Placebo, Little Scout @ The Palais Theatre, Melbourne (27/02/2014)
The night outside the Palais Theatre was warm and lively with markets and entertainment as fans slowly started arriving to see London alternative rock outfit Placebo. On tour for Soundwave following their Loud Like Love record that was released last year, Placebo were one of the many bands that emerged in with the emo sound of the early 2000s on the tour.
Brisbane-based Little Scout kicked off with a fusion of indie and dream pop. I liked the variety between songs; the set was filled with many subtle moments, big build-ups and bold bass lines under nice Sarah Blasko-esque vocals. The music was really enjoyable, however the live performance was lacking a little enthusiasm. The person I was standing next to pointed out that “the lead singer is a bit mousy”, and yes, she didn’t really crack a smile. To be fair, I do think the Palais is a very hard venue to play live as it only has seats. Their indie sound was probably also not what majority Placebo fans of old listened to, and was definitely not in the Soundwave vibe.
Placebo came out to the deep synthesized melodies of B3, helped along by some really flashy light effects. I was instantly shocked by the amount of hair, Brian Molko was sporting compared to his iconic bald style from Meds in 2006. They were also accompanied by three touring members.
The second thing that hit me was his high pitched unique nasally voice. It’s almost perfect in a live setting and even when he spoke to the crowd there was a mesmerising quality in the way he speaks.
After playing For What It’s Worth, he invited the crowd to stand in the fully seated theatre. After this the mood of the room was a lot more relaxed, but still free from moshing, which sometimes can take away from a set. I could help myself looking at Steve Hewitt’s facial expressions while playing the drums.
The only other founding member of the band, Stefan Olsdal played guitars, bass and keyboard at different times throughout the night. In Too Many Friends, he played a keyboard melody sitting down, which was a nice addition visually. I found this song really interesting, the premise focusing on the impersonality of Social Media. With a starting line of “my computer thinks I’m gay”, how could that not grab your attention?
They played a huge main set, with songs spanning many albums and EP’s. The songs from Meds really resonated with me, because it was the first Placebo album I bought. They played a slower version, speeding it up towards the end. Many of the crowd got excited for Special K, which boomed in with that really scratchy guitar riff.
There was a different mood between the songs pre/post drugs, but it’s hard to say if that’s just the band growing. I did find Rob The Bank very repetitive without any real influential idea or story.
Finishing with The Bitter End they left the stage for what was one of the biggest encore breaks I’ve experienced. However, it was well deserved after playing for almost an hour and a half. After about ten minutes they came back on and played Teenage Angst, Running up That Hill, Post Blue and Infa-red. Even though I was disappointed not to hear Pure Morning, it was a really great performance by one of the most prominent alternative rock bands of the last 20 years. They finished with a long bow to the crowd, which was a really fitting end to the night.
Ryan Hyde
Brisbane-based Little Scout kicked off with a fusion of indie and dream pop. I liked the variety between songs; the set was filled with many subtle moments, big build-ups and bold bass lines under nice Sarah Blasko-esque vocals. The music was really enjoyable, however the live performance was lacking a little enthusiasm. The person I was standing next to pointed out that “the lead singer is a bit mousy”, and yes, she didn’t really crack a smile. To be fair, I do think the Palais is a very hard venue to play live as it only has seats. Their indie sound was probably also not what majority Placebo fans of old listened to, and was definitely not in the Soundwave vibe.
Placebo came out to the deep synthesized melodies of B3, helped along by some really flashy light effects. I was instantly shocked by the amount of hair, Brian Molko was sporting compared to his iconic bald style from Meds in 2006. They were also accompanied by three touring members.
The second thing that hit me was his high pitched unique nasally voice. It’s almost perfect in a live setting and even when he spoke to the crowd there was a mesmerising quality in the way he speaks.
After playing For What It’s Worth, he invited the crowd to stand in the fully seated theatre. After this the mood of the room was a lot more relaxed, but still free from moshing, which sometimes can take away from a set. I could help myself looking at Steve Hewitt’s facial expressions while playing the drums.
The only other founding member of the band, Stefan Olsdal played guitars, bass and keyboard at different times throughout the night. In Too Many Friends, he played a keyboard melody sitting down, which was a nice addition visually. I found this song really interesting, the premise focusing on the impersonality of Social Media. With a starting line of “my computer thinks I’m gay”, how could that not grab your attention?
They played a huge main set, with songs spanning many albums and EP’s. The songs from Meds really resonated with me, because it was the first Placebo album I bought. They played a slower version, speeding it up towards the end. Many of the crowd got excited for Special K, which boomed in with that really scratchy guitar riff.
There was a different mood between the songs pre/post drugs, but it’s hard to say if that’s just the band growing. I did find Rob The Bank very repetitive without any real influential idea or story.
Finishing with The Bitter End they left the stage for what was one of the biggest encore breaks I’ve experienced. However, it was well deserved after playing for almost an hour and a half. After about ten minutes they came back on and played Teenage Angst, Running up That Hill, Post Blue and Infa-red. Even though I was disappointed not to hear Pure Morning, it was a really great performance by one of the most prominent alternative rock bands of the last 20 years. They finished with a long bow to the crowd, which was a really fitting end to the night.
Ryan Hyde