PLACEBO // O2 CITY HALL, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE

Placebo finally got to play their rearranged show at Newcastle and they clearly really enjoyed being able to do so, making a point of saying how good it was to finally be able to do so.

★★★★☆ (4/5)

PLACEBO PERFORMING AT NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE’S O2 CITY HALL
PHOTOCREDIT: CALUM BUCHAN

They wheeled out much of their recent, excellent album. After a period of effectively being away from the music business as an entity they are very much back with a bang.

I had the pleasure of reviewing the new album and thought then it would work well live, which thankfully proved to be the case.

The album itself has some very dark and challenging songs on it, some of which were played and played very well, this feels almost like a rebirth for Placebo after a period of inactivity. They are clearly a band on a mission to make up for lost time and have written a really strong set of new songs which sound, to me anyway, as good as their classics.

Given they’ve been going for over 25 years there is always the worry that they may just be dialling it in, nothing could have been further from the truth, there is an urgency around them, a vibrancy, an intensity that meant this was a great show. They are just like they were when they first came out, albeit a little bit older and a little bit wiser.

Brian was always an underrated front man in my opinion and the band probably never got the credit they deserved, of you can right songs as good as Nancy Boy and Pure Morning you must be doing something right.

This wasn’t a greatest hits show or a nostalgia trip, it focussed very much on the future and where they are going as a band, although there were a couple of very chosen covers in the encore. Where they are going as a band is exciting and interesting in equal measure,.

I’m sure it won’t be long before a new album appears and another tour is booked, if it is go see them, they are as good now as they ever were!