Sometimes, due to the haphazard nature of the YouTube algorithm and the indifference of copyright holders to well reasoned arguments, there are shows in my possession that end up having a tough time getting on the platform. Frustratingly they're often the best ones the band have played during the campaign cycle they represent. When I ripped this, I was filled with the usual excitement that comes from knowing you're going to preserve and share a little piece of the band's history, only to later have it deflated thanks to processes and procedures that I confess I'm totally baffled by. It was blocked worldwide within about three minutes of going live at the Archive.
Editors at Down the Rabbit Hole 2019 has been banished to and stuck within the copyright infringement waiting area for just under a year now with no way to just sit back, hit play and enjoy it in full. True to form it's an awesome gig, with every member of the group fully realising their roles and contributing as a whole to something very special. It deserves to be seen and heard. With that as my motivation, I'm giving this one more try.
Procedures for copyright transgressions have changed slightly on YouTube, and even though I'm currently in a dispute with a publisher because they claim that this concert from 2019 contains a recording of Munich from Glastonbury 2016 (sigh), for the next 28 days it should remain in place. After that, and depending upon the persuasive powers of my arguments, it might be safe or the nuke button might get pressed again so enjoy it while you have it. It's a brilliant event.
Editors really did roll over the audience at Down the Rabbit Hole Festival, 5th July 2019, and as well as some memorable music there were some surprises too. Nic Willes was at this time still a fully operational Editor, standing in for Justin who was taking some time out. I'm glad Mr Willes was there for this one because not only did he contribute to a great show, he also got some screen time on a professionally shot film. I always chuckle to myself whenever I see him playing because I remember in a post TWOYL interview that the band jokingly remarked that now Chris was gone, nobody in the group had tattoos. Mr Willes has artfully spoiled that claim, inked as he is. Speaking of Chris, there's another flash of the dark, dark humour that permeates Editors when they're being interviewed at the start of this video. Be warned.
They moved Papillon to the front of the line, preferring instead to close out the evening with Frankenstein. Good call. Although it was still in the early stages of its development as a live attraction, you could hear the potential. The fact that they made the song the last note you hear before they left the stage suggests that they agree. Trivia buffs note, this was the first pro-shot footage we had of the band playing Frankenstein live. I think a lot of fans who were on the fence about Barricades will probably tell you that this was the show that made them fall in love with that tune. As is often the case with this band, they used the live format to truly deliver their material and in doing so transformed it into something new.
Watch out for Tom and Elliott performing Cold together, a feat that was troubling the mind of Mr Williams because, as he's said in an interview since, his vocal parts are not within his comfort range. That's why you see him inviting the crowd to sing along for support. It worked beautifully.
Fans of mechanical changes to the music will notice that there was no repeat of the first verse during the handclap section of Hallelujah (So Low), with the emphasis instead being shifted to crowd interaction. This was something that radiated throughout the set, and as I said in an earlier post I thought that was the reason the Killers did so well at Glastonbury that year. They didn't just show up and play, instead making it all about that connection between themselves and the crowd. If you watch closely you can see semi-permanent smiles on the faces of all 5 Editors throughout, and they really did look like they had a great time.
The biggest and most welcome surprise for me was the figure with the camera stalking the band from the back of the stage. It took a little while to get a clear look at him, but it offered confirmation that Mr Rahi Rezvani was still an Editor, which was brilliant news.
Enjoy the music...for as long as it's here ;)
Barricades - stream it here
Cold (acoustic) - stream it here
Frankenstein - stream it here
MP3s
Violence - download here
Papillon - download here
Munich - download here
Hallelujah (So Low) - download here
Barricades - download here
An End Has a Start - download here
Darkness at the Door - download here
All Sparks - download here
Blood - download here
Cold (Acoustic) - download here
Ocean of Night - download here
Magazine - download here
Sugar - download here
No Harm - download here
A Ton of Love - download here
Smokers - download here
Racing Rats - download here
Frankenstein - download here
Bonus Materials - Interviews
As somebody once sang, there was more here to be seen...
Thank you Hannah, this is brilliant. It turns out there was an extended version of the DTRH interview with Tom and Russell which runs at almost half an hour. That being the case, I've replaced the truncated version with this one. If you're a hardcore fan then this chat is full of interesting items to fuel your cravings.
It's interesting to hear a theory confirmed, when the band are asked how many versions of the VI OLENCE albums there are. Tom says 4, as he includes his own home demos as part of that total. That means the timeline that resulted in the finished album would be as follows:-
Tom's Demos
Oxford Recordings
Blanck Mass Sessions
Leo and Editors final takes
We hear again about Magazine being a song that was 10 years old, and the heartbreaking news that it was part of the Flood recordings with Chris still involved. I use that word heartbreaking because I would probably sell a kidney to hear it, but know deep down in my jaded heart that it will probably remain a mythical Editors composition. It also means that if it was 10 years old at the time they were recording E6 then it occupied a no-man's land between AEHAS and ITLAOTE during 2007-2009.
There's other points of interest so I won't spoil it by listing them. Needless to say if you're a fan of these longer skirmishes in the promotional battlefield then you'll really dig this. It also gives us a new way to measure the level of our fandom. Hypothetically, if 18 hours of unreleased Editors material leaked onto the web, who would listen to the full collection? If you're hand shot up so fast that you dislocated your shoulder, and are now reading this from your local A&E department, I'd say you've got the Editors fever pretty bad. I should know. We can smell our own (waves from the hospital with his good arm). Enjoy ;)
stream it here
Ed and Elliott Interviewed by KinkFM
Ahead of their slot at Down the Rabbit Hole 5th July 2019, here's Ed and Elliott being interviewed backstage. It's only 3 minutes long but thanks to a brief slip of the tongue by Ed, we may have just had some very interesting information released (albeit completely unintentionally!). Proof that if you're gently persistent as a journalist, sometimes you occasionally strike black gold. Enjoy ;)
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
