Institute of Contemporary Arts

DAY ELEVEN: Editors and Good Books

Date: 11 July 2007

Tom Smith, Editors

What can I say about the Editors and Good Books gig that isn’t self-explanatory? It was an amazing night, but then, of course it was. Two of the U.K’s biggest bands, playing under one small roof to a lucky elite of winning fans. What’s not to like?

Both bands, as their names suggest, are clever urban poets – able to spin an entertaining yarn within beautiful and magnificent sound frames. Good Books don’t sound as epic as Editors, but, certainly need no editing themselves, with lyrics on a par with those found in the finest of, good books. (Apologies, I couldn’t help it). They are an extremely eloquent band with a wisdom beyond their years. Max, fresh faced and rosy- cheeked when you meet him in person (see gallery), is an exhilarating force on stage, convincing in his delivery of thought provoking, insightful lyrics associated with one far older. In The Illness he sings the lines,

 ‘You wake up, you’re older, your plans just got smaller,
you never really thought that you’d still be here today.’

These words are relating to middle-aged person who has most likely been struggling with a menial job for the last 25 years. Of course, Max hasn’t experienced this, he’s not been alive for 25 years and half of that’s been spent ‘in a rock and roll band’, so it must be down to intelligence and an observing nature that gives Good Books these lyrical ideas. Funnily enough, they’re not half bad at music either and their melodic indie sound with its intuitive and slick use of guitar, synths, keyboard and drums was very popular with the fans on Wednesday. Unitimidated by the cameras flying about for Channel Four’s At It, The live broadcast for XFM, or the prestigious band to follow them, Good Books rocked out in a seamless performance of the tracks from their forthcoming album Closer.

The artwork for Closer and all the Good Books singles is worth a quick mention, a French surrealist artist did them, and they really stand out as being something unusual and thought provoking. Slightly more uplifting tha the Editors album covers if you ask me, but that’s just my view. The Editors design is super industrial bleak, oozing out desolation and depression, like some heavy Rothko painting. And even though much of their music, especially the latest dipped-in-death album, is heavy stuff, there are uplifting, exciting parts to be taken from it and their artwork doesn’t show this, which I think is a shame. But back to Wednesday.

I’ve never been lucky enough to watch Editors play, so to see them like this was good, and from photographer’s perspective, fantastic. Tom Smith is a pe pe, pe pe, pe pe, pe pe, pe pe pe, pe pe, pe pe pe pe pe pe-rformer. (sung to the pearl and dean trailor music if you please) and he was so much fun to watch. He sings with cratefuls of charisma, often attacking his words and expressing repulsion and mania in his actions. He has a few particular character traits that I managed to catch on camera such as pushing away his arms as if he wants them off, and bending and twisting as if to get away from himself. All this and then he climbed on the piano – brilliant. (See gallery again please.) Tom and the rest of the band were on spectacular form, checking every now and again that the audience were ok before plunging ebulliently into another track. The band performed favorites from their first album the back room including Someone Says, Munich, Bullet and Blood (yes, we were spoilt) alongside newer tracks from their second album release, An End Has A Start (obviously, no?). Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors, The Racing Rats and When Anger Shows all went down a storm and the revolutionary vibe filled the veins of the crowds as they left the theatre for the urban jungle once again.

Torie Speyer