Placebo, Las Vegas written by Heidi
Placebo
Las Vegas,
NV House of
Blues-
October 19,
2006
There is a certain je ne sais quoi about a Placebo show, a certain mystery for the fans that looms, barely untouchable, at the edge of the
tongue, a quality that makes it impossible to properly sum up their performance.  Placebo, comprised of Steve Hewitt on drums, Brian
Molko on vocals and guitars, and Stefan Olsdal on bass, have not toured the United States in three years, and this tour (the American leg
running from October 17th to November 11th) has been nothing if not successful.

It is probably actually impossible at this point in their career for Placebo to take the stage without immense reaction from the audience,
and House of Blues was no exception.  At least half the house was singing with the opening lyric: even in the balcony, a couple danced,
their children singing along, radiant grins on their faces.  That image is perhaps iconic in my mind, summarizing the show in its entirety:
Placebo reaches everyone, from the isolationist and ambivalent message of "Because I Want You" to the depths of marginalization so
painfully demonstrated in "I Know" and the harrowing, bleakly hopeful uncertainty of "Twenty Years."   


Simultaneously, the repetitive chorus line and bridge lyrics, the
danceable rhythm and very workable improvisation on the part of the band
live makes it accessible even to the children who perhaps don't understand
the meaning of Molko's lyrics.  The beauty of Placebo is summed
succinctly by Molko himself in his studio interview during the production
of "Meds": "I want to just approach the big subjects of life, love,
confusion, and loss, and talk about these very very complicated emotions
in more and more simple ways."

Placebo does an amazing job of this live, evoking the emotions in the
songs even more powerfully in person than on your CD player for the
freedom for improvisation live performances allow.  There was no need
for an excess of addresses to the audience: the music spoke for itself, an
intense and comprehensive dialogue that was done entirely in lyrics,
Hewitt's brilliantly keen drums, bass and guitar.  Not to say there were no
entertaining dialogues-- just that they were not oral dialogues, as the most
entertaining and provocative of them were Olsdal's interpretive dances and
coaxes of the audience during breaks in the bass lines of the song.  
Their performances are simple, the band, the music, and you-- the
showboating is the skill of the music, without the need for gimmicks and
tricks to snare the already enraptured audience.

The reprisal was, in a word, amazing: "Running Up That Hill," the first
of three songs in the encore, was a highlight of the show, leaving the
audience breathless with emotion and without a chance to balm our souls
before "Twenty Years" laid us bare again, kissing our tears and promising us nothing.  

Placebo doesn't need to promise a thing.  It's all already there, in their music, waiting for you.
X5
Photos by
Red