"We haven't done a show for a little while. Things are rusty, where they shouldn't be." - Tom before AEHAS
Don't listen to him, kids! If you only ever download one gig from the Archive, make it this one.
The recording you're about to hear is a matrix, meaning it was gathered and mixed from separate sources. Previous contributor Petrock2000 and the Archive's very own covert operative, Mr GaryUK (we are not worthy!) provided the raw materials, so you know it's going to be good. Some was taken from the audience and some from Tom's ear-monitor feed, blended together and shared back in the day on Dime. To the two of you, thank you very much for your work. This was an important show, but none of us realised how important until about a year after the fact. The files are being shared here unaltered and in their original FLAC format, in accordance with the tapers' wishes.
This was a set performed by the band in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust, who offer guidance, resources and support to young people living with cancer. They do some excellent work and you can check them out using the link above.
It could have been an occasion to drop by and just play a few numbers and then split, but Editors performed a very special full-length set that night. Tom even performed a rare cover of Walking with Jesus by Spacemen 3. It's a choice which I suspect may have been lobbied for by a certain moderator on the band's old forum ;)
Jason Pierce was a member of Spacemen 3 before forming Spiritualized, a band that Tom has consistently cited as having played one of his own favourite gigs at the Eden Project in 2002. Jason also remixed (or rather, obscured) Camera back in 2006.
This was the night where we were also introduced to The Sting and Two Hearted Spider. The gig was Editors' first one of 2011, and there had been word from Tom in November of 2010 that recording was about to begin on E4. So it's possible that either of those numbers may have been attempted in a studio by the time they were played here. They were certainly rehearsed.
This was a set performed by the band in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust, who offer guidance, resources and support to young people living with cancer. They do some excellent work and you can check them out using the link above.
It could have been an occasion to drop by and just play a few numbers and then split, but Editors performed a very special full-length set that night. Tom even performed a rare cover of Walking with Jesus by Spacemen 3. It's a choice which I suspect may have been lobbied for by a certain moderator on the band's old forum ;)
Jason Pierce was a member of Spacemen 3 before forming Spiritualized, a band that Tom has consistently cited as having played one of his own favourite gigs at the Eden Project in 2002. Jason also remixed (or rather, obscured) Camera back in 2006.
Most hardcore fans that are really into the song will probably point to this version of 2HS as the definitive version with Chris involved. It has so much to recommend it but for me, I still think the Coke Festival rendition is better. You'll notice that the opening verse is cut short just after Tom sings "In the arms of a lover...", and this was due to him inadvertently dismantling the microphone, resulting in two non-functioning pieces hitting the deck. There's an excellent stutter-drum pattern from Ed during the start which I don't think happened again after this show, and the effects on Chris' guitar are turned up much louder than on subsequent performances. Mr Smith was still trying out different ways of singing the "Hey!" lines after "I saw our shadows dance before the dawn", with this one testing the higher aspects of his vocal range. Later ones would remain much lower on the scale.
The Sting is dark, which considering who's playing it isn't exactly a revelation, but here it has an seductively uncomfortable brooding quality to it. It's something that was lost in the re-recording around the time of The Weight of Your Love. It's almost as if it was locked in a box, and they decided to let it see some sunlight before officially releasing it. The newer arrangement lacks that creeping bass line from Russell and the slight venom in Tom's vocal delivery, as well as the electronic flourishes from Chris.
This Royal Albert Hall recording is probably as close as we'll ever get to hearing the studio takes of The Sting and 2HS in their original format. Unless there's a cynical PIAS re-release of The Weight of Your Love in about 50 years which contains the last demos recorded with Chris as bonus tracks (and the obligatory badge and fold-out poster, of course). Then we can all get into very slow fights with each other, shaking our walking-sticks and shouting through our dentures abut how our preferred version is absolutely the best one.
There are times when the lack of recent road activity shows, and Racing Rats contains a wonderful screw-up by Tom just before the "Come on now" section of the track, where he clearly forgets himself for a moment and ends up missing his cue entirely for that part. If you watch this video on youtube posted by Alex F (thank you!), you can see that he's totally aware of what he's done and even allows himself as big old smile before coming back in. He also fluffs the intro to TWOTW because of "sweaty hands". But as I've said before, if I wanted perfection from a performance I'd stay at home, moping around with my mp3 player. I'll take edges over glossy polished surfaces all day long.
No Sound But The Wind is as close to the finished studio version of the full-band recording that they ever did live as Editors Mk1, and it's fantastic. The Big Exit sounds as unsettling as ever, and even has a little additional vocal over the very end of the song.
Tom announces that Flood, who was the producer of ITLAOTE is actually in the building just after The Big Exit and before dedicating ERM=BD to him. At that time I believe they were looking at him returning for more production duties on E4, something that ended up being undertaken by Jacquire King in Nashville.
As much as Mr Smith stated that there was road rust due to the band not playing recently, this is still a show that really came together on the night. A year later, the first lineup of Editors would be a thing of the past and as well as losing a founder member, 2 songs would also undergo changes of their own. This is a chance to fully appreciate the amazing chemistry between Ed, Russell, Tom and Chris when it was at its absolute best and, perversely, just before it all collapsed. Enjoy the music ;)
Camera - download here
Bullets - download here
Bones - download here
An End Has A Start - download here
Two Hearted Spider - download here
You Don't Know Love - download here
The Racing Rats - download here
No Sound But The Wind - download here
Lights - download here
The Big Exit - download here
Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool - download here
The Sting - download here
Munich - download here
Walking With Jesus - download here
The Weight Of The World - download here
Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors - download here
Bricks And Mortar - download here
In This Light And On This Evening - download here
Papillon - download here
You Are Fading - download here
Fingers In The Factories - download here
All in a zip - download here
That dude on the left looks a bit sketchy, best keep him away from the lead singer...
Bonus Material - Interview Video
Backstage at the show, this is a film that features Editors as well as a familiar face (see above). The interview makes me think back to an earlier comment about Ed from when Chris introduced him in this clip.
He is technically our drummer. He is shorter than most girls.
Stop the clip at 1.57 and take a look at the lineup. You cannot see Ed's face because he really is shorter than those girls! Enjoy the chat ;)
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
