"We're gonna have a lot of fun...all night disco party!" - Tom prior to FYASP
Was this you, Gary? I feel like it was but I'm not certain. If it was, then thanks again on behalf of all of us.
Time to go back to the year 2006, when Editors were a scrappy bunch of youngsters on a campaign to convert the world to their music, venue by venue and country by country using The Back Room and its accompanying singles as leverage. The show begins with an instrumental intro of Distance, and then it's foot-to-the-floor ride until Fingers in the Factories, and what a ride it is. There's lots to feel good about from this night out.
I'll say up front that there is a slight glitch during Camera, but beyond that it's all good (as long as you can deal with the enthusiasm of two girls in the audience screaming in your ears at the beginning and end of every track).
Bones is introduced as a new song, and at this stage the latter half lyrics of the first verse were reversed and it had yet to undergo the fat-trimming process that happened during the recording of the AEHAS album. Weight of the World is here in one of its early forms, and Find Yourself as Safe Place which gets played very rarely, if at all these days, unfortunately. I love this song, and if you feel the same and want to check out some more performances of the track you can do so using the links below:-
Another marker of the time of recording can be heard the introduction of a certain song that Tom's since referred to as not being played very often because "it's a little bit repetitive":-
"This is called All Sparks, and it's going to be our next single."
Yes, there was a time when All Sparks hadn't been released as a single which becomes more ridiculous the longer all this goes on. Mr Smith is actually on fine form during this evening. As well as the quote at the top of the post he dedicates Fall to Richard Hawley, who was apparently unwell at the time, gives a shout out to Howling Bells prior to Bullets and Brakes before they play FYASP. He asks the audience if anyone listened to to Radio 1 that day, where Corrine Bailey Ray had covered Munich as part of a live session, before dedicating their own rendition to her. I don't believe I have another gig that contains as much interaction between the man himself and the audience, and it's lovely to hear.
In a familiar narrative that's developed alongside the increased lifespan of this band (including the very label that they began their journey on, Kitchenware), The Astoria is no more. It closed on the 15th January 2009, succumbing to demolition shortly thereafter.
Finally, if you want even more trivia, then how about this. The gig that the band played was part of a series of concerts being promoted by the NME, called "Shockwaves NME Awards", where they were in the running for best new band. This was the company they were keeping:-
Arctic Monkeys
Editors
Magic Numbers
Maximo Park
We Are Scientists
Those pesky Arctic Monkeys eventually walked away with the glory, as they would at the Mercury Music Awards 7 months later. What makes this story so odd, is that the band played as part of an NME sponsored event and were listed as being a content of the live review section of that magazine the following week......but they weren't actually there at all. Very strange. I remember buying my copy, as I did religiously every week at that time, seeing their name on the inside front cover and racing to the live section to check out the review. It was a huge disappointment and a very weird omission. This was an ominous signpost on the fractious road travelled by the band and the NME, with both parties struggling to truly find any common ground since. Occasionally, but not often. Still, we got a great gig out of it all. In keeping with the theme of the band outlasting things, the NME was actually forced to drop its cover charge completely last year after an 80% drop in sales during the previous 10 years. Ponder that, and enjoy the music ;)
MP3s
Intro - download here
Lights - download here
Blood - download here
Bones - download here
All Sparks - download here
Fall - download here
Bullets - download here
Let Your Good Heart Lead You Home - download here
Find Yourself a Safe Place - download here
Camera - download here
You Are Fading - download here
Munich - download here
Open Your Arms - download here
The Weight of the World - download here
Someone Says - download here
Fingers in the Factories - download here
All in a zip
download here or download here
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
