happy to give but felt he was a bit too pushy to someone who didn’t immediately offer to give and said he had no change. It didn’t feel right that he should insist on people putting money in. It should always be a choice. Apparently the O2 venue was supporting this action but I think it is bad practice to target a sitting audience in that way (and against charity commission’s regulations!). We were then separated into two queues, females and males. This felt a bit concentration camp-ish. I do appreciate it will probably get people into the venue quicker but it is not a good practice. The venue was much bigger (or at least felt much bigger and grander) than the Birmingham Ballroom.

We had chosen tickets in unreserved seating upstairs so that my husband could really hear it properly this time, and anyway I was still covered in bruises from being at the front of the gig on Sunday! We got front row of the upstairs seating which was ideal for both photos and hearing the music.

The toilets were not working properly upstairs so I had to beg to go downstairs to use them. I did use the upstairs toilets later and they really do need looking after a bit better. (Clean with decent facilities would be good. The hand-dryers are a waste of time!).

DJ Tin Tin and Jake Evans both did a very similar set to Sunday's (see below) but the audience was itching to see New Order. (They seem more impatient in London!).

I was not ready for the amazing difference in the two gigs. The most noticeable thing was sound quality was so much better from upstairs, but also at the London gig, New Order pulled out all the stops. The light show was amazing and really gave it a stadium gig feel. They slightly changed the set and included two songs from their Joy Division days as an encore. It was an amazing show and Barney was so much better and back to his old self (joking with the crowd about a guy who had come all the way from Portugal to see them!).

I am most definitely a New Order fan. It is interesting to note that the die-hard fans seem to be the ones who went to the Troxy gig. If you love New Order, the Troxy was the intimate gig they did last December and I feel those who went there have made these gigs possible. If you wish to thank me, you are most welcome!