Peter Hook & Bez // Stone Love // Digital

A strange night: we had just come from the Flawless Kicks store opening and going home seemed premature. Fancying a change, we decided to pass Digital for something different – Bez, the dancer from the Happy Mondays and Peter Hook the bassist from Joy Division / New Order.

I’m not going to say too much about Bez apart from that I don’t understand his role in the night. You book him, he doesn’t DJ, all he does is shout “Brighton” into a microphone. I’m not that easily impressed, and considering that he’s been made bankrupt for the second time this year, you have to question the artistic merit of these events. JSA all the way – get to the back of the queue with everyone else Bez.

Peter Hook, as a DJ, has been shrouded in controversy. Some time ago he was supposedly caught playing a mix CD, free with Mixmag, and passing it off as himself DJ’ing live. Yes, shockingly enough someone bought Mixmag, but to rip off someone else’s mix is also not on. Google it – it is very well documented if you are in disbelief. A fraud living off his once-respectable name? Perhaps. If so, then that’s already not a good start.

The first thing that struck out as odd was that throughout his whole set, Peter Hook only used his headphones once, and only for about 2 seconds. It’s strange really when you’d think they would be quite crucial to any mix. There didn’t even appear to be much mixing going on at all.

He started off his set with “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, followed by “Out of Control”; he then played Underworld’s “Born Slippy” and Soulwax’s “E-talking”.

On one level, I could handle the music, not bad tracks at all, but his technical ability ruined the show. Without actually mixing, he spent most of the time tweaking the EQ’s on the mixer, while brandishing a “deep in thought” expression.

To make things worse, he kept committing what can only be regarded as a crime against music: abuse of the filter effect. There is nothing worse than a DJ who keeps playing with the filter effect. Every couple of seconds, he hit the filter button resulting in that annoying amateur sweep sound. This is the kind of thing you expect from pissed mates, but for someone who has been in the industry for so long they should know better. He pretty much ruined each track with his finger-happy abuse of the mixer.

I admit I felt pretty sorry for the guy – he seemed completely oblivious as to what he was doing. The final straw came when he played an overly hard remix of “Blue Monday”. What a shame. We couldn’t stop cringing as he murdered one of the main reasons he was famous in the first place. The guy is completely out of touch with the modern music scene and seems to play these gigs purely to make extra cash. It’s a shame when someone who has contributed to music over the years feels they need to sell out.

Respect to the promoters – they do at least strive to book people that bring in the crowds. The fresh-faced people in attendance seemed to enjoy every minute. I understand that DJ’s like this are less about technical ability and more about musical content. But this is too far – the guy can’t mix and doesn’t even understand the basic functions of the built-in effects of the hardware.

Peter, do something else with your life; move on, this is not for you.

Don’t agree with my sentiments? That’s fine. Before you post abuse, go on to YouTube and search for his name. It may give you some idea of the guy’s past performances. Listen to his records, but don’t go see him “DJ”.