Fresh off the stage following their Coachella gig, Bernard Sumner, Steven Morris, Gillian Gilbert, Phil Cunningham, and Tom Chapman—better known as New Order—traveled from the desert to the sea to play at the Santa Barbara Bowl on Tuesday, April 18th.

With the city under a looming threat of rain throughout much of the day, the sun came out as the evening kicked off with Poliça, a Minneapolis-based synthpop band fronted by lead singer Channy Leaneagh. The band formed in 2011 and has since released three studio albums under the Mom + Pop Music label, most recently United Crushers (2016), which is being praised as their most impassioned album yet.

A live DJ kept the crowd’s energy at peak levels until the night’s main event took to the stage. Sumner, New Order’s lead guitarist and singer, immediately set the tone for the night, opening with “Singularity,” a track off their most recent 2015 album Music Complete. Backdropped with a striking 1980s video montage, they created the perfect blend of old and new, with the English dance-rockers proving to fans that they are still very much connected to their deep ‘80s electronic roots. And, after 35 years, the band can still wow a crowd.

“I can hear your cry out there

And I can feel you close to me”

They moved right into “Ceremony,” and as the neon lights bounced off the fog that had quietly rolled in overhead, the entire crowd was transported to 1981, the year New Order first came on the scene in Manchester, UK. It was then back to present day with a trio of more recent songs “Academic,” “Crystal,” and “Restless.” It came as no surprise that they chose to bypass the 1990s, which was a decade that saw the band take a five-year break, work on various side projects, and release only one studio album before getting back together in 1998.

The images that filled the screen during the night were just as much a part of the show as the guitar solos and keyboard melodies. The band, known as having a unique aesthetic, took us for a walk down memory lane—an often bittersweet yet nostalgia-inducing visual history of the life and legacy of New Order. Video footage from their past lives, bright swirling lights, and dizzying black-and-white lines moved in and out to the beat of the music.

For the next two songs, Sumner put down the guitar and the band kicked it up a notch to perform back-to-back tunes from their new album: “Tutti Frutti” and “People on the High Line.” The new album is noticeably more eclectic than prior records, borrowing from other styles like house and disco, but if you listen closely, the band never strays too far from the electronic and dance sounds that defined the music of their generation.

At this point in the show, Sumner addressed the crowd with a shout out to the “fantastic venue” and the “fantastic city,” before playing “Bizarre Love Triangle,” a song everyone in the venue—whether a child of the ‘80s or of the 2000s—instantly recognized upon hearing the first note, and then proceeded to belt out the lyrics in cheerful unison.

“Every time I see you falling

I get down on my knees and pray

I'm waiting for that final moment

You say the words that I can't say…”

The band continued to play a mix of old and new tunes with “Waiting for the Sirens’ Call” (2005) and “Plastic” (2015), and then it was back to the ‘80s with “Perfect Kiss,” “Substance,” the chart-topping “Blue Monday,” and “Temptation.”

Following a brief break, the disco ball I’d been waiting for all night to illuminate the Bowl finally descended and the band returned to the stage for two Joy Division covers. “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and “Decades” were paired with a beautiful “Forever Joy Division” tribute to the late musician and founding Joy Division member Ian Curtis.

Less familiar with their latest album than their earlier hits, I was impressed at how seamlessly the classics and new tracks blended together to create a cohesive and non-stop dance party. The energy never slowed down; song built on top of song and even my tired feet didn’t want to quit moving at the end of the night.

Absent from the setlist were hits like “True Faith” and “Age of Consent” but it didn’t seem to bother the crowd, or me, because more than two hours and 17 songs later, the show might have ended, but not before proving to me and 4,000 other people that the pure joy of ‘80s music will never fade—it only gets better with age.

Check out all the show photos by Santa Barbara Bowl House Photographer, A Art Fisher, on our photo library.

For more concert reviews and memories, head to theBowl Timeline.

Rachel Jefferson is a writer for a Santa Barbara-based software company and an avid concertgoer.