"We're called Editors, by the way. We're from England......"
In terms of musical influences, one constant throughout the years that keeps being cited in interviews with the band, and in particular by Tom is R.E.M.. In 2008, Editors had the chance to do some shows with the band and this is one of those gigs as taped and shared by raya (thank you!). The files are being shared in their original lossless format, as per the taper's wishes.
Of course the position of the band as a support act means that the set isn't as long as a die-hard fan would like. Also, the crowd being a collection of hardcore R.E.M. fans means that those in attendance were less vocal than we're used to hearing at an Editors show. The 10 songs played here still sound great, though, and the set features another airing of the b-side Open Up.
On a slight downer, you'll notice that the songs are split a little strangely, in that the beginning of some of them are clipped in the wrong place (listen to Munich or WAS and it'll make sense). This was something that probably happened in the encoding process, as the files I'm sharing here are exactly as they originally appeared on Dime way back when. If you can get past that then you'll still enjoy the show.
It's fascinating to think that 11 years on from this show R.E.M. are sadly no longer with us, and that Editors are now a band capable of headlining the size of venues they once acted as a support act in. That's progress, people. Check it out using the links below:-
The Setlist
Bones - download here
The Racing Rats - download here
An End Has a Start - download here
When Anger Shows - download here
Bullets - download here
You Are Fading - download here
Munich - download here
Open Up - download here
Smokers - download here
Fingers - download here
Up first are 2 fan shot videos filmed by EetuPuu (thank you for sharing), with some minor adjustments made. These were two of my favourite clips available, and I took the sound from a different source and synced them up. Here's why...
Given that this was a support gig for R.E.M., Editors ended up joining them onstage for a run through of both It's the End of the World as We Know it and Orange Crush. That in itself is pretty awesome, but it's the details that make this story so compelling. I want to say this while maintaining respect for the taper, but when these videos were first shared on YouTube the sound was pretty bad. It sounded like it was recorded from way, way back in the audience which is of course they were. You can't really see everything that's going on, and quite often you have to watch the big screens behind the stage to get the best views.
That's the negatives.
The positives are that this could be the only footage I possess that may actually have Chris singing. I say could be because if he is taking part then it's lost in all the other noise. It happens during ITEOTWAWKI when all four members of the band gather around a single microphone. Had Rahi been around that night then you would know for sure, because there's no conceivable way that would have escaped his artistic eye. Even from a distance, it looks like he's fully involved in exercising his vocal chords. If he wasn't, he's doing a convincing impression of a guy that was. As far as I know Chris never sang during his tenure in Editors. There's a possibility that he was one of the vocalists featured during the choir section of Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors, as it's been stated before that it was a collection of people who were around in the studio at the time of recording, but publically I've never seen him on the mic. He briefly spoke to the crowd once in Poland, and in Polish, as well as taking requests from hecklers one night in 2005 but beyond that I don't have audio of him in a live setting. So there's that.
Secondly, if you watch during Orange Crush you can see Russell abandon his bass and pick up the megaphone that Mr Stipe left on the floor to start joining in. A ballsy move from the man who governs the low-end of the sound kingdom in Editors, but Michael actually beckons him forward to join in once he sees what's going down. Given their own level of fandom related to R.E.M., this must have been such a trip for Editors.
Orange Crush (redux) - stream it hereGiven that this was a support gig for R.E.M., Editors ended up joining them onstage for a run through of both It's the End of the World as We Know it and Orange Crush. That in itself is pretty awesome, but it's the details that make this story so compelling. I want to say this while maintaining respect for the taper, but when these videos were first shared on YouTube the sound was pretty bad. It sounded like it was recorded from way, way back in the audience which is of course they were. You can't really see everything that's going on, and quite often you have to watch the big screens behind the stage to get the best views.
That's the negatives.
The positives are that this could be the only footage I possess that may actually have Chris singing. I say could be because if he is taking part then it's lost in all the other noise. It happens during ITEOTWAWKI when all four members of the band gather around a single microphone. Had Rahi been around that night then you would know for sure, because there's no conceivable way that would have escaped his artistic eye. Even from a distance, it looks like he's fully involved in exercising his vocal chords. If he wasn't, he's doing a convincing impression of a guy that was. As far as I know Chris never sang during his tenure in Editors. There's a possibility that he was one of the vocalists featured during the choir section of Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors, as it's been stated before that it was a collection of people who were around in the studio at the time of recording, but publically I've never seen him on the mic. He briefly spoke to the crowd once in Poland, and in Polish, as well as taking requests from hecklers one night in 2005 but beyond that I don't have audio of him in a live setting. So there's that.
Secondly, if you watch during Orange Crush you can see Russell abandon his bass and pick up the megaphone that Mr Stipe left on the floor to start joining in. A ballsy move from the man who governs the low-end of the sound kingdom in Editors, but Michael actually beckons him forward to join in once he sees what's going down. Given their own level of fandom related to R.E.M., this must have been such a trip for Editors.
ITEOTWAWKI (redux)- stream it here
This is just under a minute of Orange Crush. Sound is a bit distorted and the picture is a little unsteady. Why am I including it? It's the sight of Peter Buck's amp with dinosaurs on top (an idea later appropriated by Chris with his wrestling figures), it's seeing the songwriting duo of Smith and Urbanowicz playing music with their musical heroes. More than anything, it's the look on Tom's face as he sings along. I imagine that peak-experiences this good are scarce over the duration of a lifetime. It's fun watching somebody in the process of finding one, even more so to share it with everyone else.
stream it here
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
