Although probably best known by those of you who were around for the first burst of grunge in the 1990’s, Placebo proved a hit even twenty years on last night in Birmingham.
The O2 Arena was filled with a crowd eager to relive the classics and hear newer Placebo tracks for the first time live, and the band certainly delivered. Smashing the lacklustre modern sets that last less than an hour, Placebo played on well into the evening, and dutifully returned for their encore. The beloved painted pierrot lead singer, Brian Molko, proved that he still knows how to give a killer performance and that unmistakable voice of his is just as powerful as ever. The band were introduced with a short clip of ‘Pure Morning’ that hyped the room into excitement waiting for what was to come – though, with admitted disappointment, it was one of the few original hits that was performed during the evening.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi_AJxsdOKo&w=740&h=422]
The set consisted largely of songs from their latest album, Loud Like Love, which (although the album was not as eagerly embraced as their previous ones) proved popular with the crowd and stirred up the expected ocean of waving “hand horns” and bobbing beanie-covered heads. The eponymous track ‘Loud Like Love’ was accompanied by aggressively flashing strobe lights and a bass beat deep enough that it reverberated behind your heart – an undeniably brilliant sensation that flawlessly appeased the gig-goers that knew what they were getting in for. Other new tracks like ‘Scene of the Crime’, ‘Too Many Friends’, ‘Rob The Bank’ and ‘Exit Wounds’ were also played during the course of the evening, though classics such as ‘Nancy Boy’ failed to be featured.
Another popular hit that contained more originality than the rest of the new album, ‘Bosco’, also failed to make an appearance, much to the disappointment of those in attendance expecting to hear it performed live. Despite this however, the unmistakable Placebo sound still managed to please the crowd as much now as it did on earlier tours. When the band returned for their encore, the iconic cover of ‘Running Up That Hill’ succeeded in finally creating that grunge-frenzy that could be expected of a crowd reliving their teenage years of Teenage Angst, and as an attendee you couldn’t help but feel that perhaps the atmosphere would have had a bit more of that communal touch if more of the famous back catalogue had been explored.
The highlight of the evening had to have been with the memorable performance of ‘Special Needs’ that managed to get all in attendance singing and applauding along, reminding everyone there just why they fell in love with Placebo all those years ago.
Words by Charlie Ginger Jones.