The Editors; The National at the 9:30

9/4: The Editors

9/5: The National

Recommended beverage to go with these shows:
From the upstairs bar: Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat on tap; from main-level bar on right: Leinenkugel Red (bottle).

On back-to-back nights, I checked out two fantastic shows at the 9:30 Club, both full of indie-rock goodness and both fronted by distinct, deep vocals.

British rockers The Editors sound like a vocal fusion of Echo & the Bunnymen's Ian McCullough and Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore. Tom Smith's vocals sounded particularly like Gore on “Fall." It really was uncanny. The band played most of their debut album, The Back Room, and threw in some from their second album, An End Has a Start, which continues along with the same infectious style and sound as the first album.

When a debut album works, it’s great when a band clings to that sound so you can hardly tell where the first album ends and the second begins. I especially enjoyed the new song “Racing Rats” and the title track. They opened the encore with the driving drums in the new song, “Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors,” shoegazing at its finest and a song to clap to.

Other than being blinded a few times by obnoxiously bright flashing white fluorescent lights, particularly during the song “Bullets,” the show was perfect.

The National, I say, are simply too good to not be British, and yet they're from New York! This was simply high-octane shoegazer music. Loved the explosive guitars.

Rock on!