KEY POINTS:
Editors may have played a much smaller venue than their English contemporaries, Bloc Party. But the Birmingham band made up for it with a set that felt precise, polished and proud enough to transport anywhere.
It helped that woolly-haired frontman Tom Smith performed as though taking individual members of the audience aside for a chat.
Gesturing with a wide-eyed, restless energy, arms twisted in front of him, it was as though he was manoeuvring his slight frame through a tennis raquet or explaining how to do up the back of his straitjacket.
Even when he switched from rhythm guitar to electric piano, he kept up the hand-puppet show at the keys.
As the focal point of the gig, Smith left the more reserved band members to focus on driving the groove, whether it was guitarist Chris Urbanowiczs' dramatic, high-pitched melodies, bass player Russell Leetch's throbbing bass lines or drummer Ed Lay's relentless dance beats.
Opening with Bones, the band had a tough job getting the male-dominated Tuesday-night crowd warmed up within the shoebox confines of the Studio. But they managed it with a wall of sound that filled every crevice.
Despite Smith's physical theatrics, Editors have a minimal, no-fuss approach on stage, leaving little room between songs for banter.
Coupled with their music's aloof style, they wouldn't have looked out of sorts in business suits.
Although their set was mostly from acclaimed second album An End Has A Start, an early rendition of Bullets from first album The Back Room came as a thrilling reminder they have a solid repertoire of edgy, guitar-driven pop.
Occasionally that pulsing rhythm section was the only glue holding together songs that risked becoming shadows of others.
The gig hit a few damp spots on some of their more idiosyncratic tracks, like The Racing Rats.
But about halfway came the blinder - literally. With lights so intense the crowd were virtually transparent, they launched into "a really old song" (anyone know the title?) that built to a haunting climax of echoed vocals, sweeping guitars and a sense of majesty that only epileptics or those who can't handle strobe lights wouldn't appreciate.
This is ironic because there were obvious echoes of Joy Division, particularly Smith's grand vocals and weird, Ian Curtis-style dancing.
From there Editors really hit their stride, launching into a muscular rendition of Munich, and leading into a finale that included Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors, a song that would be right at home on the Grey's Anatomy soundtrack, and not just because of the lyrics.
That almost sums up their set - high in dramatic tension, big on beauty but without all the ads.
