Editors
Dundee Fat Sams Live (Thursday 11th March)
As soon as Editors announced their UK tour for March, one gig stood out like a sore thumb. Where the rest of the Scottish leg brought gigs to larger venues such as Glasgow Academy, Dundee was treated to a more intimate show at Fat Sams. It’s arguable that with their continued momentum that they could have played the considerably larger Caird Hall, but you’d be hard pressed to find a fan who’d complain.
When a band has as many strong songs as the four piece do, it’s quite hard to critique them in the truest sense. Playing in front of two big screens and a packed room, there was never any doubt that they would slay Dundee without too much effort. ‘Lights’ bursts with Tom Smith’s empassioned cry of “I’ve got a million things to say”, ‘Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool’ is practically designed to infiltrate venues intimate and grand alike, its throbbing bassline filling every corner of the venue.
Old material nestles surprisingly well compared to the newer, more synthy sounds. ‘The Big Exit’ sounds considerably beefier than when aired at Tartan Heart last year and the reaction that greets ‘Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors’ is primal and euphoric. The fact that so many big songs can be played within the main set whilst holding back fan favourites such as ‘All Sparks’, ‘Papillion’ and ‘Bricks and Mortar’ for the encore is testiment to a band who have not let up releasing quality music time and time again.
As unbalanced as it is, there’s no point in drawing any criticism from tonight. When a band arrives in the right venue with the right songs and a charismatic frontman it becomes less of a gig and more of a conquest where there’s nowhere to hide or escape within sight. In this light and on this evening, Editors reign supreme.
Matthew Shaw
