Report: Editors & Antlers Live Toronto

Brits ‘n' Yanks bumrush the Phoenix Concert Theatre on Feb. 16 and BLURT was there.

Text and photos by April S. Engram

Unsurprisingly, the Editors put on an excellent performance. Already familiar with their bombastic concerts, a bit of hesitance lingered in my mind on how their recently released third album In This Light and On This Evening sounded in comparison to their last albums. As fans of electronic/dance music, Editors' newly evolved direction includes heavy synths and keyboards while maintaining their brooding aura - now, how would it "play" live? Damn fine, is the answer to that rhetorical question and what made this performance greater than one could hope for was the enthusiastic audience.

Their instruments rested on the stage teasing us as the opening acts took the stage. New York's Antlers arrived just in time for the show. After a local act left the stage a few minutes passed when suddenly sound techs were hoisting a drum kit, amps, and keyboards onto the stage. Once setup lead singer Peter Silberman raised his beer and quickly addressed the audience, "we are The Antlers and we just got here," and began their hurried set.

For just a trio, the Antlers produced quite a bit of sound that washed over the venue. Silberman's falsetto voice rose into the air as drummer Michael Lerner and keyboardist Darby Cicci slowly crescendo'd. During their impressive set, Lerner proved entertaining to watch as he ferociously beat his kit; by the end of their performance he managed to pulverize a stick with each strike. The Antlers' grand sound awed the audience who cheered and applauded the band on; however, their tendency to end nearly each song with an extended version grew wearisome. Nevertheless, they proved a great band to get the crowd amped for the main event.

When the English quartet finally graced the stage, the audience soared and never came down. In true Editors style guitarist Chris Urbanowicz and bassist Russell Leetch remained cool on their instruments. Drummer Edward Lay effortlessly banged out the quickened beats with an ecstatic smile while singer Tom Smith, bursting with enough emotion and energy for all, staggered about the stage pouring out his baritone voice.

A great deal of In This Light was performed that evening; fans knew every word and happily sang along with lead singer Tom Smith. "Like Treasure," "Bricks and Mortar," "Eat Raw Meat" all made appearances this night and the commencement of each song sparked a frenzied cheer. However, older tracks from their debut and sophomore releases The Back Room and An End Has a Start proved to be the all-time favorites.

Whenever a familiar bar was played the audience exploded. Editors could do no wrong, even when Smith accidentally forgot words to "The Racing Rats." At the piano he played with the crowd singing along when suddenly he stopped singing and threw his head in the air laughing. Drummer Lay also laughed and Smith's mistake. After a moment Smith returned to the mic and finished the song. He then apologized to the audience for his error to which a young fan next to me shouted, "That's ok Tom, we still love you!"

After a fervent fifteen song set, the Editors big farewell to Toronto; but, they were not yet finished. To everyone's surprise they returned for a four song encore and newly released single "Papillion" was the track everyone was waiting for. Everyone jumped, danced and with big smiles sang with Smith and the loud synths filled the room. Nineteen songs, two hours later the Editors closed the evening with a bang and superseded their fans expectations.