Pukkelpop August 14th 2014

"Is everybody having a good day? I'm having a good day." - Tom prior to All Sparks

First thing to point out is that this proved to be a difficult video to "liberate" when I originally ripped it. As such, you'll notice that the picture quality isn't as smooth as you're used to, but if you can live with that then you have a great gig just waiting to be appreciated.

This show is an example of what happens when you get a group of musicians who are on-point; a vocalist with a ridiculous amount of passion for the songs he's singing and a crowd that are definitely in the mood for a good night out. But then again, Belgium was the venue for this gathering of the glum and there's whispers on the street that this is a country that may be a little bit fond of Editors. Just a little, mind you. There's actually fairly good odds that if you were in attendance on the night, you'll be flashing up onscreen at some point during one of the many crowd shots.

Pukkelpop was another Editors live event that featured the talents of Mr Nicholas Willes, as they trekked the TWOYL album around the summer festival circuit in 2014. At this juncture Mr Smith was still operating his twitter account (where I nabbed the photo below from) having been online for 2 years, but like his legendary touring boots, it is no more unfortunately. Ahhhh, those boots. They will be missed. Luckily for us the magnetic pull of social media dragged him back but onto a different platform. This show has Tom performing The Weight acoustically on guitar but also No Sound But the Wind, a song of multiple versions with one usually preferred by fans over all others. My own personal favourite is still the full electric version with Chris (studio-recorded first then live), but I do love the weird journey that track endured:-

A track on the Twilight soundtrack, appreciated by teen girls who dig vampires
Tom's solo piano take
Tom's solo acoustic guitar rendition
The full band version
The recorded full band version with a different arrangement of Chris' guitars
The final take on the VI OLENCE album

As I said, weird.

This tour saw the band using film projected behind them while they played at certain points, including skateboarders doing their thing during Formaldehyde. I'd forgotten how striking the image of the martial artist in the karate gi is when he appears at the beginning of A Life as a Ghost. He looks huge! Also, knowing what we know about Mr Smith's once rock solid mountain-goat climbing skills being absent recently, I actually got a bit nervy when he clambered up on the piano during ERM=BD. I kept waiting for that horrible moment when gravity took it upon itself to remind him just who is in charge but both the paino stool and his footing remained sure and steadfast. Enjoy the music, everyone ;)

Photo borrowed from Tom's Twitter Feed (R.I.P.)

Video - stream it here

MP3s
Sugar - download here
Munich - download here 
An End Has a Start - download here 
Formaldehyde - download here 
All Sparks - download here 
A Life as a Ghost - download here 
ERM=BD - download here
Bullets - download here 
Bones - download here 
Honesty - download here 
The Racing Rats - download here 
Smokers - download here 
Nothing - download here 
The Weight (Acoustic) - download here
No Sound but the Wind (Tom solo) - download here
Bricks and Mortar - download here 
A Ton of Love - download here 
Papillon - download here 

Bonus Material - Interview 1
stream it here

Bonus Material - Interview 2

JimBe interview Mr Lay and Mr Lockey backstage at Pukkelpop, and among other things they discuss the site of what was their 900th show. 900 shows. That's craziness. There's also a lovely compliment to Chris' guitar writing skills from Justin. It's quick and it's subtle, but it's there. He also talks about a possible application for some of his wonderful airport documents that he still shares when touring to this day. I wonder if the idea is still a possibility down the line sometime? Enjoy the chat ;)

stream it here

Bonus Material - Photoset by Danny van Schendel
view pics here

being brought to you with lots of lemming-love :) x