The first night of a tour is an important event for a band, especially when you’re a heavily buzzed group from the U.K. playing the first night of you U.S. tour.

If the first night of Editor’s U.S. tour at Showbox at the Market Thursday night is any indication of what to expect from the Staffordshire group, big things are to come from the band many compare to Interpol, a band that ironically hails from New York, not the U.K, despite its name.

The band is touring behind its third full-length record, In This Light and On This Evening, an album with darker tones and more lyrical vulnerability than its previous efforts. The record is a tough pill to swallow for some fans given its moodier and less accessible tone than its counterparts. But anyone with doubts had their apprehensions quickly washed away the minute Editors singer Tom Smith, who at times is a dead vocal ringer for Interpol’s Paul Banks (hence the comparisons), opened his mouth.

Some songs floated through the venue on slow-moving synth lines while others were straight-ahead guitar-rock numbers. A few even felt like powerful 1980s power anthems a la “Feel It (In the Air Tonight).” It was clear Smith and the rest of the band, especially bassist Russell Leetch who at times was hopping and bouncing in time with the notes he was playing, were having a blast. That enthusiasm was contagious as the crowd danced along to the upbeat numbers and seemed to savor every second of the slower songs.

The only minor hiccups came when some of the group’s new material was placed immediately after older songs in the set list. The differences in style and tone between old and new were extremely noticeable live. It was almost like two different bands performing during the same set. Like I said, this was a minor hiccup as typically this sort of thing happens to veteran acts that go through “periods” in their catalogs. But to give you an example of what the differences between old and new felt like during Editors set, imagine Springsteen playing “The Ghost of Tom Joad” and then following it up with “The Rising.” That was sort of what it felt like when “Blood” was followed by “Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool.” But overall, it was an impressive showing from a band you can expect to hear a lot more from in the coming years.

Also on the bill were locals Black Night Crash. Their set of not quite shoegaze and not quite full-on rock showed promise. The band played several new tunes off an upcoming release and much like Editors the new songs were in stark contrast from the group’s older material.

Princeton, a four-piece from Los Angeles featuring twin brothers sharing vocal duties, played a 45-minute set of bland indie-pop prior to Editors set. They sounded like a less polished and less African-influenced Vampire Weekend. While watching their set I sent a tweet asking if anyone knew anything about the band because I had never heard of them before they took the stage. Someone replied that the only reason critics pay attention to Princeton is because they are friends with Ra Ra Riot. After Friday’s show I agree.

The first night of a tour is an important event for a band, especially when you’re a heavily buzzed group from the U.K. playing the first night of you U.S. tour.

If the first night of Editor’s U.S. tour at Showbox at the Market Thursday night is any indication of what to expect from the Staffordshire group, big things are to come from the band many compare to Interpol, a band that ironically hails from New York, not the U.K, despite its name.

The band is touring behind its third full-length record, In This Light and On This Evening, an album with darker tones and more lyrical vulnerability than its previous efforts. The record is a tough pill to swallow for some fans given its moodier and less accessible tone than its counterparts. But anyone with doubts had their apprehensions quickly washed away the minute Editors singer Tom Smith, who at times is a dead vocal ringer for Interpol’s Paul Banks (hence the comparisons), opened his mouth.

Some songs floated through the venue on slow-moving synth lines while others were straight-ahead guitar-rock numbers. A few even felt like powerful 1980s power anthems a la “Feel It (In the Air Tonight).” It was clear Smith and the rest of the band, especially bassist Russell Leetch who at times was hopping and bouncing in time with the notes he was playing, were having a blast. That enthusiasm was contagious as the crowd danced along to the upbeat numbers and seemed to savor every second of the slower songs.

The only minor hiccups came when some of the group’s new material was placed immediately after older songs in the set list. The differences in style and tone between old and new were extremely noticeable live. It was almost like two different bands performing during the same set. Like I said, this was a minor hiccup as typically this sort of thing happens to veteran acts that go through “periods” in their catalogs. But to give you an example of what the differences between old and new felt like during Editors set, imagine Springsteen playing “The Ghost of Tom Joad” and then following it up with “The Rising.” That was sort of what it felt like when “Blood” was followed by “Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool.” But overall, it was an impressive showing from a band you can expect to hear a lot more from in the coming years.

Also on the bill were locals Black Night Crash. Their set of not quite shoegaze and not quite full-on rock showed promise. The band played several new tunes off an upcoming release and much like Editors the new songs were in stark contrast from the group’s older material.

Princeton, a four-piece from Los Angeles featuring twin brothers sharing vocal duties, played a 45-minute set of bland indie-pop prior to Editors set. They sounded like a less polished and less African-influenced Vampire Weekend. While watching their set I sent a tweet asking if anyone knew anything about the band because I had never heard of them before they took the stage. Someone replied that the only reason critics pay attention to Princeton is because they are friends with Ra Ra Riot. After Friday’s show I agree.