"Would you write a review of Placebo for Frouctor, a new Arts Review magazine I recently launched in Athens?"
This was the question asked by the talented artist and good friend George (that's what I call him) from Greece, who also lives in London. Well how could I refuse this challenge given Placebo are one of my favourite bands that I have seen live many times both here in the UK and Europe over the last 20 years since they formed at Goldsmith's College.
The Placebo review is currently being translated into Greek and will feature in the third issue of Frouctor magazine, to be distributed across Athens in the next few weeks. As I only speak English and Spanish, the translation of my Placebo review will be Greek to me, so I am letting my blog readers have a preview of the Placebo gig review I wrote in advance ... and in English. Enjoy!
Placebo Bring A Sense Of Belonging To London
Twenty years was not on the play list when Placebo performed at the sold-out Hammersmith Apollo show in March. Formed in the summer of 1995 in London, Brian Molko's unique and piercing voice had not lost any of it's bite. But for those fans expecting a nostalgic crowd-pleasing trip through the six-piece band's seven-album back catalogue, they will have been disappointed. The play list leaned towards the future rather than the past, with the bulk of the set list focusing on the band's latest 2013 release 'Loud Like Love'.
A lively ecstatic crowd applauded as Placebo, dressed all in black, stepped out on stage as the P.A. pumped out the backing track of the spine-tingling remix of 'Pure Morning' vs Sigur Ros' 'Svefn-g-englar'. A sea of fists could be seen bobbing up and down in the air as Placebo kicked off the evening with their electro alt-rock track B3, followed by shaking up the crowd's senses with 'For What It's Worth'.
It was a brave move by Placebo to risk losing casual fans with a top heavy new material set list. Had the band taken the nostalgia approach and played more of the older songs from a decade ago, there was a risk that the newer material would have appeared more one dimensional and faded into the background. Although the edgy belter 'Scene Of The Crime' ignited a surge of emotion amongst the crowd on the night, the latest material would not have been edgy enough to compete against a set list filled with older, more established grunge and industrial electronic influenced songs that carry the trademark sound that is Placebo at their best. The gamble paid off.
Classics such as 'Every You Every Me', 'Special Needs', the drug-induced track 'Special K' and closing track 'The Bitter End' will never tire but there was no looking back for the group. Twenty years on Brian Molko's voice has not lost its unmistakable stretched tone and on the night was just as powerful as the band delivering the music. There was a feeling of belonging by Placebo's lost legion of forever faithful fans, with a sense of relief knowing that Placebo will always be their band.
'Begin the End' seemed appropriate to set the scene for the band's four-song encore but it was the long-standing cover of Kate Bush's 'Running up that Hill' that gripped the crowd with its explosive electronics and deceptive uneasy sharp tones that Molko brings to life and makes his own. The group close with 'Post Blue' and the 'Infra-Red' from Meds. With a theatrical bow Placebo exit after sharing the highs and lows of their vast career and delivering a glorious performance that is a reminder of the scope of their brilliance. Placebo are loud as love and have left a taste of what we can expect from this London-based band over the next twenty years.
