Placebo's DC Concert - Jan 1999
During a short break, as Brian M. was catching his breath, a guy in the audience yelled out, "Hey, Molko - LIMP BIZKIT SUCKS!"
Brian smiled grimly at this show of solidarity. "Somewhere out there is a gun with Limp Bizkit's name on it," he deadpanned.
As it turned out, the guy in the audience was responding to an incident that had occurred just before a New York-area concert only a day or two earlier. Backstage, Brian had gotten into a conflict with Kid Rock, a new-and-upcoming rock singer. In retaliation, another group on the same tour, Limp Bizkit, had incited the audience there to chant repeatedly, "PLACEBO SUCKS!"
Because local (Washington-area) radio had never mentioned the incident, the audience member at the 9:30 Club concert had apparently found out about it via the Internet. The incident was described on the Net in a WHFS RockNews column for the local Washington area. So thanks to the Internet, at least one of us was able to show that we notice and we care what happens to Placebo.
"Here's one I'm sure that many of you can relate to," Brian Molko then announced, and began singing a slow, soft song called "Teenage Angst." When he sadly sang, "And nothing ever, ever goes my way..." the beauty and honesty of the song slowly became apparent. The crowd stood still, looking intently at Brian as they absorbed the lyrics so new to them.
However, the response was somewhat subdued. About a third of the songs played during the concert seemed unfamiliar to us: we stood in the same kind of polite, slightly confused silence that had been the response to Splitsville's earlier question to us. In fact, Placebo's older songs tended to sound a bit "muddy"
But it must be known that some of those earlier songs are just as interesting and well-written as Placebo's new standby "Pure Morning!" For example, "Teenage Angst" is worth playing at least 80 times in a row when heard on Placebo's debut CD. The CD's lighter, far quicker version of "Angst" is much more captivating than any slow version.
Perhaps for a slow age-related song about angst, Placebo could develop a song similar to Pulp's humorous "Help The Aged." But since all three Placebo members are nearly as young as its audience (with an apparent average age of 20), maybe the band is waiting a few years or decades before developing a musical plea for its younger fans to "take older lovers."
Placebo might not even have to work up any later pleas, since the fans will have been keeping in touch with them all through the years.
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DFA Records: Holiday Mix 2005
Placebo - Melbourne 1999
