Well aged

Although I did go to the Doc Marten shop with Izzy and Dan, yesterday - where the former bought herself some shoes and the latter finally had his (too big) Christmas present replaced - the new boots in today's photo actually arrived by post.

I am very sad to say farewell to the old pair, which the Minx gave me, but the soles have finally given up the ghost, and they are no longer fit for purpose. But look at them, so much more beautiful than the new ones.

Which kind of brings me to tonight's gig, which was the first of three that I'm going to this week by Peter Hook And The Light. Hook was the bass player in Joy Division and, for a long time, in their reincarnation as New Order. He is also the exception to my view on the nostalgia circuit.

Now, I love bands that have been going for decades and still make new music. By way of example, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark's 2017 album, 'The Punishment Of Luxury', was in the best three they've ever made. Similarly, I rate the new work by Nick Cave, Shriekback, Blancmange, James, Brian Eno, and others.

I'm less interested - actually, completely uninterested - by the pure nostalgia tours by acts such as ABC, The Human League, Nick Heyward, Altered Images, and so on. I get why people enjoy it, but it's not my bag.

Which makes Peter Hook something of an anomaly, as he and his band are entirely focussed on curating Joy Division's catalogue, plus the early New Order albums. Maybe it's because, over and above the music, I simply like him, and especially his books about the two bands and, particularly, his co-ownership of The Haçienda.

I'm hoping to get it out of my system this week, anyway, as he plays all this material across the three nights. Tonight he played Joy Division's first album, the wonderfully titled 'Unknown Pleasures', New Order's first album, 'Movement', plus a handful of contemporaneous singles.

Happily, the Minx came along to keep me company, despite not really knowing the music, and I found myself unsurprised to discover that she is a natural fan of the Joy Division material in its live incarnation*. My Extra is of Hooky towards the end of the gig.

*Joy Division's producer, Martin Hannett, notoriously made no effort to capture their live sound and energy.