"Pla-ce-bo! Pla-ce-be! Pla-ce-bo!"
The inevitable chants start between an announcement banning phones, and the band taking the stage for Taste In Men. Released in 2000 when many here were still teenagers, it still drips with intense desperation, but is followed by 2022’s uncomplicated ode Beautiful James – two different LGBTQ+ anthems, 20 years apart.
This Shepherd’s Bush gig has been organised to mark 35 years of Riverman, Placebo’s management company - but it might as well be an anniversary celebration for the band themselves. Formed in 1994, they’re almost as old, and tonight sees them nod to their evolution as well as their present, in an intimate, knowing way.
For 2000’s Slave To The Wage, Maggie’s no longer a ‘bitch’ with broken arms, but a ‘switch’. After 2013’s Scene Of The Crime, frontman Brian Molko acknowledges that they have a history with this venue – “I think we first played it in 1996”.
Placebo might play something from each of their eight albums, but it’s not a pure nostalgia-fest – seven of the 19 songs are from their latest outing, 2022’s acclaimed Never Let Me Go. Try Better Next time is particularly well received, a magnetic Brian stretching his arms out during the chorus as if to embrace the room.
As co-founders of the band and the only ‘official’ members since 2015, there’s still a pleasing chemistry between Brian and guitarist/bassist Stefan, with occasional flashbacks to eyeholes-in-a-paper-bag era Placebo. They close a buoyant Bionic by crouching down in front of each other to hit the final note, before lifting their guitars aloft. Meanwhile, Stefan’s piano accompaniment on Too Many Friends and Went Missing showcases their latter-day maturity.
Brian’s chatty throughout, dedicating Bowie memorial song Happy Birthday In The Sky to his late brother, and thanking the crowd for their generosity towards tonight’s beneficiary – charity Mercy Centre, which supports underprivileged children in Bangkok. When people start filming Every You Every Me, a song written when the most advanced phone function available was Snake, he calls them out. “I can see you – I’ve got the best view in the house, motherfucker!” he grins.
For all the career-hopping, the evening ends with their timeless cover of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), recorded years before Stranger Things was a Thing.
In 2016, Placebo embarked on a 20th anniversary tour of their debut album, but in 2022 they admitted it had nearly put an end to the band, citing disillusionment with playing their old material for commercial gain, coupled with a fear they had nothing new left to offer. Judging by this evening’s performance – not to mention bringing next-gen star Yungblud out for Nancy Boy in France last week – it seems like they’ve found a happy medium.
See more at: https://www.mercycentre.org
