𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐁𝐎 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐄𝐋 𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐕 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟎: 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖

Placebo in Tel Aviv 2010. Photo credit: Dan Podrazhansky

Dear soulmates,
Today I’m here with a great concert 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 again. On June 5th, 2010, Placebo performed at the 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐍𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 in 𝑻𝒆𝒍 𝑨𝒗𝒊𝒗, 𝑰𝒔𝒓𝒂𝒆𝒍.

🔺 Back then, the political situation in the country made it a difficult decision and a complicated experience for the band to come there. But as we know, when the choice is to play or not to play for the fans, Placebo would rather decide to do so - regardless of conditions. Also, as soon as Brian is highly interested in politics, he mostly has his own opinion on what’s going on.
🎤 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: I don't believe that one should boycott countries because of rules and regulations," Brian says. "What I do believe in is spreading a message of tolerance, togetherness and unity everywhere we go, including Russia, 𝑰𝒔𝒓𝒂𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑳𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏. If you boycott, the government wins, so it's great to go to political hotbeds and deliver positivity. And with experience, we have seen the potential and desire for what Placebo is all about in people - a truly positive message.
(𝐵𝑒𝑙𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑇𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ, 𝐹𝑒𝑏'15)

🔺 There’s already a post on our page that perfectly explains all the political aspects of Placebo’s participation in the festival, so you can learn more here:
 https://bit.ly/3zRW3Tl

Now, I’d like to only concentrate on the perception of the concert from the fans’ point of view. And – from Brian’s point of view, too, because first, I want to share this beautiful short 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖. Just some simple, nice, sincere words…

🔺 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 - 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥, 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟎
 https://bit.ly/3A2puCs

As for the video from Tel Aviv show, I’ve chosen a classic rock version of 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 for you. Please overlook the poor quality at the very beginning and enjoy a very emotional Brian’s delivery of the song.

Placebo in Tel Aviv 2010. Photo credit unknown

🔺 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐯𝐢𝐯 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐭 🔺
‘We are Placebo from London, England, and we had the courage to get on a plane,” was Brian Molko’s way of introducing his band as he took the stage in Tel Aviv on Saturday. He later explained that he hated flying in general, but the crowd was already laughing and cheering him on, one proud soul waving an Israeli flag.

Placebo performed in Israel as part of the PicNic festival, originally scheduled to include Israeli New Yorkbased duo Hank ‘n Cupcakes, UK indie rockers The Klaxons, and audio-visual outfit Gorillaz Sound System. The two latter acts canceled their performances less than two days before the festival, possibly in the aftermath of Monday’s flotilla fiasco.

To Placebo and their fans, it didn’t matter.
Placebo – founded in London in 1994 by frontman-songwriter-guitarist Molko and Swedish bassist-guitarist Stefan Olsdal – have often been described as pretentious.
Molko’s songs are invariably dramatic, with supertight hooks and melodies. His lyrics usually hint at substance abuse and other forms of depravity, though listeners over the age of 15 will immediately spot that the band is about as threatening as its namesake. Meaning it’s pretty harmless, and it’s probably pretend.

But surprisingly, there were no pretenses on Saturday night. There was nothing fake about the first-rate show nor about Placebo’s admirable willingness to go through with it without caring that in the eyes of some, the group were taking a political stand merely by performing. Molko seemed honest and true to himself, addressing the crowd with warmth, wit and a bit of Hebrew – a far cry from his notorious persona of glitzy outfits, gender confusion and indiscriminate sex.
Placebo, refreshingly, don’t dwell on the past. They reinvent themselves without looking back. Armed with Californian drummer Steve Forrest, who replaced longtime band member Steve Hewitt, the group recorded their sixth studio album, Battle for the Sun, in 2009. The album marked a divergence in the band’s career, and its overall positive message was apparent as Placebo churned out track after track in Tel Aviv.

Here and there, however, a bit of the old in-your-face Placebo shone through, in particular when during one of the first tracks – “Sleeping with Ghosts,” off the 2003 album of the same name – Molko enunciated the line “F**k the government” and gestured meaningfully to the crowd, eliciting whoops and cheers.
The setlist, predictably, mostly consisted of songs from Battle and Placebo’s previous effort, Meds. Many hits from the band’s first albums – the songs that catapulted it to popularity over a decade ago – were conspicuously absent.

Placebo in Tel Aviv 2010. Photo credit unknown

That, too, just didn’t matter. Because Placebo’s show was set up as a festival experience. The crowd had the power, the unbridled hunger and enthusiasm; they pushed, shoved, clapped, chanted, obsessed over discarded drumsticks and guitar picks and hurled colorful balloons into the cool night air.
“The Bitter End,” a Placebo classic with a powerful pop-punk beat, was one of the highlights of the evening, though its dramatic climax was cut off in the live version. “Follow the Cops Back Home,” off 2006’s Meds, became a heartfelt ballad, with hundreds in the crowd swaying back and forth and singing along. “Trigger Happy Hands,” the first encore, made the fans go wild.

“So we’re living in a culture made of death and fear/Doesn’t seem the human race will make it through the year,” the crowd sang with particular zeal, perhaps in light of recent events.
All three encores were brilliant picks. “Trigger Happy Hands” was followed by the explosive “Infra-Red,” which drove the crowd further into a frenzy. “Taste in Men,” a Sonic Youth and Depeche Mode-inspired track off the band’s third album, Black Market Music, concluded the evening and lent it a distinctly Placebo flair – sleazy for appearance’s sake, deliberately provocative, but musically speaking a direct hit.
Placebo came to Tel Aviv despite our daily reality and gave us a welcome respite from it. In this reviewer’s opinion, it was long overdue.
(𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐽𝑒𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑚 𝑃𝑜𝑠𝑡, 𝐽𝑢𝑛𝑒 7𝑡ℎ, 2010)

Post by Olga