Gig played on 27/10/06

Having witnessed a brave but spluttering performance from Damon Albarn's new 'supergroup' The Good, The Bad And The Queen the night before, Yahoo! Music's trip (and lord knows it is a trip) to see the Manchester legends at the spiritless enormo-dome that is Wembley is brought into sharp focus. While Albarn has spent the best part of the last ten years on a sonic adventure (Blur, Gorillaz and solo) New Order have traded, chiefly, off their pioneering '80s and early '90s dance pop legacy.

And now, with their involvement in the forthcoming release of "Control", a biopic about Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, who killed himself in 1980, they're happy to devote a third of tonight's set to their former band. So, will this two hour retrospective turn into a scrappy, maudlin nostalgia-fest lost in the cavernous and ghastly arena, or a riotous celebration of two bands that have stamped their almighty influence over much of the alternative pop music produced in the last ten years?

Initially, the signs aren't promising. Dressed in black, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook grind out the gloomy "Atmosphere", Sumner struggling to replicate the unique, robotic vocal stylings of Curtis. However, the eerie pop perfection of "Ceremony" is the catalyst that gets the crowd moving and as they head into the New Order territory they're clearing more comfortable with, we've finally got a party going on.

Hooky adopts his trademarked lo-slung bass posture, Sumner rips at his guitar like a (albeit old and slightly tubby) man possessed as the epic, narcotic strains of "Crystal" fill the dark shadows of the arena. A note perfect "Regret" gets the thirtysomething crowd out of their seats, effortlessly turning a rock concert into a rave. But no ordinary rave, a rave with a heart and soul. The atmospheric "Temptation" seems far too short at just over eight minutes while the majestic "Perfect Kiss" segues into a remarkable rendition of "Blue Monday".

Phil Cunningham on synths and drummer Stephen Morris tease the crowd with what must be one of the best intros in pop music before the bass chimes in, delivering the dark club hit that put them into a solar system few have explored before or since. They finish with a triumphant "True Faith", the crowd now utterly absorbed and praying for an all-nighter. So, against all odds, New Order turn what could have been a washed-up retro trip into a rousing, feverish reminder of just why they're held in such high esteem. The big question is, where do they go from here?

by Chris Nye Browne