Last Night*

Some people have described them as Joy Division wannabees, but I don't see that one myself. I tend to think of Editors as being heavily influenced by TV21, the post-punk band from Edinburgh in the early '80s. This is probably a strange claim to make because I can't imagine that the Birmingham four-piece have even heard of TV21 (Kev, that is not an insult, merely a guess!). As an aside, I once saw TV21 supporting The Skids in Ayr back in the day and they were fucking awesome. Well, listen to A Thin Red Line from 1981 and you'll hear what I mean. I certainly don't have a problem with bands taking inspiration from their predecessors or their contemporaries - who else liked The Alarm, the band that Joe Strummer described as "a shadow of a shadow of a shadow of the Clash"? No, I didn't either! Anyway, my point is .... Editors are a damn fine band and last night at the Brixton Academy (the middle of their three-night sold-out stint) JJ and I were witness to how the energy and drive of their recorded material is well transformed onto the live stage.

Lead man Tom Smith runs around the stage quite a bit, covering every inch I think, and so full of beans. He also has a lovely voice which never strains, no matter how high or low he goes. Chris Urbanowicz on guitar plays his part also and, to these ears, never hits a bum note. As for bass and drums .... pounding! Ed Lay batters the fuck out of the skins and snares and is accompanied well by Russell Leech on the four-strings.

We had a good mixture of tracks from their debut The Back Room with those from The End Has a Start, while one or two new songs also had an airing. Simply put, a fucking good gig was put on by the lads.

Earlier, we partook in a wee libation at what is becoming a real favourite pub of mine, the Prince Arthur in Eversholt Street next to Euston. The table service business can seem a little wanky initially, but it is never intrusive and always friendly. And, with a very nice bottle of sauvignon blanc at 11 quid, well, can't complain really. Oh, and nice art on the walls, also!

So a great evening was had by both of us. And a morning off work to spend a few more hours with JJ was rather lovely too!

More culture tomorrow night as we head for the theatre in Northampton for an Alan Ayckborne play - promises to be ace!

*The Strokes