Whoever said Brian Molko is an arrogant bitch is a big fat liar: you just need to accept him as the British queen he is, with his tiny frame and fragile wrists, inhaling the Marlboro Lights clutched between his fingers. Yes, getting in line at stupid early in the morning, we caught him hanging out behind the Electric Factory. There was a charm about the way he said no to photographs that instead of wanting to cry, I kept starting at him, very surprised by the fact that he was just standing there, talking to us. Before that Stefan had walked out, but we were so dumbfounded when he said hi that all we could do was wave at him, and watch him walk away. Steven, however, took the time to pose for pictures, making funny faces and backing that up with his silly accent. Of course, we were even more excited for the show by that point, and once it was time to go in, all I could do was press my hand against my chest, feeling the CD booklets I had stuck in my bra, and then run in full speed to the front row.

First came a big table with a Mac laptop and turntables. I thought it belonged to She Wants Revenge, and the guy on stage was testing the sound… But then I realized he had been on stage for forty-five minutes. Poor thing didn't even have any lights on him for the longest time. He came, he played, he went; just like that. His name was Chris. I found out after the girl behind me shouted at him.

Second band was She Wants Revenge, whom I have seen live before, but haven't enjoyed as much as their CD. Not that they sound bad, they don't. But they don't interact with the crowd more than a few thank yous. There were five big speakers on the floor, right in front of the stage, which made my stomach jump up and down with the bass. It was made better with their singer's molest-the-microphone-stand sexy moves, so I won't complain about it too much.

After She Wants Revenge, there were a few adjustments made on the stage, and the crowd went insane as soon as the light went down. Steven was the first to come on stage, and after Stefan took his place, I saw a bumblebee bouncing from the back of the stage to the front: Brian Molko wearing a black suit and a black-and-yellow striped tie burst right into "Infra Red."

I didn't know what to expect since it was my first Placebo show, but I have to point out that they sound better than they do on their albums. There was a huge amount of energy and chemistry between the band members, and I couldn't decide whom to look at because I wanted to suck everything in. They played too many Meds songs, which, in addition to Infra Red, were Because I Want You, Drag, Song To Say Goodbye, Space Monkey, and Meds itself. Of course, too much Meds is not much, so they topped it off with their signature songs Every You Every Me and Without You I'm Nothing. Their finale song was Twenty Years, which left the crowd in an oxymoron: calm yet crazier.

It went by like a flash, but I enjoyed every second of it. The gentlemen of Placebo were nice enough take their time and give autographs after the show. November 6th, 2006 will be marked as the day I held my breath, counted to ten, fell apart and started again.

-Simay

Thanks to Simay and Ally for filing this report, and MEGA HUGE thanks to Astralwerks Records for helping us out with this! You guys are awesome! Go to PlaceboWorld.co.uk for more info and tour dates for Placebo!