The show was originally shared and made available to Dime, I believe, by Johnky. Thanks to you, sir. The files are being shared in their original FLAC format in accordance with the taper's wishes.
Oxegen 2008 is a concert that has one of the greatest performances of Smokers that Editors have ever done. Period. It starts out as it always does at a brisk pace, and carries on like that until we reach that moment where Mr Smith sits at the piano for the "We've all been changed...." section. Something happens that occurred a few other times, particularly during the festival shows on the AEHAS campaign; he started baiting the crowd. During the recorded version of the song there's just a small break where you hear Russell's bass and Ed's kick-drum, before it all crashes back in with the guitars. Once again, however, when the band are free of the confines and restraints of the studio environment, they add these little touches that make the songs into something much more. Tom tells the crowd that they can't hear them, then he tells them a couple more times, then they all lock in for the last part of the song. Watch how the other Editors react the more Tom shouts at the audience. He looks and sounds like he means every word, and it's exciting to watch the band go nuts in such a very public way. This is why people love watching them play.
There was an unreasonably small amount of footage from this gig and unfortunately the dull, conservative folks at TMF got rid of the "Tom Swears" moment during the highlights broadcast of Smokers. We live in the age of the internet, and I'm not naive enough to believe that you good people haven't seen and heard far worse than the word "Fuck" out here. So I've taken the audio from Johnk's recording and synced it with the video to give you a full, uncut experience that I know you'll enjoy much more. If you check out the version that's floating around elsewhere on youtube, you'll be able to do a comparison. Without the swearing, it's still great, but having it reinstated elicits a few extra shivers down the backbone in the nicest possible way. Turn up the volume and it'll make total sense. Enjoy the music ;)
The Setlist
The Racing Rats - download here
An End Has a Start - download here
Escape the Nest - download here
All Sparks - download here
No Sound but the Wind - download here
Blood - download here
Bullets - download here
You Are Fading - download here
Munich - download here
The Weight of the World - download here
Fingers in the Factories - download here
Smokers - download here
Firstly, we have a bizarre intro from two people I always believed were Ed Lay and Chris Urbanowicz. Now, I'm not so sure...
stream it here
Smokers at Oxegen (Redux)
Here's what I believe to be the greatest performance of Smokers ever given by Editors, presented in the way it was always intended to be. Loud is best ;)
stream it here
Here's what I believe to be the greatest performance of Smokers ever given by Editors, presented in the way it was always intended to be. Loud is best ;)
stream it here
brought to you with lots of lemming-love :) x
