Last night marked the second time in the last few months that I attended a Stellastarr* show at the 9:30 Club and didn’t stick around for the headliners. Last October I caught great sets by Cedars and Giant Drag and last night I went solely to see the English quartet Editors.

Despite spending most of the set with my ears pinned to the front speakers in order to snap these photos, I thought their live show was much more energetic and animated than their album. A shaky version of “Lights” started the night off, but the band soon found their footing after that and ripped through most of their album Back Room along with a pair of new tracks. The set dragged a bit in the middle due to a few keyboard driven slowies, but by the time I worked my way to the back of the room for the rousing set closers “Open Your Arms” and “Fingers In The Factories,” the tempo and energy level in the room were at their peak.

Vocalist Tom Smith is a weird amalgam of Fran Healy and Ted Leo that sings with Ian Curtis‘ voice. With their soaring guitars, Smith’s deep baritone and a rock solid rhythm section that’s heavy on the low end, the four members of Editors produced a huge sound that had no problem filling out the club and making heads nod. It’s not hard to imagine them headlining their own DC show in the very near future. I walked in skeptical and walked away impressed.

Were you at the show? What did you think? If you missed them last night, fear not, they appear on the Conan O’Brien show tonight. There are a few more photos after the jump, to see the full set of my photos, click here.