|
indie-snob>+!#
Placebo @ the metro (7-9-03)
With ambulance ltd. |
I usually get to shows one to two hours prior to doors as long as I can. Generally, as long as you're there between that time frame, you're guaranteed to not have that many people there, assuming it's a normal, every day band, like the ones that play at the Metro. However, at arriving there an hour before doors opened, I stepped into the longest line I've ever seen at the Metro, possibly spanning with 300 or more people, all the way down the block. Despite the fact that people drove from all over the midwest to see the band (in fact, Placebo only played seven US dates this time around), I managed to still get some good spots for the British wonders. Part goth. Part punk. Part britpop. They seem to just have it all. The opening band this time around was Ambulance. The NYC band seemed just about as far away from the New York garage scene as possible though. No Strokes influences. No fashion icons a'la Karen O. Nothing of the sort. Just good ole' fashioned shoe-gazer... or as Magnet has begun to call it: nugazer. Their music was just fairly ambient with lots of pretty, melodic keyboard added to their soft vocals. Soft like Earlimart. Soft like Grandaddy. Soft Soft. Pretty soft. Unfortunately, soft didn't go over well with the Placebo crowd. Not well at all. I thought they were good, though. Not the most engaging live band though, but certainly a worthy listen. Placebo came out opening with the largely instrumental track from Sleeping With Ghosts, "Bulletproof Cupid." The band continued to play songs largely from their most recent Astralweks record, which was perfectly fine in my mind, seeing as I believe it's a great album. The band played very well, even their more un-noticed members on stage (extra keyboardist and bassist). To me, there's something so great about a band who dresses all in black and wears eyeliner and eyeshadow and mascara. I love it. There were a bunch of newly-found homosexual men there, who fell in love with either Brian or Stefan, the two more attractive members of the band. In addition to the great energy the band played with, they also had this sexual tension present. It was really a great environment. I was surprised to find that the audience participation was not that much different from, say, an Alkaline Trio show. Everyone sang along to every song, which, while not a bad thing, got on my nerves at times. The band definitely had some really strong highlights, such as in "Sleeping With Ghosts" where Brian sang "Fuck the government, fuck the killing, FUCK THEIR LIES!" at which point the entire audience broke out in applause. Other notable live numbers included "Special Needs" and the singles from Sleeping With Ghosts "The Bitter End" and "This Picture." There wasn't a whole lot played from previous albums (which was a let-down to many of the people there), really the only track standing out was "Pure Morning" from Without You I'm Nothing. But it was a fan-fucking-tastic show. I enjoyed myself tremendously, which the dancing and the jumping and the pure bliss. A highly recommended live show, in my opinion. I know people who were there who didn't like it though, so it may be a matter of taste, but I think it's worth it. |