I've stuck my head back above the barrier and added downloadable video links to this post, more out of frustration than anything else. This was a truly great Editors show, as they have consistently proved to be at Werchter, and in my opinion fans deserve to be able to see it and enjoy the music in the best quality possible. I cannot sit here with all this wonderful footage of this band and do nothing, it's just not who I am.
So, like a smooth (gloomy) secret agent type, I've opened an alternative account on the Mega file sharing service. If all goes wrong and Big Bad Wolf comes after me again, they'll most likely nuke that account but all the links on the main mediafire account I have will be safe, meaning the Archive is also safe. The Mega links have been designed specifically to be disposable in case of a disaster. Why all the subterfuge? Well, if you're late to the party it's because all the streaming Werchter video links I had in place, along with virtually every other video link on this blog, were recently taken down and lost forever. The YouTube profile that I had was shut down by a combination of the BBC and Skynet who own the Werchter footage. Full details here. It isn't streaming, I know, but at the very least you get a chance to see an Editors show that really does warrant your attention. Enjoy the music........while it's there ;)
Whatever the reason is, Werchter has become somewhere that the band seem to just be completely at home playing. I think that 2012 appearance was a complete game-changer in terms of its significance to Editors, as they were effectively reborn as a new group on that stage. The crowd are always ready to open their arms and welcome these people to their town (song reference alert, ho ho!)
The music is the setlist that they've been floating since the festival mini-campaign began, but the sound is superb. Ed's drums in particular are right up in the mix, especially on ERM=BD. There's another apology for the Brexit snafu and, appropriately and you suspect deliberately, it's just prior to Open Your Arms. I really like that short intro to Papillon where it's just Tom playing the underlying riff way, way up the keyboard. A bit of subtlety before the bombast of the full band playing it. There's also a lovely little "Tom Swears" moment before Ocean of Night:-
"It's a Saturday night after all, we can't get too fucking miserable."
How true, sir. How true.
No Harm - stream it here
**full streaming video of Werchter 2016 was nuked, unfortunately. To grab a full copy of the show on video, go here - c o v e r t s h a r e s**
MP3s
No Harm - download here
Sugar - download here
Smokers - download here
Life Is a Fear - download here
An End Has a Start - download here
Bones - download here
The Pulse - download here
Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool - download here
The Racing Rats - download here
Forgiveness - download here
Munich - download here
All the Kings - download here
Open Your Arms - 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
Here's Mr Smith being interviewed prior to their appearance at Werchter last night, and it's a rather awkward affair. Also, given his legendary disdain towards the Red Hot Chili Peppers, it's ironic that they're the ones onstage at the time providing the soundtrack to the chat. You'll notice that when the interviewer says "We were watching the Peppers", his response is "I didn't think it was gonna finish". But it's also a fitting piece of karma that Editors actually headlined over that band on this occasion.
One thing that hasn't happened until now, is that an interviewer actually pushes him on the nature of the illness that put the band out of action last year for so long. We knew it was serious, but it appears to have been more than simply vocal related. His answers, which are justifiably evasive, hint at something else going on and would also possibly explain the reasons behind him closing the door on social media too. I only hope that whatever went on, and to be honest I still don't think it's any of my business, that Tom keeps talking and that people keep listening and supporting him.
stream it here
Here's King Leetch in full effect backstage at Werchter being interviewed by Canvas TV. Topics of the moment are football allegiances, obsessive compulsive disorders and the most beautifully diplomatic dance around what he thinks of the Red Hot Chili Peppers I've ever seen. And just to add an element of spice and risk, the whole segment is bookmarked by a betting disaster. Such is the life of an Editors bass-slinger on the promotional treadmill.
stream it here
stream it here
Here's Editors' supersonic drum machine, Mr Lay, giving his ratings of various aspects of the Werchter Festival. The answers are in English but there's subtitles for Belgian fans. What will be his eventual percentage rating out of 100? Watch and find out.
One last Editors related Werchter interview, this time by Redactie, with the low-end rumble of the Editors groove machine Mr Russell Leetch. The questions are the usual fluff-talk, but there's a glaring journalistic mistake when Russell is asked how it feels playing No Sound But the Wind to a Belgian crowd. Unfortunately, he can't really say because it's always Mr Smith who delivers that number by himself on the trusty piano.
And yes, I'm aware that pointing that out makes me an annoying fanboy type but I'm all about the details, folks.
stream it here
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
