Storming through a rampant eighteen-song set barely stopping to take a breath, Brian Molko and co. possess a drive and energy that easily rivals their younger counterparts. Fan favourite ‘Nancy Boy’ kick-starts the evening into life; its grinding guitars contrasting with Molko’s visceral, quavering tones. ‘Battle For The Sun’ sees lyrics fiercely spat out over the imperious drum beat, and the classic ‘Every You Every Me’ transports us back to the days when the band’s style was more poetically agonizing. Newer offering ‘Trigger Happy’, with its refrain of “Put your hands in the air, wave them like you give a fuck”, has the sold-out capacity crowd tonight doing just that, whilst the frenetic riffs of ‘For What It’s Worth’ exhilarate and enchant the audience. And with the stage crew sporting Joker-painted faces and bassist Stefan Olsdal modelling a metallic silver suit, it would be easy to believe that this show is far from serious business for Placebo. But the vehemence with which they play indicates otherwise.
Those familiar with the trio’s Covers release will know that Placebo excel at putting their own spin on other peoples’ tracks, and this evening’s version of Nirvana’s ‘All Apologies’ is no exception. Add this to a thrilling encore culminating in an electrifying rendition of ‘Taste In Men’ and the crowd are left feeling as if they have been loaded with something a million miles away from the bands’ namesake. Now it is often suggested that Placebo’s glory days are long gone, but judging by this intense and galvanizing performance, it seems their time is far from up.
This review was originally published on www.the-fly.co.uk
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