This is one of a quartet of live audio captures from Germany 2018, with this one taking place on the 24th of March in Münster. As with the other 3 shows we got lucky that one of our people was in the crowd and equipped with a recording device. Many thanks again to you, Sven, for giving those of us who weren't there a chance to hear it and for providing fellow fans who were in the crowd with a memento of their experience.
This was part of the band's two month long excursion into Europe during the early part of 2018, after which they made the journey back to the United States. During 2018, I believe that Germany was the most visited country on Editors' tour itinerary, edging out the UK into second place.
The difference between No Harm (studio take) and the live one is really apparent here. One is delicate electronics and claustrophobic lyrical paranoia, while the other is all those things and some serious weight added by Justin's guitar work. Metaphorically, he's like the ropes holding the departing ship to the dock, a vessel that would otherwise be softly gliding to the horizon and out of sight. I like the way that little stream of feedback announces his arrival just before you hear him play. Here it comes...here it comes...boom. It's also present at the very end of ERM=BD where it sounds like a siren bending up and down behind the electronics.
Still on the subject of live/studio ambiguities, it was fun hearing Lights presented as close to the Back Room version as it is here. Those backing vocals by Elliott move it much closer to the album take, and I imagine that this was a logistical problem back in the early days when none of the other band members were singing. This was, of course, something that would change forever once they recorded their second album and assembled the choir of vocalists for Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors. In much the same way that Editors experimented with songs structures and the instruments they played within them, there was an evolution of the group members' roles from the An End Has a Start album which altered the way the band presented their songs from then on. The additional vocals in Smokers were then taken up by Russell and Ed when the band played live, and they continued contributing their voices to other songs such as Like Treasure and Papillon. It even went beyond the first lineup of Editors, when there were two more bodies to take care of any extra musical tasks. You can see it in the version of No Harm they played at Werchter in 2016, where Ed came out from behind the drums to play keys.
Enjoy the music ;)
Intro - download here
Hallelujah (So Low) - download here
A Ton of Love - download here
Darkness at the Door - download here
Formaldehyde - download here
Violence - download here
No Harm - download here
Lights - download here
Blood - download here
Munich - download here
An End Has a Start - download here
In This Light and on This Evening - download here
Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool - download here
Nothingness - download here
Belong - download here
Sugar - download here
The Racing Rats - download here
Ocean of Night - download here
No Sound but the Wind - download here
Cold - download here
Magazine - download here
Papillon - download here
Marching Orders - download here
All in a Zip - download here
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
