Coke Festival Krakow 20th August 2011

In the past, people have moshed during No Sound but the Wind? Yep, they did. Wait, you seem unconvinced? Stick around...

This show is one of the last ones to feature the original line up of Editors. 2 months later they would play their final show together, and then 6 months after that Chris would be gone. It's also one of those few times you get to see Two Hearted Spider being played in its early form. I've written about this at length in multiple posts at the blog so I won't go over old ground here. What I will confidently and proudly state is that this take of 2HS is my favourite one above all others from the 2011 live campaign, with the performance at Werchter a year later in its new structure being the most effectively delivered one since.  Both are peak moments of their respective eras, but what intrigues me the most is what that early arrangement could have become given a little more time and space.

Some musicians thrive in the studio, but never quite reach those heights when they play live. My Bloody Valentine and New Order being a couple of examples. Their magic is crafted and contained digitally. Editors, however, are primarily a live band. Their abilities and techniques improve the longer they're out on the road, and it also allows for them to reshape and remould their work into new forms in front of an audience. Because of that, it makes me curious as to how 2HS would have sounded after a year and a half of being played in that style that featured Chris? It was great back then, but I think it could have developed the dominance and presence that later songs like Frankenstein seemed to be blessed with right from the start. It's an ever-present pain that won't abate because we'll never know.

I would also add that similarly to the current roster of Editors with Justin and Elliott, those four individuals in 2011 really become the band when they played together. I say that because from watching them together here you wouldn't guess that there was a storm coming. Nobody is dialling in their performance, nobody is giving the impression they'd rather be somewhere else. They put on a great show in front of a very appreciative audience as they always do.  Given what we know about their impending fracture, that's fascinating to me. I've mentioned the idea of compartmentalising before but I do believe they had that skill, and that whatever role and shapes they occupy on a stage are removed from those in a studio or rehearsal environment. The foundations were crumbling but they made the house that was built on them look pretty all the same.

Also featured in this show is the full band version of No Sound but the Wind, as song that went on to be released...a few more times (ho ho) in various forms. If you grew up of the Werchter piano take then this will be a change of pace for you. It's a nice example of all four Editors working together, and it allows Ed to really stretch himself as a musician in a way that the more well known rendition doesn't. I get the feeling that NSBTW was a song that became an unsolvable puzzle, in much the same way The Pulse did later on. That final piece that completed the picture and offered the solution to hours of focus and searching always remained elusive, leading to each of those compositions being attempted multiple times before being gently released from the grip of artistic endeavour. Settled aside with love..and mild frustration.

Enjoy the music ;)     

stream it here

MP3s

1. Camera - download here
2. Bones - download here
3. Bullets - download here
4. An End Has A Start - download here
5. Two Hearted Spider - download here
6. You Don't Know Love - download here
7. The Racing Rats - download here
8. All Sparks - download here
9. NSBTW - download here
10. ERM=BD - download here
11. Munich - download here
12. Smokers - download here 
13. TWOTW - download here
14. ITLAOTE - download here
15. Bricks And Mortar - download here
16. Papillon - download here
17 Fingers In The Factories - download here

brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x