Placebo live at Southampton Guildhall Square (26.6.2024) with Friedberg supporting
One of a series of outdoor concerts in various cities this summer, the Summer Sessions in Southampton is being held in the Guildhall Square. The Guildhall sits at one end of the square and the inside is used for four bars, a merch stand and has the usual toilets open – preferable to a smelly, hot plastic cubicle, although these are available outside in the square if anyone wants more of a festival experience.
It’s about a 3000 capacity for the event, although I haven’t seen that confirmed. There is plenty of room to the rear, near the Guildhall pillars, while the stage front area is squeezed more by the fencing and buildings either side. The stage is on the pavement of what is usually a busy street with pubs and restaurants – handy for beforehand. I sat out there earlier listening to part of the soundcheck in a café directly behind the back of the stage – wish I’d got there earlier.
The support band is Friedberg, named after an Austrian town. I listened and I waited but absorbed little. Self-described as indie pop and I certainly got the pop bit. There’s a fair bit of hanging about until Placebo come on around 9pm, preceded by a recorded message to put phones away and enjoy the moment.
I’ve seen Placebo in several countries since my first experience of them at the V97 Festival near Leeds – more of a look back in my last Placebo blog is here: 2022 Placebo blog.
Lead singer/songwriter Brian Molko comes out to announce “we are Placebo – we are a European band”. It is just Brian and guitarist and bassist, Stefan Olsdal, that are named band members but there are two keyboards, another guitarist and drummer playing with the band at the moment. Brian spent a lot of his youth in Luxembourg, having been born in Belgian, so he is something of a Euroman, though now a British Citizen and having always spoken and sung with that distinctive American accent (his dad was American).
The sound is good – a still evening allows it to stay constant and the bodies in the square stop and building echo (unlike the inside of the Guildhall too often when gigs are on in there).
The 2022 album, Never Let Me Go, features well tonight – it’s a great album. Single Beautiful James is maybe the best from it, second track in and Happy Birthday in the Sky is another early play, dedicated to Brian’s brother who died in 2022.
After a first album track, Bionic (recorded here from my mixing desk leaning spot), I manoeuvre my way further forward, down the right hand side to get a better pic or two. They’re into Surrounded by Spies, another last album cracker, when the music comes to a halt – Molko stares into the front of the crowd and there is a fight going on. “We can’t continue until you calm the fuck down!” “If you can’t mosh without beating the shit out of each other, you can’t mosh”, “Enough!” I couldn’t see how things calmed but thank goodness they did. “Everyone take a deep breath.” On we go.
Brian doesn’t usually say that much and focuses intensely on the performance. Mid-set is one of my favourites, the one track played from the Love Live Loud (2013 album): Too Many Friends (…too many friends and too many people …that I’ll never be there for, observing the era of social media companionship). When a song opens with “My computer thinks I’m gay”, you know you’re in for a special one. It’s a great song.
I notice moving back again that the square slighty slopes away at the rear so you need to get forward a bit – it is quite tight towards the front but generally plenty of room for what was a sell-out gig.
The last three songs of the main set really up the ante: Song to Say Goodbye; Bitter End and the wonderful Nancy Boy, from way back – January 1997. It’s still brilliant, with that snarling nasal chorus.
The break is short – the encore is coming. Ah wow. My top Placebo song – often played in my car on trips to work after the Meds album came out in 2006: Infa-Red. At full volume it can verge on the terrifying – it conjures up determined threats and revenge.
“One last thing before I shuffle off the planet
I will be the one to make you crawl
So I came down to wish you an unhappy birthday
Someone call the ambulance
There’s gonna be an accident
I’m coming up on infra-red
There is no running that can hide you
‘Cause I can see in the dark
I’m coming up on infra-red
Forget your running
I will find you”
(Infa-Red by Placebo)
That’s it for me – I don’t need anymore – but it’s time for that great Kate cover of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill. There’s a finish eh.
A good set up this. Is an outdoor gig as good as indoors? Not usually but it’s good to see something different for the summer. I’ll be looking out to see who plays these Summer Sessions next year, and next Placebo tour I will be back…somewhere.
Gigs with Ivan 