It was a cool September evening on Commonwealth Avenue. Ed Lay, the soft-spoken drummer for British indie-rock band Editors, shivered in his signature gray T-shirt mere hours before headlining a sold-out show at the Paradise Rock Club Thursday.
“It’s getting quite cold outside,” he said, tugging on his short sleeves.
Lay, who hails from Birmingham, England, was not used to the unpredictable New England weather, yet the band was comfortable at the Paradise, where they packed in an audience last year.
This time around, they’re fueled by momentum from the band’s recently released, “An End Has A Start,” which Lay calls “more joyous” than their debut effort, 2006’s “The Back Room.”
Lay laughed at the band’s frequent comparisons to New York City-based band Interpol, saying, “Yes, we are [compared to them] over here.” He then defended the importance of musical influences.
“If you didn’t listen to a lot of music and try and pick up the best bits of other peoples’ writing then you wouldn’t be doing your job properly,” he said.
Editors largely picked up on Interpol’s sound, as would be evident later that evening. The band, fronted by attractive yet awkward Tom Smith, delivered lyrics, beats and demeanor near identical to that of the NYC foursome.
During the two hours leading to their 11 p.m. performance, the college-age and older crowd slowly filtered into the Paradise. Standing room was sparse by the time Editors kicked off their set with “Bones,” one of many upbeat yet heartfelt compositions.
Smith reached out to the audience while singing, “In the end all you can hope for/Is the love you felt to equal the pain you’ve gone through.” This sentiment would be repeated in various moods and melodies during the band’s hour-long set.
Smith, who pens the band’s tunes, is a firm believer in the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” frame of mind. Editors have two types of songs. One starts upbeat, reaches an emotional peak and returns to upbeat. The other starts slow, reaches an emotional peak and stays there.
Their music is not bad; it’s just monotonous.
Highlights of the band’s performance included “Fall,” “When Anger Shows” and title track “An End Has A Start.” During certain selections, Smith demonstrated his ability at the keys, proving that Chris Martin is not the only strangely alluring pianist.
The ladies loved Editors, no doubt for the lead singer’s good looks, while the men were equally enthusiastic; one loudly called the song “When Anger Shows” “unbelievable.”
Openers Ra Ra Riot, a sextet from Syracuse, New York, and Scottish trio Biffy Clyro rounded out the bill with their indie and hard rock sounds respectively.
The strongest performance of the evening came from Ra Ra Riot, who effectively blended classical string instruments with guitars, drums and other rock elements. Lead vocalist Wesley Miles marched around the stage to militaristic pop songs and “St. Peter’s Day Festival,” which they dedicated to the band’s late drummer John Pike.
Ra Ra Riot’s set was unfortunately brief, concluding after eight songs.
Biffy Clyro’s music and appearance was a hard rock version of Los Angeles rockers Incubus. Ben Johnston and Simon Neil, whose voice is similar to Brandon Boyd’s, both performed shirtless.
The hard rock “Saturday Superhouse” and quirky “Who’s Got a Match” found a middle ground between the evening’s other acts.
The show concluded at about midnight after a three-song encore from Editors. The audience responded loudly, yelling and clapping enthusiastically, a response that Lay calls his favorite part of being in a band.
“I love gigging, that feeling you get when you play and the crowd is just blown away,” he said. “It’s nice to know that you’re doing something completely spot-on.”
