EDITORS/WINTERSLEEP Live @ Southampton Guildhall, 26/10/2009

There were mixed opinions as my better half and I took the train to Southampton. She was excited about the prospect of seeing Editors and declared that the support would be, in her words, “meh!”. I disagreed, venturing the opinion that the headliners set would be bland and over rehearsed but the spontaneous nature of Wintersleep would make them an exciting live proposition.
Before we could get an answer though, the first band of the night, Airship, took to the stage. They weren’t bad actually, but there was too much going on. If they could pick a style and stick with it, they could well go places though.
Wintersleep were next up and I was excited, I’d not seen these guys since I was in Toronto in 2007 and it was worth the wait, a blistering set saw the band really come to life with a heavier and more thumping version of ‘Weighty Ghost’ than you’d get on record. Following up with ‘Oblivion’ these Nova Scotians were clearly hooking the audience and at least one person in the audience was loudly singing along. The band ended with a blistering jam on the always impressive ‘Nerves Normal, Breath Normal’. On any given night this is a live favourite but I can’t imagine it being better than this punchy, visceral take!
Editors chose not to compete musically, rather they had a rather impressive lightscreen. The band were slick, but there was a complete lack of highs and lows, every song seemingly the same as the last. Needless to say, the crowd – largely covered in tee-shirts bought on their way in – lapped it up. After just under an hour, we’d had enough and headed out into the night… I think it’s safe to say though, that I was right!