Live Review: Ceremony - A Tribute To Joy Division & New Order

Tonight a host of Adelaide bands including Pink Noise Generator, Only Objects, Craig Division and Mogerlaine all celebrated the music of Joy Division and New Order. 

How it worked: each artist played three or four songs by these bands. Some versions remained close to the original arrangement (why would you mess with it?), while other bands performed the songs in their own style, which led to some interesting takes on the songs.

Walking into Jive, the first thing we noticed was the variety of ages that ranged from giddy punters jumping around to Love Will Tear Us Apart like it was an indie-pop night, to older folk at the back bopping their heads along to the music they heard back in the day. This just further proved the enduring legacies of both of these bands; their songs are ingrained in our musical psyches.

We're unsure how they worked out which artists agreed to play specific songs, but Mogerlaine, who were on quite early, were lucky enough to score Love Will Tear Us Apart. They played a short set of three songs and clearly hit the jackpot with Joy Division's most recognised track. Normally an indie-rock band, Mogerlaine gave Love Will Tear Us Apart a more rock flavour and did the song justice.

Craig Division was interesting. He clearly lives and breathes Joy Division, and his act sees him singing over backing tracks. With no band required, he emulated Ian Curtis and proved the strongest of all the acts this evening thanks to a strong voice and classic Curtis-esque dance moves.

The final two acts were Only Objects and Pink Noise Generator who both played a mix of material from both Joy Division and New Order. Only Objects took on New Order's signature tune Blue Monday, which had the dancefloor in a frenzy, while Pink Noise Generator turned Joy Division's Atmosphere into a less morbid song before this band concluded with an entertaining version of New Order's theme for England's 1990 World Cup team, World In Motion.