Wow. I watched this last night and was amazed at the power they had on such a large stage. Apparently, Saturday had the biggest crowds for the festival too, so this was most certainly a special occasion. There's a certain irony in the name of the festival, as I think that we as fans have always considered the band to be just that. But they're a secret that needs to be shared ;)
The weather may well have been typical for a summer evening in Europe (gloomy and raining), but Best Kept Secret still turned out to be an amazing gig by Editors. To be honest I don't think there was any other choice, as the sheer force of will of those 5 people on stage and an audience who were in the mood for a good night out, made certain that everything was going to be just fine.
Mr Smith made the most of pretty much all the stage area during this show. He's still developing as a front-man even now, and he showed us some new moves this evening. One of my favourite moments is just before Smokers when he says "We've got some miserable weather for our miserable music". Self awareness, self deprecation and a sense of humour all in one sentence. Love it.
Overall, it did seem like the band were really enjoying themselves. There were lots of little instances where they were smiling at each other, where it did appear that they were all locked into the moment. Then we had the additional extras, like the flamethrowers and the sparks but it was the music that was front and centre. We got a rare treat in that they played Open Your Arms, a song that is officially 11 years old this year.
There's a beautifully handled screw-up during The Pulse, where Mr Smith's timing is completely off and it causes the song to come to a halt. Realising what he's done, he resets and gives the audience 2 choices; he can start over which draws an immediately positive reaction so they just continue with the song. Of course, there's always a comedian in every room and you can hear someone in the crowd shouting "What's the second choice?". Well played, sir. This version of The Pulse is better sounding than the Heartland recording, and it's a credit to whoever was mixing it at their end. The lyrics are much more audible.
There's a beautifully handled screw-up during The Pulse, where Mr Smith's timing is completely off and it causes the song to come to a halt. Realising what he's done, he resets and gives the audience 2 choices; he can start over which draws an immediately positive reaction so they just continue with the song. Of course, there's always a comedian in every room and you can hear someone in the crowd shouting "What's the second choice?". Well played, sir. This version of The Pulse is better sounding than the Heartland recording, and it's a credit to whoever was mixing it at their end. The lyrics are much more audible.
I don't know if they've been listening to the soundtrack of the TV show Twin Peaks at all, but it sounds like there are little echoes here and there. I can hear similarities to Laura Palmer's Theme at the beginning of The Pulse, and little bits of Falling by Julie Cruise in No Harm. If that is the case then it would make total sense, given that show's overall surreal and dark nature. Or maybe I'm just hearing references where there aren't any (which is possible!). Enjoy the music ;)
MP3s
No Harm - download here
Sugar - download here
Smokers - download here
Life is a Fear - download here
An End Has a Start - download here
Formaldehyde - download here
The Pulse - download here
ERM=BD - download here
Racing Rats - download here
Forgiveness - download here
Munich - download here
Open Your Arms - download here
All the Kings - download here
Ocean of Night - download here
A Ton of Love - download here
No Sound but the Wind - download here
Papillon - download here
Marching Orders - download here
Bonus Materials - Interviews + stuff
A wonderfully strange interview with King Leetch and Ed for you now, as they chat with 3FM backstage at Best Kept Secret Festival last week. Among the highlights are discovering the contents of the pancakes they ate during their first ever gig abroad in Holland way back in 2005, and a truly horrible first kiss story from Mr Lay.
As an aside, the gig they reference in this clip which saw Editors play their first ever show on foreign soil is available here at the Archive using this link. Enjoy the music, squirm at the chat ;)
stream it here
Editors are the Indiana Jones of the music business. Out of context, that will mean absolutely nothing and will probably leave you feeling a little bewildered. However, after listening to King Leetch being interviewed via telephone for 3FM today, it will all make much more sense. The questions are a little "fluffy" in nature, but in spite of that you still get the occasional shock as a result. One particular example of that is when Russell is asked if there's an Editors track he doesn't like to play anymore. The answer turns my Saturday all kinds of blue.
Ouch.
We learn that there are a bunch of new songs written for E6, and that there's a plan to go back into a rehearsal space and get working on them after the summer mini-campaign is done. Enjoy the chat ;)
Lastly, a perfect summary of a virtually perfect night for the band. Check out this 1 minute montage of slow-motion footage taken from their appearance at Best Kept Secret 2016. A worldwide block courtesy of Merlin stopped me from sharing this on YouTube, so here it is as a download.
stream it here or download here
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
