New Order brings the Joy (Division) at the Tower

New Order deftly looped the past to the present to open its set at the sold-out Tower Theater on Saturday night. "Singularity," from last year's Music Complete, began with a foreboding, sparse arrangement that contained echoes of the band's early-'80s origins while videos played of Thatcher-era crowd clashes and Berlin Wall protests. Then, the band played a note-perfect "Ceremony," the last song that Joy Division wrote before the death of lead singer Ian Curtis and the 1981 debut single released by the remaining members under the name New Order.

Hearing "Ceremony" was a treat for fans of Joy Division and early New Order, but its guitar-centered sound represented only a small portion of the group's history. The original New Order lineup - singer/guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook, drummer Stephen Morris and then-new keyboardist Gillian Gilbert - quickly began experimenting with synthesizers, sequencers, and other elements of post-disco to create a still-influential merger of guitar-based rock and synth-based club music.

Music Complete is New Order's first album with its new lineup: bassist Tom Chapman ably replacing Hook, who left acrimoniously in 2007; Gilbert, who returned to the band in 2011 after a 10-year hiatus; multi-instrumentalist Phil Cunningham, who had replaced Gilbert; and originals Morris and Sumner. The album is a worthy addition to the band's legacy, and such songs as the high-energy, danceable "People on the High Line" and the urgent "Restless" were highlights of Saturday's two-hour set, especially when enhanced with dynamic, carefully synced light and video projections.

But, strong as they were, the new songs that dominated the first 70 minutes felt like bridges to the past. They were overshadowed by the rush of hearing old favorites such as the MTV-era hit "Bizarre Love Triangle," arranged like an extended remix of sequencers, syn-drums and a very Hooky bass solo, and surprises such as the early B-side "Lonesome Tonight" and the melodica-laced "Your Silent Face."

The show's final 45 minutes were brilliant. The main set ended with the trifecta of "Perfect Kiss," whose tagline, "Let's go out and have some fun," could have been the night's motto; "True Faith"; and "Temptation," which began by copping the opening of Lou Reed's "Street Hassle" before building to a propulsive, extended climax. The encore was all classics: Joy Division's elegiac "Atmosphere," with a video tribute to Curtis; the indelible "Love Will Tear Us Apart"; then finally New Order's own unsurpassable "Blue Monday." The show at the Tower was only one of six U.S. performances, and by the end, it felt like a privilege to be there.