Concert Review: Placebo Spring Tour '07
By Simay
“Farewell, Nancy Boy," I had whispered to no one in particular, yet particularly to Brian Molko, after I saw Placebo for the first time in November 2006. After missing them twice when they played in Istanbul, Turkey (my hometown), I thought I would never get to see them. Therefore, my first time felt like last, and I thought I was dreaming when I found out they would be back in Philly, this time with Evaline.
Until I saw them at the Taste of Chaos in March, all I knew about Evaline was the Quinn from The Used produced their album. This led me to think that they would sound like The Used. But they don’t, really.
These four boys from Turlock, California – Richard, Christian, Dominic and Steven – had a teeny-tiny bit of room to move around on TLA”s already-small stage. With microphone cables and a vocalist (Richard) flying around, they managed to make the crowd go wild. It’s true: Richard does not stay in one spot for more than two seconds. You see him at the end of the stage yelling into the microphone, then, all of a sudden, he sits down, rocks the cello for a while, singing into a different microphone. Then he jumps up and down on the keyboards before he steps on his chair and moves on to the drum set. As one of the Event Staff put it after the set, “That’s one strong keyboard.” Afterwards, I did want to grab a set list to write down the songs, but they didn’t have any – I’m serious.
Placebo were as good as they were in November. What made it much better was the fact that I could see they were having much more fun. My guess is that they were happy about headlining this time and having the chance to play more songs. Stef and Brian were joking around on stage, making the crowd sing the “param-pam-pam-pa-rara” of Special K louder and louder.
Whoever thought of putting stands in between the stage and the security bars is a genius. Both Stef and Brian used them often, which led to chaos, a rather pleasant one: hands rose up and reached for Molko, caressing his legs and probably ass as well. The best part was though that he went on playing in the same spot with a big grin on his face.
They played Meds songs mostly, throwing in their older hits i.e. “Without You I’m Nothing” and “Every You Every Me.” Evaline’s Richard and his cello joined in on the last song, “20 Years,” which was an amazing score that led to extreme cheers. Here’s the complete set list: Infra Red, Meds, Because I Want You, Drag, Soulmates Never Die, I Know, Song to Say Goodbye, Follow the Cops Back Home, Every You Every Me, Special Needs, One of a Kind, Without You I’m Nothing, Bionic, Blind, Special K, Running, Taste in Men, 20 Years.
After I digest this, boys, I’ll need more meds.
