Secret Gig Ancienne Belgique 7th June 2007 (video/audio)

We have a very special friend to the blog to thank for this post. Yipman, who has contributed here previously with a recording of Tom's solo slot at PIAS Nites 2012,  very generously provided a TV broadcast of this show. As a result, I can now make it available again for all those of you who haven't seen it before (and I was included in that group). Thanks so much for your kindness, Yip. Folks like you are the reason this blog is as good as it is.

This was a "secret gig", attended only by winners of a competition promoted on the Jim.be website. If I'm remembering this correctly no tickets were actually officially sold for the show, you just had to submit your details and hope you got lucky. I do recall that the folks at Team Editors were very keen to make sure fans of the band who supported them via the band's official website were able to get in, and may have tried to exert some of their gloomy influence to make that happen. The mystery venue turned out to be the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, with Editors once again playing to Belgian fans who are extremely loyal when it comes to this band. Seriously. Watch the footage from Rock Werchter here at the Archive for a demonstration of how much Editors are loved over there. It's fantastic.

The sound is amazing, but the setlist is incomplete. As is often the case with radio/television broadcasts there are time constraints. Owing to this, both Fall and Bones didn't make the final cut when it aired. But what was broadcast is sensational. The guitars sound...dirty, especially on Lights and Your Are Fading which at times are liberally covered in feedback. There's a disciplined looseness about the set, which is all sweat and beautiful noise which appears ragged and controlled simultaneously. Like they know they can play the songs but rather than calmly handing them over, they have decided to throw them with the greatest possible force directly at the crowd in front of them. It feels slightly reckless but undeniably exciting, and I think this ability to keep it all just within the boundaries of stability was a result of the insane touring and rehearsal schedule they were on at that time. They were already becoming used to operating within a that peak state. Sometimes during this set Russell actually sounds like he's playing bass in the Mary Chain because it's so fuzzy and that, ladies and gentlemen, is no bad thing.

There's a definite satisfaction in seeing this incarnation of the band playing in such a small venue, especially considering the status they currently find themselves in as a live attraction. I think that as they progressed as a band and wrote bigger songs, it almost demanded a larger stage. But in terms of the attacking nature of most of the Back Room and An End Has A Start numbers, this size is perfect.

Fans of the bizarre will have fun watching out for another round of the exciting Editors game show "Tom tries to remove an imaginary wig", with the unfortunate and unwilling contestant this time around being Chris during You Are Fading. Enjoy the music ;)

Broadcast Setlist

Blood 

Bullets 
Escape the nest 
Lights 
The Weight of the World 
All Sparks 
The Racing Rats 
An End Has a Start 
Munich 
You are Fading 
Smokers 
Fingers in the Factories 

Video
stream it here

MP3s
download here or download here

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