Tuesday 28 September 2010

Support:
Little Fish
Evaline

Placebo were at Brixton Academy for two nights to promote their newest release, a remastered ‘Redux’ version of 2009’s Battle For The Sun album. The fans had been queueing since dawn, and by the time the doors opened the line of raven-haired androgynous teenagers had stretched round the block.

The first support act were Little Fish, a garage rock two piece from Oxford. Their live sound was bolstered by the addition of a keyboardist, but their upbeat songs failed to capture the audiences attention. They only got 25 minutes and a half-hearted round of applause before they left the stage again.

The second support were Evaline, who were much more the kind of band the Placebo crowd were after (new Placebo drummer, Steven Forrest, used to be a member after all). The six members flung themselves around the stage whilst playing incredibly catchy alternative rock, and the lead singer took every opportunity to leap into the crowd. They definitely got the fans warmed up and by the end of the set a large portion of the audience were cheering and clapping along.

9:15 finally arrived and the band we were all waiting to see strolled onto the stage in their uniform of white, silver and black. The crowd went wild as they started with Nancy Boy, a song that has only recently made it’s way back into their setlists.

Placebo kept the chatter to a minimum and focussed instead on churning out the hits, beaming in-between songs like giddy schoolchildren. Although the setlist was primarily Battle For The Sun based (promoting the new album after all), they still managed to squeeze in some fan favourites and rarities in the form of Teenage Angst, Soulmates and a blinding cover of Nirvana’s All Apologies.

As they left stage before the encore a group of ‘Trigger Happy’ clowns took their place and fired t-shirts into the ecstatic crowd. The band came back onto the stage to thunderous applause and balloons emblazoned with ‘Death and Fear’ fell from the ceiling as they played new song Trigger Happy Hands. Lead singer Brian Molko urged the crowd to “Put your hands in the air, and wave them like you give a f**k” and they eagerly obliged.

A ton of confetti showered the venue during Infra-Red, and they closed the show with a massive rendition of Taste In Men, turning the crowd into a heaving mass of sweaty bodies. As the final note rang out Placebo came to the front of the stage to bow and give thanks, and the cheering could have brought the house down. What a fantastic way to celebrate their last shows in the UK until 2012.

Nancy Boy
Ashtray Heart
Battle For The Sun
Soulmates
Kitty Litter
Every You Every Me
Special Needs
Breathe Underwater
The Never-Ending Why
Bright Lights
Meds
Teenage Angst
All Apologies
For What It’s Worth
Song To Say Goodbye
The Bitter End
——————-
Trigger Happy Hands
Post Blue
Infra-Red
Taste In Men