Following the fiasco of Thessaloniki in Earth Theatre, it was the turn of Athens to host the Placebo in the familiar venue of Terra Vibe in Malakasa.
The weather in the afternoon alarmed us for some time as at around 15:30 it was raining cats and dogs, but as the time was passing by, the clouds disappeared and everything went by smoothly.
Let's start then:
Event : Placebo (support: Aviv Geffen)
Place : Terra Vibe, Malakasa
Organization: The well known at the site.
Audio : Pretty good.
World : 10.000 +
started : at 9:35 p.m.
We said goodbye : at 22: 55 mm
set list
1. Nancy Boy
2. Ashtray Heart
3. Battle For The Sun
4. Soulmates
5. Kitty Litter
6. Every You Every Me
7. Special Needs
8. Breathe Underwater
9. The Never-Ending Why
10 . Bright Lights
11. Meds
12. Teenage Angst
13. All Apologies (Nirvana)
14 . Song To Say Goodbye
15. The Bitter End
Encore :
16. Trigger Happy Hands
17. Post Blue
18. Infra-red
19. Taste In Men
The time was about 20:00 - 20:15 when we arrived at the venue and the stage was all covered with nylon because of the midday rain. The smell of freshly wet earth with the first autumn breeze was best able to be offered by the surrounding area of the concert.
Mr. Geffen came on stage at around 20:30. Most of you got a glimpse of him in the concert of U2. He played for about half an hour and was pretty good. I can say that it was a very good start for me this afternoon. Soon after Aviv Geffen had left and the technicians began to set the stage for Placebo, what we were discussing about was if they were to play the same way they did in Thessaloniki. Well, we were about to find out!
The time was 21:35, the lights went out, a beautiful screen that stretched across the back of the stage, played videos and Nancy Boy started. Although the author is not a fan of Placebo, as well as neither of the new rock scene (I do not rejected it) I've always been curious to see this band. The start was good, however. The concert was developing normally. All the pieces were performed rightly. The vocals were pretty good. The sound the same. The lighting too. But something was missing! What was it?
It was probably the fifth or sixth piece when the fellow spoke (up to that, I thought that he only knew how to sing and not speak). He said the same speech about democracy as in Thessaloniki, began saying some 'thank you' (sparse at first, more frequently towards the end). I coudn't say that people didn't like the songs. They enjoyed it and one could tell. But since you are a band this much preferred in Greece, you should be able to bring people up! Contact with them, make some noise!
This little detail is so important that could convert a good live to a magnificent performance. And here Placebo showed that there are still not a great rock band and I do not know if they can reach it some how. And no matter how many albums they make or if they do a bunch of promotion and headlines. The rock bands give their examinations on stage, which takes great energy to drag the people, that came to see you, along with you.
Another element that spoiled me was that at the end of every song (especially the first ten and then not so often) they changed guitars!
What is exactly what they wanted to show me with this move? These star's behavior have damaged modern rock scene badly, if you have not noticed.
And they don't even play anything terribly complex ... They play simple stuff. Luckily that did not change in the membranes of the drummer!
With the latter being the best of the group. Crazy energy, truly living the live!
Back again to the tracks: Very nice performance Meds and Every you, every me (I must repeat that all pieces were performed rightly, it is
just that the past two are my favorites), but also All Apologies of Nirvana.
I can not understand why they cut their gig in Thessaloniki. Not that they couldn't play more in Athens. I will just summarize very objectively as a non-follower of the group, but as one person that has seen enough gigs in his life:
When you are a rock band you don't just strictly play your music live professionally as if someone had pressed 'play' on a CD. Even if you should perform all pieces perfectly.
People are waiting to be taken away by your energy, so as to give you back their energy. And this seemed something unfamiliar with Placebo.