The Battle is Won

Placebo - 02 Arena - 9th December

Placebo are an odd band. Perennially one of those bands who you've heard of but can't hum a tune of theirs and yet one that can sell out a sizable chunk of the 20'000 capacity 02 arena. In many ways a perfect place for a band to be, huge and utterly dedicated fan base, totally critic proof and no unwanted attention from anyone else. And after return-from-the-wilderness album Battle For The Sun, an MTV award for best alternative band and new drummer Steve Forrest, they seem to be, in front man Brian Molko's words, "reinvigorated, refreshed and ready to take on the world". The good news is, he's dead on the money!

Live, Placebo have so many people on stage they make Arcade Fire look like The White Stripes, there's a guitarist/bassist, five piece string section, five piece brass section and two keyboard players to complement the core trio. However, its very rare that they feel extraneous, a feat akin to canoeing the Atlantic using a traffic cone and a toothpick, and as a massive sheet in front of the stage drops to reveal the band pummeling into For What its Worth, the night begins.

The fact the band can get away with so many new songs is encouraging, certainly, some of the new songs provide some of the best moments (the aforementioned For What its Worth, Devil in the Detail, a Never-Ending Why that sends shivers) and for a band so resolutely image based as Placebo, the night belongs to the songs. Some screens and lights provide a backdrop but never take precedence (save for a strange video between main set and the encore featuring a women not wearing very much slowly rotating).

Placebo are a band that fans genuinely love, as I was told by many before the gig, and its definitely reciprocated, how else would they be able to create a set list that is so perfectly placed between old and new that it sends people genuinely apeshit. it's either love or a scarily automated machine that targets emotions, and the look on the entire bands collective face at the feedback soaked wig-out of a climax at the end of Taste in Men makes it undoubtedly love.

Songs of the night: Infa-red - For What its Worth - Taste in Men - The Never Ending Why