Placebo played for themselves

PlaceboThe Placebo concert in Romania was supposed to be a landmark musical event in Romania–proof that not only “dead” bands make a stop in our country. But the Placebo concert was a weak affair. The organizers did a horrible job planning the event–it took two hours to have people trickle in through one entrance, like lambs at the slaughter. If anything would have happened inside, there wouldn’t have been a way out (creepy, huh?).

It also became obvious the organizers snatched Placebo after they learned the band was playing at the Sziget festival in Hungary (hey dudes, don’t you want to stop in Bucharest?). It also became obvious Placebo were not booked for a too involved show, barely acknowledging the crowd. Sure they played like pros and but they played for themselves. They ran through a set made up of songs almost entirely from their last record, Meds, had technical problems and played downtempo versions of their more energetic songs. They also skipped some classics and their actual playing time came in a little over an hour.

I believe Molko and co. were saving themselves for Sziget where they play tonight. Compared to what we expected from a band like Placebo playing in front of 5,000 people, we got the scraps.

ab4 played a short opening set–all but one song were in English. They were cute, mosty because I haven’t seen them in forever.

Update: Tibi and Jo agree.

8 Responses to “Placebo played for themselves”

  1. i agree on the organizers part!!!they sucked at that!
    but what is your problem with the band???they did not sing for themselves!why did stef have tears in his eyes???and why did he come in the crowd and played his guitar like he did on every other concert they had?why did molko say “see you soon”?
    because they were playing for themselves?i really don’t think so….
    your opinion is very wrong…i’m sorry

  2. yeah..well romania sux and that’s about it..and i say ..romania is my country:(

  3. I know that the organizers sucked at their job! But the thing about the show is so not true! Everyone had an awesome time, everyone sang along…the band thanked the public for their support and warmth..and on top of that brian said in an interview to Bravo magazine that they’ll come back next year! So… I rest my case!:)

  4. You know, it`s such an easy job to be ironic and negative. have it your way and i`ll see you at the bitter end.

    “ladies and gentlemen of bucharest, we are placebo – the ladies and gentlemen of london” : )

  5. excuse me for asking, but on what gig have you been? people were singing along with placebo all night.. did you heard all the screamings? or when they had that 5 min brake due to that sound-problem, have you notice how people reacted? it’s was a great gig, and a great crowd. thank you placebo, thank you my fellow citizens

  6. i think that your article sux…
    like blue24 haven’t you seen the crowd screaming singing hopping up and down on there rythms?have you been to sziget?well i’ve been in romania and also to sziget…everything was the same i could say that in romania was…divine

  7. I was a bit shocked when reading the article but felt better when reading the comments.I realized I wasn’t the only one that had a great time on the 13’th of August.Thank yuo Placebo and if you were ever to come back and play in Romania,we’re sure to welcome you with our arms wide open 🙂

  8. ook 😐 dude, the concert was frikkin great…Placebo did NOT sing for themselves cause the whole crows was singing along with them and almost every person who was at the concert knew all the lyrics to the songs. 😐
    I agree that the organisation was s**tty but the concert was great 🙂

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