I had to think long and hard on how to blog about my Placebo experience. Its often hard to express a live show to someone who wasn’t part of the audience, so I had an idea, why not express this experience in the form of something that people may be relate to, via the inception, development and the ultimate end of a relationship, complete with the inherent volatility of emotions?
The Search Begins:
The genesis of any relationship begins with the search, not knowing what to expect but prepared to accept the possibilities that what lie ahead; almost like the support act of the main event - The Vasco Era. It’s always great to see local support for international acts and that’s the way it should be. These guys played a great, tight set and entertained the increasing crowd as they continued to pour in from the multiple entrances at The Enmore. They sounded great and certainly produced some great sound for a 3 piece and bassist ted O’Neil seemed to be rocking in his own world, all in all a solid performance and they certainly fulfilled their duties in building the anticipation of seeing the main act.
The First Date:
The first date is where all initial expectations are either fully realised or fall disappointingly short, it’s the time where you take full advantage of showcasing any new belongings that will electrify and impress with underlying charismatic prowess and create an aura of heightened awareness.
This is exactly how Placebo opened their set, the anticipation was instigated via a huge video screen that acted as their backdrop (which not only complemented the Placebo sound but added a visual body to their music, almost acting as a form of catharsis for the melodic sound) and as they entered the darkened stage the audience erupted, the first date has begun. Brian Molko dressed in his usual black attire, very smooth and dressed for the moment, Stefan Olsdal impressive in his silver, almost metallic, shining suit and Steve Forrest took the more casual route and was clad in tattoos.
Placebo opened with their new material, “For What Its Worth”, ‘Ashtray Heart” and “Battle For The Sun” which sounded as every bit as good as the album versions, in fact Brian’s vocals seemed to have more depth in a live setting. The crowd was certainly in a state of frenzy by now and judging by their vibrant reaction, all expectations were well and truly exceeded. Next came that candle lit moment, a little breathing room after all the initial attempts at impressing were completed, a time where the pace slowed down, Placebo delivered “Soulmates”, “Speak In Tongues” and “Follow The Cops Back Home” in an emotionally wrenching form that captivated the ever so attentive audience, with that huge video screen visually expressing all the feelings that were evident.
Consummation:
With the dating rituals and formalities well and truly completed, the relationship transcends into a more intimate form coupled with a progressive build up of unbridled passion waiting to be released. When Placebo played the first opening chords of “Every You Every Me” the crowd absolutely erupted, you could sense the built up expectations waiting for this song to eventually be played in the well-crafted set list; this was the moment of release. Just when I thought we were done, Placebo pulled out another classic “Special Needs” which simply continued the furore being expelled and then “Breathe Underwater”, from their current CD, followed, sounding even better than in its recorded form. Approaching the half way point, it was slowly becoming evident that Steve Forrest added that extra spark, that additional level to Placebo’s rhythm section. Don’t get me wrong former drummer Steve Hewitt was great but held a totally different beat to Steve Forrest and its quite evident upon listening to past and current songs.
After the storm of activity comes the relative lull, some breathing space required after expelling all of that stored up energy. Placebo played a series songs that gave us all some time to reflect on what we had just experienced; “Julien”, “The Never Ending Why”, ”Come Undone”, “Devil In The Detail”, “Meds” were thoroughly enjoyable and gave us an extended period to reconnect with the band before being subjected to their next well planned and delightful stratagem.
Commitment:
The mutual stage when the stars are aligned, the perfect moment; despite any prior minor disagreements or misconceptions, when you find that missing piece and are finally content. This moment came when Placebo opened with “Special K”, those first notes produced a sea of adoration in the form of hands and fingers all raised and swaying in unison, a shadow like backdrop to the bright lights emanating from the giant video screen and upon its completion, Stefan motioned to the crowd to quieten, then as the noise dropped for an ever so brief moment, Stefan opened with the riff to “Bitter End” (yes, he alternated between bass and electric guitar all night ) the crowd were showing their commitment in the form of another flurry of hands, fingers and one huge mass of gyrating bodies all perfectly swaying in time to this all time classic.
This is the end:
All relationships ultimately end in one way or another; the reflective period begins. Placebo’s encore gave us a gamut of emotions in their own way of saying goodbye, “Bright Lights” and “Trigger Happy” transpired into a uplifting farewell, a mutual understanding that all things come to and end, it was loud and it was eruptive, it left us all wanting more. “Infra-Red’; the ultimate end evolves due to a period of growing apart and a feeling of disconnect. “Taste In Men”; the demise as a result of infidelity the ultimate relationship killer; a sense that all was slowly coming to an end was felt as the encore drew to a close. One song that was played during the end of the main set, but I have placed it at the end of my blog (sometimes poetic license is a necessary option) as this should have been the last song played; “Song To Say Goodbye” – a emotive song that captured the feeling of the unavoidable end, the anticipation, the personal encounter, the exhilaration and the bittersweet farewell; “we'll both end up, with just your song to say goodbye”
About this column:
BudTrap was born out of our love of music - and the frustration of having to deal with headphones that kept getting tangled up. Nothing's changed. We still listen to an awful lot of music - and go to a stack of gigs - it's our passion. So each week we like to share a little about what we've been listening to - good or bad - and spread that passion. Yeah we get a bit opinionated and worked up, that's what it's all about. We encourage you to bite back, join the discussion and let us know what's been rocking your world.
