Editors, O2 Academy, Birmingham - review

The O2 Academy isn't quite The Flapper or the former Jug of Ale, where the band began plying their trade back in the early 2000s – but home is home for the Moseley five-piece and last night encapsulated everything that is so special about homecoming gigs.

Support act Talos were first out to entertain the crowd and what they lacked in stage presence they certainly made up for with brilliant music, clearly influenced by Editors with their slow, dark melodies.

The atmosphere was electric when Editors took to the stage and they were straight in with hits like The Boxer, Sugar and All Sparks.

The band had no interest in milking their homecoming night, this gig was about one thing and one thing only – their music.

Playing a whopping set that consisted of more than 20 songs, the band rattled through them like machine gun fire, barely giving the packed-out crowd a chance to catch their breath before the next hit came out the barrel.

Violence, the title track from their latest album which they are currently touring, was a big hit with fans but the back-to-back performances of Blood followed by Papillon really set the pulses racing.

Despite his incredible vocal range, lead singer Tom Smith was a man of very few words, allowing his music – and his somewhat questionable T-rex like dance moves – to do the talking. But even he couldn't resist a cheesy grin when he thanked the crowd for coming out and referred to Birmingham as Brum.

The crowd very much played their part on the night too, hanging off Tom's every lyric but also following the golden rule of smash-hit Munich – you'll speak when you're spoken to. They weren't called upon often (why get the crowd to sing when you've got a voice like Tom's?), but when the microphone was pointed in their direction they were ready and waiting to belt out the tunes.

The band went off stage after renditions of Belong and Magazine but were back before you could blink for their encore, which began with their new album opener Cold. The song could've been named after the somewhat Baltic conditions outside, but definitely not the atmosphere inside the O2.

No night is ever perfect, and technical difficulties forced the band off stage during The Racing Rats.

But instead of letting it sour the night, all it served to do was get the crowd more excited for the band's return to the stage.

"It's been a f****** pleasure" Tom announced to the crowd as the gig drew to a close.

But after Editor's played the night out with Munich and then Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors, it became obvious that the pleasure was all ours.