We heard the Billies (Idol and Corgan) were there, but we didn't see them. Perhaps they were locked away in a secret room where Hook retired after being whisked past autograph seekers and yours truly, who was shying away in a corner whispering to Carlos "What would I say? You're my favorite bassist?"
Peter Freakin' Hook was in town and I stood fewer than a person's length away from him and couldn't say a word, couldn't even reach over to shake his hand.
He looks like a Euro Dad-- unbuttoned white shirt, multiple chain necklaces, face and hair that scream 50-- but he plays with more energy than most 20-year-old hipsters. He dances like it's Saturday night at Spundae, which of course it was, with arms punctuating hi-hats and kick drum bounces.
We stood at the corner of the booth for most of the two-hour set, sneaking out briefly for cigarettes and trips to the bar and bathroom. To say that nostalgia was big part of Hook's allure as a DJ would be an undestatement. The bulk of his set played off the legend of Joy Division/New Order. There were originals ("Transmission" and "Love Will Tear Us Apart"), covers (unfortunately, he did not play Flunk's Bjork-ish cover of "Blue Monday"), collaborations (Chemical Bros. "Out of Control") and remixes ("Blue Monday," a white label mix that I have somewhere, "Bizarre Love Triangle," etc.). Echoes of "Blue Monday" came and went throughout the set. In between he mixed in some punk tunes ("Anarchy in the U.K." and "London Calling"), Manchester madness (Stone Roses, Happy Mondays) and the big club hits of the past few years (Chemical Bros. "Galvanized," Mylo "Destroy Rock n' Roll"). Familiarity drove the set, but didn't detract from it. Hook's slip-ups were few and far between (not too often you can say that about rock stars who DJ) and the energy he fed the crowd seemed to go beyond his reputation as a bassist.
Meanwhile, I probably should have shouted out for Monaco.