It's quite a sad experience to watch a band when the crowd isn't all that lively. What accentuated this at Placebo's gig last Saturday at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange was a recent interview I read with Placebo frontman Brian Molko regarding the Scottish leg of their tour.
He noted that he dislikes fans recording the concert and taking photos rather than getting in the moment, and that when they started 20 years ago people were much more inclined to jump about and have fun. More evidence of this could be found with on the sign asking fans not to use cameras - and in the fact that Molko threatened to remove a member of the audience using a GoPro and shove it up his... well... you can imagine.
Awkward threats to the audience aside, the London threesome and their extended live band cannot be blamed for any lack of enthusiasm. After opening with non-album track B3, Placebo ran through anthem after anthem, starting with 2009 headbanger 'For What It's Worth', 1999 hit 'Every You, Every Me' and the euphoric eponymous title track from their latest album, 'Loud Like Love'. They are all fantastic rock songs, they are all very “jumparoundable” - to coin a new term - and the band sounded almost as tight as they were on the album. The vast majority of the crowd just stood there, lighting up the audience with screens.
The Corn Exchange is not a small venue and it was slightly surprising to see the amount of people that came out to the gig. Although, this would obviously generate less money, it is an interesting theory that the band would have been better suited to a smaller venue, for example, The Liquid Room or Studio 24. The twenty or so people who were, in fact, jumping about may have had a greater effect on the crowd mentality and it may have overall been a better concert experience.
He noted that he dislikes fans recording the concert and taking photos rather than getting in the moment, and that when they started 20 years ago people were much more inclined to jump about and have fun. More evidence of this could be found with on the sign asking fans not to use cameras - and in the fact that Molko threatened to remove a member of the audience using a GoPro and shove it up his... well... you can imagine.
Awkward threats to the audience aside, the London threesome and their extended live band cannot be blamed for any lack of enthusiasm. After opening with non-album track B3, Placebo ran through anthem after anthem, starting with 2009 headbanger 'For What It's Worth', 1999 hit 'Every You, Every Me' and the euphoric eponymous title track from their latest album, 'Loud Like Love'. They are all fantastic rock songs, they are all very “jumparoundable” - to coin a new term - and the band sounded almost as tight as they were on the album. The vast majority of the crowd just stood there, lighting up the audience with screens.
The Corn Exchange is not a small venue and it was slightly surprising to see the amount of people that came out to the gig. Although, this would obviously generate less money, it is an interesting theory that the band would have been better suited to a smaller venue, for example, The Liquid Room or Studio 24. The twenty or so people who were, in fact, jumping about may have had a greater effect on the crowd mentality and it may have overall been a better concert experience.
20 years is a huge amount of time for a band to be together and Placebo have completely avoided becoming just a nostalgia act. For example, among the best songs played that night were 'Loud Like Love''s whimsical funk rocker 'Rob The Bank', its blissful ballad 'A Million Little Pieces' and its anthemic singalong 'Too Many Friends'. An argument against Molko's point is that it is perhaps not the new generation and that is more based on how Placebo's fanbase has changed. The kids, full of piss and vinegar, barging into each other at Placebo's shows in the mid 90s will have also aged 20 years so the fact that noone was crowd surfing or calling for a pit to be opened is hardly surprising.
I feel like I'm getting I'm getting hung up on this now though. Sorry.
It was a bloody great show. Before the concert, I read that the band avoided playing hits such as 'Nancy Boy', 'Pure Morning' and 'The Never Ending Why' and I rolled my eyes. This was hardly noticeable at the gig as nearly every track played was met with an “Aw, this song!” from the small group standing around. Simply put Brian Molko knows how to write a fucking song.
They also put interesting twists were put on old tracks. Their cover of Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' was much more Placebo-esk than the released single and they started 2006 angsty headfuck 'Meds' with a much slower, soulful start which made for a much more powerful contrast when the song kicked off.
While it was slightly sad to see a slightly subdued audience at what should be an energitic rock gig and see Brian Molko getting so upset with the audience member he christened “Mr GoPro”, if the concert was simply judged by songwriting ability and the performance the band, it would be incredibly hard to criticise.
I feel like I'm getting I'm getting hung up on this now though. Sorry.
It was a bloody great show. Before the concert, I read that the band avoided playing hits such as 'Nancy Boy', 'Pure Morning' and 'The Never Ending Why' and I rolled my eyes. This was hardly noticeable at the gig as nearly every track played was met with an “Aw, this song!” from the small group standing around. Simply put Brian Molko knows how to write a fucking song.
They also put interesting twists were put on old tracks. Their cover of Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' was much more Placebo-esk than the released single and they started 2006 angsty headfuck 'Meds' with a much slower, soulful start which made for a much more powerful contrast when the song kicked off.
While it was slightly sad to see a slightly subdued audience at what should be an energitic rock gig and see Brian Molko getting so upset with the audience member he christened “Mr GoPro”, if the concert was simply judged by songwriting ability and the performance the band, it would be incredibly hard to criticise.
Grant Robertson
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