Placebo: They Will Please

Placebo
Showbox Sodo, Seattle, WA
10.20.14

A rare and exciting opportunity came knocking on a chilly, unassuming Monday, when London-based alternative rock band Placebo played the guest at the SoDo Showbox. They found a warm and loving reception from a crowd that more than likely has been following them for the better half of Placebo’s storied, 20-something years of branded magic. Sprinkled with a little controversy and more so with success, this group has sold some mind-blowing 11 million albums to date. While business should rarely be mixed with pleasure, Seattle Music News was pumped to etch this one onto the calendar.

The muffled sounds of “Pure Morning” came through the house speakers at 9:00 sharp. This was their lead-in music, and if you were one of the folks that were stoked at the thought of hearing it live, your heart sunk with mine. A true tease, Placebo cut it after two minutes and came onto the stage like a hurricane, opening their set with “B3.” The stage was slightly foggy, with front man Brian Molko setting up shop far stage right. Guitarist Stefan Olsdal stood his opposite, framing their latest addition, drummer Steve Forrest, down the center. Red and blue lights alternated with green and orange, punctuated by frantic strobes to the timing of their set. As a group that readily disregards the conventions of gender, Molko befittingly greeted the crowd: “Greetings and salutations people of Seattle, Washington! Ladies and gentlemen, and everyone who finds themselves in between the two! We are Placebo from London, and tonight, we are without leather!” His vocals were impressive and compelling, and Placebo’s sound was efficient in a live setting – hard-hitting, pure, and clean. The audience chanted, waved, and clapped their way through a 90 minute set list, capped off by their 2006 single “Infra-Red.” Placebo pushes on to California before regrettably leaving the States for a healthy dose of international dates.

Placebo Set List:
B3
For What It’s Worth
Loud Like Love
Every You Every Me
Scene of the Crime/
A Million Little Pieces
Twenty Years
Too Many Friends
Rob the Bank
Purify
One of a Kind
Exit Wounds
Meds
Song to Say Goodbye
Special K
The Bitter End
Encore:
Begin the End
Running Up That Hill
Post Blue
Infra-Red