Editors fans. We're everywhere, and some of us are carrying recording equipment. Literally within 24 hours of this show happening, Sven was in touch and sharing his master tape of the event. Many, many thanks to him for this. It's appreciated.
A show that should have been part of the Black Gold celebrations, which was a marker for looking back and reliving some of the band's history, but it ended up being rescheduled and acting as the second showcase for three brand-new Editors songs. Don't get me wrong, this is definitely a greatest hits set but the new arrivals fit in there extremely well.
That gap in the original booking and the event happening is acknowledged by Tom in between the first couple of songs.
"It's so good to see you...eventually."
The show opens with white noise and blends right into Heart Attack. From there it's high speed to the end and takes in new tunes Karma Climb and Kiss. It's the same move they pulled 5 years ago at Southside when they introduced Cold, Hallelujah and Magazine in the same set. Heart Attack you already know yes, it sounds great live. Karma Climb has the feel of Atomic by Blondie to it, once again betraying their now obvious pop sensibilities. Actually, the thing about all of these new compositions is how immediate they are. It's the sound of emancipation from the enforced isolation we've all had to drag ourselves through. Music bourne of absolute restriction, and as a consequence it sounds uncompressed, like it wants to fly.
How about this for a warning; I think that these new songs will only get more fiercesome with repetition before they become standards in the set. They're still in the first flourishes of playing them to an audience, which means they'll be raw and possessing an unfamiliar nervousness that will be polished out over time. What we'll be witnessing from now is the transition from the concentration required to remember and deliver, to the subtle relaxation of it becoming more known, to the final stage of mastery where the whole act of performing the material can virtually run on muscle memory alone.
Along with the freshness of new stuff, some of the older songs have been slightly altered. I won't spoil it by pointing out which ones but regular, shamelessly addicted fans will pick it up immediately. You might even say some of the more road-weary numbers have been reinvigorated. There's something admirable about treating your music with reverence, but not as relics or museum pieces. They are almost living entities that it's OK to mould and craft into different shapes without losing their essence. It's in line with that ethos of constantly keeping moving which is what's brought the band to where they are today. Also, that blend between Papillon and Frankenstein is just beautiful.
A show that should have been part of the Black Gold celebrations, which was a marker for looking back and reliving some of the band's history, but it ended up being rescheduled and acting as the second showcase for three brand-new Editors songs. Don't get me wrong, this is definitely a greatest hits set but the new arrivals fit in there extremely well.
That gap in the original booking and the event happening is acknowledged by Tom in between the first couple of songs.
"It's so good to see you...eventually."
The show opens with white noise and blends right into Heart Attack. From there it's high speed to the end and takes in new tunes Karma Climb and Kiss. It's the same move they pulled 5 years ago at Southside when they introduced Cold, Hallelujah and Magazine in the same set. Heart Attack you already know yes, it sounds great live. Karma Climb has the feel of Atomic by Blondie to it, once again betraying their now obvious pop sensibilities. Actually, the thing about all of these new compositions is how immediate they are. It's the sound of emancipation from the enforced isolation we've all had to drag ourselves through. Music bourne of absolute restriction, and as a consequence it sounds uncompressed, like it wants to fly.
How about this for a warning; I think that these new songs will only get more fiercesome with repetition before they become standards in the set. They're still in the first flourishes of playing them to an audience, which means they'll be raw and possessing an unfamiliar nervousness that will be polished out over time. What we'll be witnessing from now is the transition from the concentration required to remember and deliver, to the subtle relaxation of it becoming more known, to the final stage of mastery where the whole act of performing the material can virtually run on muscle memory alone.
Along with the freshness of new stuff, some of the older songs have been slightly altered. I won't spoil it by pointing out which ones but regular, shamelessly addicted fans will pick it up immediately. You might even say some of the more road-weary numbers have been reinvigorated. There's something admirable about treating your music with reverence, but not as relics or museum pieces. They are almost living entities that it's OK to mould and craft into different shapes without losing their essence. It's in line with that ethos of constantly keeping moving which is what's brought the band to where they are today. Also, that blend between Papillon and Frankenstein is just beautiful.
Shout out to the awesome Nic Willes for stepping in and playing like
he's been there forever, and an even bigger salute to Mr Justin Lockey.
Hope you're doing OK out there, and that you're a little bit proud of
this new era of the band you've helped to usher in through your musical
talents. You're not around but we can hear you all over those Editors
mk2 songs, and you're on our minds.
Enjoy the music ;)
Racing Rats - download here
Bullets - download here
Karma Climb - download here
Bricks and Mortar - download here
Magazine - download here
Bones - download here
Blood - download here
Marching Orders - download here
The Phone Book - download here
An End Has A Start - download here
Violence - download here
No Harm - download here
Papillon - download here
Frankenstein - download here
Kiss - download here
Sugar - download here
Munich - download here
Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors - download here
No Sound but the Wind - download here
Bullets - download here
Karma Climb - download here
Bricks and Mortar - download here
Magazine - download here
Bones - download here
Blood - download here
Marching Orders - download here
The Phone Book - download here
An End Has A Start - download here
Violence - download here
No Harm - download here
Papillon - download here
Frankenstein - download here
Kiss - download here
Sugar - download here
Munich - download here
Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors - download here
No Sound but the Wind - download here
Bonus Material
It has been my experience that most of the tapers I receive shows from are unashamed pefectionists. As good as you might think their recordings are, they are usually a little bit unhappy with something about the way it turned out. This was the case here, where Sven played his initial recording in his car and didn't like the way it sounded. He did some audio fidgeting, and passed along a second mix for sharing here at the Archive. Thanks again to him for making his work available.
Mix 2 - download here
brought to you with lots of lemming-love ;) x
