𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘: 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦 𝐝𝐢 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐨, 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔 (2): 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 & 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒

𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔!
Last week, I started talking to you about 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔 with a gong bath meditation as a very special opening performance for it. Today, I’m coming to you with a wonderful heartfelt 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 of this concert published in 𝑰𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝑶𝒖𝒕, which I translated for you.

✨✨✨
"It was a Supermoon last night. I was on the streets of Milan and I was looking at it. We are made up of 80% water, and if the Moon can have an effect on the oceans then it can also affect us. Has anyone slept badly? Has anyone had a headache? Me. If we don't take care of water, there will be an environmental apocalypse on this planet, the end of the human species, which we perhaps deserve, given that we are using the Earth as a garbage can. So, when we die because we run out of water, we'll see each other on the other side, whatever fucking place it is. We will see you in a parallel universe. And do you know why? Because soulmates never die”. So Brian Molko, the forty-four-year-old frontman of Placebo, introduces 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐞 which follows a tribute to Leonard Cohen on an empty stage and the projection of the video of 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐞, before starting in earnest with 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 (a song that was missing on a setlist for years), 𝐋𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 and 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬’ 𝐒𝐨𝐧, the latest single.

This is the twentieth of the 20 Years anniversary tour, at the Mediolanum Forum di Assago. It soon becomes clear that it will be a concert for the fans. "Welcome to our birthday party". And what do you do on a birthday? We sing happy birthday to you! Sex? Why not? But Placebo have thought of something more transgressive. Like having fun. And let the party begin!
Molko has never made any secret of his reluctance to bring the more commercial songs to the stage, but he recently stated that the setlist for this tour would be designed to give fans what fans want. And the fans particularly want an old Placebo from the 90s, depressive and melancholic. And Placebo gave themselves that way, without reservations.
Anyone who knows Brian Molko, is aware that he has never been too open with the audience, but yesterday he gave himself absolutely: he thanked, laughed, talked to himself, made sarcasm: "Feel free to miss the concert to film and see it at home on a small screen, where everything will look and sound like crap.” Fair enough.

The sound path alternates moments of melancholy and abyss with more energetic and engaging pieces, as in 𝐋𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐬 where the violin instrumental part (by Fiona Brice) triples in duration - and a hundredfold in intensity - compared to the studio version. Molko spares no good words for those who share the stage with him: the session players, but above all Stefan Olsdal (on bass, keyboard and back vocals). It’s moving to see them two leave the stage embraced, testifying how having resisted celebrity and fan obsessiveness, Molko's rehab, creative downs and abandonment by three drummers has not been easy in these twenty years since the birth of Placebo.

Brian Molko during the 20 years tour, 2016. Photo credit: Sylvain Fragneau

The first of the many peaks of maximum intensity has to be linked to the moment of 𝐈 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 […] The piece is opened by a sweet intro. Then it explodes. The screens in the background are tinged with black, only warm and soft lights illuminate the scene. Molko pronounces every single word with a broken (and heartbreaking) voice giving up any reserve of vital energy. He’s sweating, he’s getting emotional. He takes off his ear monitors and observes people: he seems to look us in the eye one by one. He nods "thank you" with his head. He remains silent for a long time. Then, with no background noise, he intones a last, long, slow and moving “I know” a cappella.

The audience doesn't even scream. They’re hit! The moment is immediately lightened by the acid colors of the visuals for 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 in which portraits of the split members of the band appear, a bit demonic. Molko gets excited letting his guitar hang behind him and caress his body while he sings. That is his way to know how to be sensual despite the complete absence of masculinity in movements and attitudes, an eternal manifest of his sexual ambiguity. The acid wave and a bit electronic 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐲 follows. Then it's the turn of 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 […] On stage they go wild, Molko rails on the guitar, sings, distorting the original version of the piece. With one hand in the sky, at the end, he passionately plays the strings of his white and blue Goddess Fender Jazzmaster. Poetry. There’s a trembling, because everyone is waiting for 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐈'𝐦 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, a song that has always been one of the most loved by Placebo fans (but also by Bowie's). This masterpiece, in fact, comes from a collaboration with the White Duke. On the screen, appears a video in which Bowie and a little over 25-year-old Molko sing together in a backstage.

The video is a testimony of a legacy: a legacy of the late God Bowie currently transmitted into the young Belgian, Brit by adoption, with a multifaceted personality, feminine appearance and incredible power. Just like Bowie. “Thanks Milan. And thanks David”. Silence. There is a need to break the rhythm, to jump, to rejoice. To sweat. Thus comes 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡, followed by 𝐒𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐠𝐞 with the scenes of people in tie looking up motionlessly. It's a race for rats to die, the song goes, testifying to Molko's political position […] By the way, a visual with Donald Trump's face on a box of cigarettes does not spare us. "Seriously harms you and others around you", reads the notice on the package. He definitely goes crazy with 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐊, 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞 and 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐧𝐝. That triad, together with the performance of 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 (completely rearranged with a perpetually pulsing mononote on the piano that lasts for the whole piece while ‘happy birthday’ signs stand out from the front rows) are definitely those famous moments made for the fans. The encore sees a very old 𝐓𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭, 𝐍𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐁𝐨𝐲 (with Stefan raising his rainbow colored bass to the sky on the intro to manifest their contribution against homophobia) and 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚-𝐑𝐞𝐝, that plunges us into a sort of Matrix.

We don't want the concert to end, two hours weren't enough. A kind of heartbeat with an empty stage and blue lights introduces 𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐩 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥, a cover of the beautiful piece by Kate Bush, which definitively closes this immense live, which we will remember as one of the best in recent years to redeem the years when Molko did not managed to complete a live, to play for more than an hour and the last, in Denmark, when he had to interrupt the concert.

Brian Molko during the 20 years tour, 2016.  Photo credit unknown

We will remember it as the most exciting. For those who love Placebo. For those who, like me, were five when their first album came out. For those who, like me, twenty years later, have their complete discography in their personal record collection. For those who, like me, received a gift with all the possible emotions, to keep it dear until the next live, because Molko said, hopefully the environmental apocalypse would not happen before the next concert. He promised "We will come back". And we trust that.
(𝐴𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝐷𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑎 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑖, 𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑂𝑢𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑁𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 16, 2016)

As the review was started with 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒒𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆 introducing 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒 (how do you like it, by the way?), I’ve chosen this video to watch tonight together. In a case it’s not enough for you I prepared more links to great performances from the concert in Milan.
𝐸𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠!

And I hope this great article, literally written by heart, will strengthen your hope of seeing Placebo on stage again soon…

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 - 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧, 𝟏𝟓.𝟏𝟏.𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔

https://bit.ly/39q7mbB

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 – 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬’ 𝐒𝐨𝐧, 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧, 𝟏𝟓.𝟏𝟏.𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔

https://bit.ly/39mHUUl

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 - 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧, 𝟏𝟓.𝟏𝟏.𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔

https://bit.ly/36j4ATB

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 – 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐈'𝐦 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧, 𝟏𝟓.𝟏𝟏.𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔

https://bit.ly/3o6np29

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 - 𝟑𝟔 𝐃𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 (𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧), 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧, 𝟏𝟓.𝟏𝟏.𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔

https://bit.ly/2VhoR5E

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 - 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧, 𝟏𝟓.𝟏𝟏.𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔

https://bit.ly/39pEnV3

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 - 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞, 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧, 𝟏𝟓.𝟏𝟏.𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔

https://bit.ly/2KIBjsU

Brian Molko during the 20 years tour, 2016.  Photo credit: Ekaterina Sirazitdinova  

𝐒𝐄𝐓𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓
Every You Every Me
(Casino video (unreleased promo video) on the screen)
Pure Morning
Loud Like Love
Jesus' Son
Soulmates
Special Needs
Lazarus
Too Many Friends
Twenty Years
I Know
Devil in the Details
Space Monkey
Exit Wounds
Protect Me from What I Want
Without You I'm Nothing
36 Degrees (slow version)
Lady of the Flowers
For What It's Worth
Slave to the Wage
Special K
Song to Say Goodbye
The Bitter End
𝑬𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆:
Teenage Angst (slow version)
Nancy Boy
Infra-red
𝑬𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆 2:
Running Up That Hill

Post by Olga

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘: 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦 𝐝𝐢 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐨, 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔 (1)

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏: 𝐀 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐇
On November 15, 2016, Placebo played one of the shows of the 20 𝒀𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒃𝒐 𝑻𝒐𝒖𝒓 at Forum di Assago in Milan. Though, not everything went smoothly on that day.
A support band had got their bus broken on the road far away from Milan, so they couldn’t make to the city in time. Probably it was an option to play without any opening act but… Placebo got to find another, very unusual solution for the problem. They invited 𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒁𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒂, a friend of Brian and a founder of the project Alma Matters which deals with Tibetan healing practice and meditation, to open for them and perform a gong bath in front of Placebo audience.

Photo credits: Brian Molko (2016) - credit unknown; @placeboworld IG, edit by Olga.

🔎A 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐇 is a form of sound healing meditation that involves using therapeutic gong sounds and vibrations to bring about healing. The treatments are based on the understanding that our body’s cells vibrate at different frequencies. Factors such as stress, depression and disease cause cells and organs to vibrate at non-optimal frequencies. The gong sounds are supposed to influence on brainwaves and help reduce stress and liberate emotional blockages.

As Brian is very much interested in this kind of topics, the idea most likely belonged to him. Mr. Molko personally explained the situation with the opening band and presented Walter Zanca to the fans.
🙌You can watch a whole 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎 of a 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒉 started with a very inspiring 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒄𝒉😍
https://bit.ly/3m6dtFf

Also, I want to share an 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 with Walter Zanca where he told about Alma Matters' concept, Tibetan bowls he gave to Brian as a present and his opinion on the relationships between Placebo members.

Brian Molko in Milano 2016. Photo credit: Die Presse Archivbild  

✨𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐙𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐀: "𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐀 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘"✨
𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚: Walter, firstly, I would like to know about your occupation and Alma Matters. When did you decide to start up Alma Matters? What was the concept?

𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐚: I decided to start my Alma Matters project as I've always been interested in trying to help people to get in touch more with their intimate part, their spiritual part.

I started many years ago as an Ayurvedic masseur and from the very beginning I was surprised to see the effect the massages had on people. Many described themselves as being capable or really looking inside themselves for the first time and most of the time they said it was like going to a psychologist session.

So I started to study more and more (and still doing my researches) because I always thought that we are our own guru and we can learn to understand and see more by using and developing our own consciousness.

So the concept of Alma Matters was to create a place where through holistic disciplines people could get in touch with their intimate person.

I started Alma Matters 2 years ago after many years of giving massages and as you can see for the very start Alma is growing and growing and by saying this I want to say that people got my message and it works.

𝐀𝐋: I know that you gave Brian Molko special bowls for meditation (he posted them on Instagram). Could you, please, tell me a bit more about the bowls? How can you use them?

𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐚: Tibetan bowls are originally for the Himalayan areas and they were actually used to put food in it. During the centuries people found out that by using them by rotating or hitting a small stick on them they produce sounds and vibrations able to deeply relax peoples' mind. What happens during a Tibetan bowls massage (where the bowls are placed on the body in contact with specific points) or concerts is a spread of vibrations that, being physical have the power to dissolve muscular tensions. Furthermore, our brain which is always used to be very connected to our job and never be able to relax, do not recognize that kind of sound and vibrations and the results is a "turn off" of our nervous system meaning that we disconnect from the outer world and enter into a sort of meditation.

𝐀𝐋: There're some photos on your Instagram when you were on tour with Placebo. I work with a musician and I can understand that being on tour is a quite stressful situation. What can you recommend to do for reducing stress when you on road or in other difficult situation?

𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐚: The best treatments to practice when you're on the road or before a very important job that requires a full presence of body and mind are the most relaxing ones.

What always happens that after the treatments (I would say all those treatments that bring the person into meditation or a very relaxed mind) a great power and will of life follows and that's where on stage for example you give your best and the energy that is created is quite clear to everybody.

Photo credit unknown

𝐀𝐋: I saw your performance before a Placebo show in Milan on YouTube. It was amazing and so unusual. Who gave a suggestion of the performance? What were your impressions after it? It's your first experience like giving a performance on stage or you have done it earlier?

𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐚: As Brian Molko said on stage he visited me the day of the concert and had a gong bath. What happened to him and what happens to everyone after the sounds and vibrations of the gongs is that you're so relaxed and calm that you want to do it more and more.

In that very occasion, with the coincidence (do they really exist?) of the support band having their tour bus broken away from Milan I was asked to open for Placebo.

That was my biggest experience with a gong bath as the venue in Milan was sold out with 12 thousand people but I usually give gong baths every week in Alma Matters and more are yet to come in forests, castles etc.

𝐀𝐋: I asked this question to some people who have known Brian and Stefan for several years and worked with them, and I want to ask this question to you. Now Placebo is twenty years, they have 20 Years tour. What can you say about the changes in the band, maybe, you have noticed something through your collaboration or connection with them?

𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐚: Life is an incredible path to follow if you're able look inside you and evolve with it. We don't know where we come from and where we're going but it's the walk that counts. Brian, Stefan and all the rest of the band are incredible human beings and they're all a big family and human relationship to them is very important. Some may have come and gone but the 99% of that family is still there, including roadies. They're aware of how important is being human and not lose the sense of reality and importance of feelings and I guess you can see that in their lyrics and on stage.

Brian Molko in-Milano 2016. Photo credit: Die Presse Archivbild  

Here you can see 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧’𝐬 𝐈𝐆 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 from that day about Tibetan bowl massage and a gong bath mentioned in the interview.

“...𝐓𝐈𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐎𝐖𝐋 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘. 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐄. 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓!”
⭐️ https://bit.ly/39g7Uk7

“...𝐏𝐑𝐄-𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐇. 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘.”
⭐️ https://bit.ly/2JgTDsE

And of course, my post wouldn’t be complete without some music, so let’s watch Placebo performing 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 that incredible day in Milan.
🎶 https://bit.ly/367AEK2

Post by Olga