This radio broadcast from 2006 covers almost all of Editors' set on the NME stage at Oxegen in July. The missing track is Bones, most likely due to it still being unreleased at the time. At a guess I'd say that they kicked off the set with that song, with Blood following straight after. I don't have the taper's details as there were none in the info text that came with the files, so if this was you and you happen to be looking in, thanks a lot for your work ;)
When this show went down, Editors were really into their stride in terms of being on the road. They occupied the space between the Back Room campaign which dropped a year earlier, and the one for An End Has a Start which would be released 11 months later. What we didn't know until an interview in the winter of 2010 was that they by the time they recorded album 2 they had effectively burned themselves out with excessive touring. This kind of setlist goes some way to explaining why that happened, as they didn't seem to be too concerned with pacing themselves at all during their formative years. Youth, hunger and self-belief all in one dynamic package just looking for a stage to go off on. It also may offer a reason why they tend to play a little slower these days, releasing energy more gradually rather than treating the show like a sprint to the finish from the first note played. Don't misunderstand me, in no way would I want to change history because seeing the band really going for it like they did around this time was such a thrill. At the same time, there's the knowledge now that all that energy and motion would subtly interfere with their creativity down the line as a pay-off.
The band actually returned to Oxegen 2 years later, and gave a rendition of Smokers as part of their set that even 14 years later has yet to be bettered, it's just that good. If you want to check it out, follow this link:-
Their Oxegen gig has a wonderful version of Talking Heads' Road to Nowhere where the crowd act as a 5th Editor, complementing the band with some spirited vocal participation throughout:-
The Band - "We're on a road to nowhere..."
Crowd - "HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY!"
It's certainly a gig that benefits from being professionally captured and aired, allowing you to hear all the individual contributions coming together more clearly than usual. This is especially true if you're attending an outdoor show where something like the wind or distance from the stage is effecting the way things sound, or for some unfathomable reason someone next to you decides to begin and hold a conversation very loudly for its entirety. I think that there's an undeniable physical power to be experienced from a live performance, but a good recording can often help you appreciate the music more fully. Plus, it means you can revisit the moment as many times as you wish. With that in mind...
FLAC Audio
00. Bones (unaired)
01. Blood - download here
02. All Sparks - download here
03. Bullets - download here
04. Munich - download here
05. Open Your Arms - download here
06. Road To Nowhere - download here
07. Fingers In The Factories - download here
All in a Zip - download here
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
