At the time of broadcast I was still learning about the internet and how to rip/save videos and so I didn't possess the necessary skills to capture the gig as it happened. However, a certain gentleman from the band's official forum did. FEAK, a hardcore Editors fan from way back ripped them and then made them available to others on the forum, and it was there that I managed to pick them up. Fan power in action! Thank you Samuel. We're all better off for your kindness ;)
So what are you getting for your time? Well, despite being a small setlist (and minus the encore of Bullets) in context it's still an important Editors moment nonetheless. This was the first time that we as fans got to hear Bones in its new rearranged form and in full, after a year listening to bootlegged live takes of the first draft. This was the first confirmation that the song wold be missing the extra "Retreats" that are in the older renditions, but which later make a reappearance in the live set during the ITLAOTE campaign. I can remember vividly the outrage surrounding this, and how horrified we all were that those few little words were removed. It may seem silly or trivial now but Editors music is the subject of a passionate devotion from a lot of us, something which brings with all kinds of irrationality.
This broadcast introduced us to Racing Rats and Smokers and as an example of exactly how new these songs were, even to the people who wrote them, you'll hear Tom screw up the lyrics to Racing Rats in the second verse. Smokers was of course the lead single from AEHAS, and I was intrigued by something Tom said just before they began playing.
"If anyone knows this song, you'll have to imagine a choir".
What the hell did that mean? A Choir? In an Editors song ? This acoustic version gave us a hint of what the studio recording would sound like, but the two are still very different in terms of their dynamics. Without the added ingredients of drum and bass, courtesy of Mr Lay and King Leetch, you didn't get an accurate sense of their actual size and power. In comparison to The Back Room the new stuff sounded like Editors......only different.
Tom - "We have to end with Smokers and Rats or Rats and Smokers, so it's either Bones and All Sparks/All Sparks and Bones. What do you fancy?"
Chris - "The Hit second?
Tom - "OK"
As well as Tom briefly doing part of Fingers in the Factories they also try out the middle section of An End has a Start at Chris' request. Bear in mind that this was not only the title of the new album, but also another track that we'd never heard before. The teasing was unbearable! Finally, just before they start playing the show for real, you can hear Mr Smith rehearsing his pronunciation of "Ciao" so he can sign off to the crowd in their own language. Work that room, sir. Work it!
Enjoy the music ;)
01 Bones
02 All Sparks
03 The Racing Rats
04 SOTHD
05 Bullets (encore) unrecorded
stream it here
Bonus Material - Soundcheck
stream it here
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
