Placebo

Watching Placebo in the daylight is a bit like drinking a cup of tea on a hot day. It makes no sense, but somehow it works. Brian and the boys have been through so many skin changes, it is hard to associate this band with the one that burst out of 1997 looking like they had been playing dress up when their mum was out of the house.

Having just released the best album of their career, it is to be expected that they want to show it off, hence the set included several tracks from it, including 'Meds', 'Song To Say Goodbye' and the destined-to-be-a-classic 'Infra-Red', which rivals anything this band have produced.

There was a smattering of the old-school Placebo too, with 'Special K' warranting a mention, and the ode to love and lust 'Every You Every Me' going down an absolute storm.

Given the quality of the band's own material, it may come as a surprise that the highlight of the set was a cover. As on the recent tour, the band included Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' in the set, and as on the recent tour, it was simply magnificent. Not straying too far from the original, Molko showed the true power in his voice, and the effect was enchanting. Not bad for a bunch of lads in eyeliner.

And now I'm going to be controversial. 'Nancy Boy' should be dropped from the set. Obviously the band closed with it, but this song is now so far removed from what Placebo are these days, that it sounds like karaoke. It maybe their most famous song, but where it used to feel vibrant and fresh and exciting, it now feels stale and lifeless and impotent. It is still a great song on record, and will always be a classic, but live, sorry, but it just doesn't cut it alongside the new material. Put it away boys, you don't need it.

But, apart from 'Nancy Boy', Placebo showed that they are a band at their peak. Few of the bands that came out of the late 1990's have survived, but Molko et al have adapted well to the changing musical landscape, and have grown stronger with it.

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