On a damp and rainy Sunday night on April 30th, Placebo took over Boston’s Roadrunner with an almost two-hour-long show that relied heavily on their latest record, Never Let Me Go, alongside a couple of choice covers to close the show out in the encore. Before the evening started, Brian Molko’s voice came over the PA asking everyone to not use their phones throughout the set and be more in the moment. While this is an admirable choice given how ubiquitous cell phones are today, it was maybe followed a bit too hard by both their own and the venue’s security.
With their first tour in almost a decade, the band clearly set out to show off their latest work, with 11 of the album’s 13 songs being played. While Molko didn’t stray far from his microphone, where his voice sounded impeccable all evening, and guitar pedals, Stefan Olsdal stalked the stage all evening, getting the crowd pumped up before a number of songs or playing some fantastic solos himself. Watching the two of them, almost 30 years into their career, play off one another was a joy for those in attendance.
Not that the crowd wasn’t into songs from the latest record, but they really came alive for the older material like “Slave to the Wage” and “The Bitter End”. The four musicians on stage with Molko and Olsdal were working hard and truly rounding out the songs. They were given a short introduction, but there should be nothing but high praise going towards them for really sinking their teeth into the songs. Another aspect of the show that should get some love is the light show. Unfortunately, it isn’t being truly documented, but with five screens behind the band and lights constantly moving and changing the mood on stage, it was one of the better visual displays of the year so far.
The regular set ended with a scorching version of “Infra-red” that built to a fantastic peak during one of Molko’s guitar solos and was the perfect way to close it out. With the crowd screaming for more, they ran back on stage and played “Shout” by Tears for Fears which had everyone singing along with Brian and Stefan. It’s a newer cover for the band, having released it last year, but it fits in perfectly with the rest of their discography. “Fix Yourself”, another song off of Never Let Me Go, came next and it seemed like an odd placement as it took a bit of the air out of the room before the final song, a cover of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”, that they’ve been playing for twenty years. The crowd ate it up and the song ended in sonic chaos as the band waved goodbye for the night.
Opening the show was Poppy Jean Crawford. The trio, led by the namesake of the band, played a quick set of songs based in alt-rock but with a bit of dark wave vibes to it. She alternated between playing the guitar and just singing, but had everyone’s attention the entire set. She played a number of songs from her soon-to-be-released EP The Takeover that despite being new already sounded road worthy.
