Editors // Photo Credit James Edmond
A cold evening in Glasgow as the famous Barrowlands neon lights glowed down the Gallowgate, the crowds gathered to get prime spots at the front for the Editors Black Gold show at the famous venue. The show sold out in minutes, as the loyal fans looked forward to seeing their idols in the city once more.
First up tonight was Whispering Sons from Brussels in Belgian, who have been creating such a great buzz from fans who have seen various shows on this tour, Glasgow was set to know why. The band featuring Fenne Kuppens – Vocals, Kobe Lijnen – Guitar, Sander Hermans – Synths, Tuur Vandeborne – Bass and Sander Pelsmaekers – Drums, with their big post punk sound with hints of early Bauhaus, with dark, moody deep vocals. The band took to the stage under a cloud of dry ice, the blue lights creating a haunting atmosphere that gently parted to reveal the band. Fenne, dressed all in white stood out from the blue lights, the rest of the band wearing black. The energetic, captivating movement from her pulled the audience in to their set, whilst the venue was filling fast. The darker the set got, the audience slowly got in to the performance. The band opened with Stalemate as the band settled, took in their surroundings, and played their way through a powerful set with big guitars and vocals that produced a unique range. Stand out songs from the set were Vision, Alone and the dramatic Hollow. Fenne thanked the Glasgow audience saying this was their last night on the tour and thanked the bands management and the band for inviting them on to the tour. The band closed their powerful set with an epic song entitled Waste before leaving the stage to a great reception. If you get a chance to see Whispering Sons you won’t be disappointed, their amazing stage presence and atmospheric post punk sound.
As the lights dimmed and the intro music came to an end it was time to welcome Russell Leetch, Ed Lay, Justin Lockey, Elliott Williams and Tom Smith to the famous venue. As the band came on to the stage one by one, with Tom exploding into the opening chords of An End Has A Start, as Tom’s vocals came shinning through the remaining dry ice cloud, the venue was in full voice joining in from the opening lyrics to the final full stop. They had waited for this night and the atmosphere was buzzing with excitement to see the band and enjoy the Black Gold greatest hits tour.
Powering through the opening songs Bullets and Bones taking in the audience from the stage you could see Tom was well up for this show, feeling the words and music, with the whole of his body and generating the powerful vocals to capture his audience, to the right of the stage you have Justin ripping the chords and delighting the crowd with the big solos and his entertaining moves.
Tom and the boys took the show to a new level with a storming version of Escape The Nest before the epic Magazine and Sugar. The venue was going wild, fans dancing and jumping around to the sound of the Editors. The band were on fire as they worked their way through the set that was full of hits and album tracks including new songs Upside Down and Frankenstein, from the Black Gold album. As they went deep into their back catalogue playing epic versions of Papillon and Ocean of Night, it was time for the band to leave the stage for a short break. This was very short as Tom appeared, acoustic guitar in hand, delivering an amazing version of The Weight of the World.
The band stormed through a set that included the hits and more, going through all the albums, making them present with blistering music and vocals capturing the moment, having fun doing it, delighting the crowd with A Ton of Love, All Sparks, Blood and Walk the Fleet Road before closing the set with the wonderful You are Fading, the final chords echoing around Glasgow’s formidable Barrowlands, the band left the stage.
Tom and the lads, returned to a rapturous welcome, delivering a powerful encore with Distance, The Racing Rats and Munich. The band, at the top of their game, played an amazing set with attitude and passion, treating the sold-out Glasgow audience to a night to remember in more ways than they could ever imagine. It was clear from the look on each of their faces they had the time of their lives, playing in front of the Glasgow audience, in one of the best venues in the UK. Tom and the band played their final song of the night, delighting the crowd to a wonderful version of Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors before waving to the crowd and saying their goodbyes, until the next time.
The band was on a different level tonight, playing every song with passion and pride, making each and every fan in the venue smile with joy on a night to remember. The audience found Black Gold tonight, in the form of the mighty Editors and their music.
