18/03/15
“It is NOT a wig.” As we were being told off for making fun of Brian Molko’s unmovable hair, it was evident that tonight’s audience were made up of dedicated fans. That much was obvious even before the gig, as tickets for Placebo at the UEA had sold out fast, despite the hefty price tag and Sunday billing. It is rare that I get excited about a show anymore, but the excitement that night was palpable. It was one of those gigs where everyone you know is going, and if you knew people who weren’t going then they were at home crying. One of those nights that reassures you Norwich has the capacity to draw a big name, but you’re still guaranteed to bump into at least five people you know.
Having not heard any Placebo since my early twenties (don’t ask), I expected to listen out for the songs I knew and politely nod along to any new material. In what became an awesome turn of events, I was more and more overjoyed with their new stuff as the night went on. Whilst retaining the Placebo sound (due in no small way to Molko’s unique and instantly recognisable vocal style) the trio’s current material has evolved into something more complex than the nineties alt-rock they were known for. Electro beats and synths (akin to the kind of thing Gary Numan is doing but less heavy) are used effortlessly to make Placebo sound like a contemporary band, not old hands about to celebrate a 20th anniversary. Though when fifteen year old hits like Special K came along it didn’t sound out of place, as the group’s progression from their older material to current tracks felt like a natural one.
The glamorous angst and energy that made them popular back in the mid-nineties was evident throughout. But the obvious strength of their new material, and the new fans they seemed to be attracting made it clear that bob-haired Brian and his boys will be making music for a long while yet. The next generation will have something decent to do their make-up in their room to as long as Placebo continue.