Placebo @ London, UK, Eventim (Hammersmith) Apollo, 03/25/15 (#placebogig250315)

I loved the band's performance, but holy fuck, the crowd was INSANE!!! Now THIS is the type of London crowd I've been hearing all these horror stories about & boy did it come out in spades on the second night! People were pushing BEFORE The Mirror Trap even hit the stage! This was exacerbated by the fact the dreaded barrier cold/flu/whatever-the-hell-this-is was just starting to hit me, so I didn't quite feel right. Luckily, my body managed to hold out long enough for one last show, so I still managed to enjoy myself despite the constant pushing. We were right in front of Brian, so perhaps that's why it was worse for us the second night compared to the first London show.

We found some awesome "I Have Too Many Friend Requests" shirts at Primark that we wore to the gig but not sure how well Brian could see them from the stage. My favourite part of the night was at the very end, where he once again acknowledged those of us who'd travelled from far & wide to multiple shows...referring to us as "repeat offenders" & "recidivists"!   That is my new favourite word now..."recidivists", LOL! He also mentioned at the end that they wouldn't be away for long, which is good to hear. I just hope I can get all my medical shit out of the way before the 20th anniversary tour, but we shall see.

I'm in no hurry to see them again in London, though! I think I'll aim for some of the mellower spots next time! Also, although I love the current setlist, I am finally ready for a change! Bring on the 20th anniversary tour and/or a new album!!!

[EDIT] Speaking of the setlist, I was lucky enough to get one of the setlists from security, but it was dated for the previous night's gig, for which my friend also got a setlist the night before.  We'd originally hoped that perhaps this would mean a set change for the very last show of the Loud Like Love Tour, but alas this was not to be.

PS - As I mentioned on the first London gig page, they changed the end lighting to red during the bit where Brian plays with his gear...made for some nice silhouetted pics, which I'll post soon. Meanwhile, I'd better get my ass to bed.... First day back to work tomorrow & I'm still sick. Going to pay dearly for staying up so late but my sleep patterns are totally messed up due to the time change & being sick...

Setlist:

{Recording: Pure Morning vs Svefn-g-englar]
B3
For What It's Worth
Loud Like Love
Every You Every Me
Scene of the Crime
A Million Little Pieces
Rob the Bank
Purify
Special Needs
Too Many Friends
Space Monkey
Exit Wounds
I Know
Meds
Song to Say Goodbye
Special K
The Bitter End

Encore:
Begin the End
Running Up That Hill
Post Blue
Infra-Red
[Recording: Outro]

Placebo @ London, UK, Eventim (Hammersmith) Apollo, 03/24/15 (#placebogig240315)

Wow, WHAT AN AMAZING SHOW!!! The energy between the band & crowd was what every Placebo fan dreams about, and we made Brian smirk with our "No photos please" shirts!  Brian's security guard even took a photo of us to show Brian afterwards! It was wonderful seeing them in this historic venue, which I've wanted to experience for years ever since seeing Culture Club's 1983 performance there on their "A Kiss Across the Ocean" concert video. It was everything I'd hoped for & more! The light show was superb, and I couldn't help but notice at the end, for the last two shows, they dimmed the light way down while Brian was playing with his gear! One of my favourite moments besides "I Know" was the bit at the end of "Meds" where Brian pauses... He seemed to pause extra long on this night, totally soaking up the cries of adoration from the crowd! I love seeing him so happy.  It was nice seeing a few old faces from the forum, and sorry to hear you all had such a rough time further back. I was shocked that up front, it actually wasn't too bad for the first London show. I'd heard so many horror stories about London crowds, but the first show wasn't bad for me at all. The second one on the other hand is another story! I wasn't brave enough to snap any photos from the front row for this gig, but I got braver for the second London show, seeing as it may be my last time seeing Placebo for quite some time. Due to it being a local show for them, we didn't bother waiting around to try to meet the band, as the sides of the venue were blocked off & we figured they'd be whisked off through a secret entrance either to home or a private party somewhere, so we opted for some much needed food & relaxation instead!

Setlist:
{Recording: Pure Morning vs Svefn-g-englar]
B3 
For What It's Worth 
Loud Like Love 
Every You Every Me 
Scene of the Crime 
A Million Little Pieces 
Rob the Bank 
Purify 
Special Needs 
Too Many Friends 
Space Monkey 
Exit Wounds 
I Know 
Meds 
Song to Say Goodbye 
Special K 
The Bitter End

Encore:
Begin the End 
Running Up That Hill
Post Blue 
Infra-Red 
[Recording: Outro]

Placebo @ Southend-On-Sea, UK, Cliffs Pavilion, 03/22/15 (#placebogig220315)

Southend was a great show! We got first row just slightly to Brian's left, where I finally got to show Brian my sign that read "From one square peg to another....thank you!"   The crowd was very vocal, though physically, it was weird having loads of room to dance! I'd been expecting to be squished in like a sardine but I found out later, that may have had more to do with the factI had my forum buddy, Birtie, right behind me, who was trying really hard not to squish me, LOL!

Highlights for me were For What It's Worth, EYEM, Purify & everything from Space Monkey on, so yeah, I have to agree with everyone in that, although I enjoy the entire set, the second half of the set really is electrifying!

Unfortunately, we were too far away when Stef (and apparently Brian) came out to the buses, but they were gone FAST. Like in under an hour. So, a lot of people never had a chance. I did, however, thanks to Arcadia Rhodes, manage to FINALLY get a coveted Brian pick!!!      And it was great hanging out with you after the show Birtie & again the next day by the Southend seaside. 

Southend is a very cute town, but holy crap did it did a long time to get there! Four trains & seven hours later! But it was well worth the trek!!!

Setlist: 

{Recording: Pure Morning vs Svefn-g-englar]
B3 
For What It's Worth 
Loud Like Love 
Every You Every Me 
Scene of the Crime 
A Million Little Pieces 
Rob the Bank 
Purify 
Special Needs 
Too Many Friends 
Space Monkey 
Exit Wounds 
I Know 
Meds 
Song to Say Goodbye 
Special K 
The Bitter End

Encore:
Begin the End 
Running Up That Hill
Post Blue 
Infra-Red 
[Recording: Outro]

Placebo @ Bournemouth, UK, 03/21/15, O2 Academy (#placebogig210315)

Bournemouth was just the best day ever! Prior to the show, my friend & I visited the gorgeous Bournemouth seaside, where I finally got to experience a beautiful SANDY beach (as I'd only ever seen boring, cold, rocky beaches before!), and on the way to the venue, I got to experience my first ever ride in a double decker bus, where I freaked out some poor teenage girls who thought I was photographing them, but I wasn't! I was taking pics of the stairs inside the bus, LOL! We don't have double decker buses here, so it was a big deal for me!  

The positive vibes continued into the queue, where we met some new & old faces from various countries, all of whom had travelled from afar for the show. I wish I could clone each & every one of you I met that day! We had such a good laugh & even a bit of sunshine, too, in such a beautiful setting. Of all the cities we visited, Bournemouth was my favourite location-wise!

The show was great, in spite of a small technical blip before either "Special Needs" or "Bitter End", I forget exactly which song it was, but Brian took it all in stride with a good sense of humour saying with a smile "We WERE having technical problems & now we're NOT!"  It was cute, the way he said it.  As with the previous two nights, we were in second row in front of Brian. Afterwards, we waited for two hours in what was probably the worst cold we experienced during this trip. It's true that Brian apparently wasn't feeling well - though it never showed in his performance. The girl beside me got a text from someone on "the inside" who told her he wouldn't be coming out & that he wasn't well. But we've all heard that before where suddenly they appear five minutes later, so we all stuck it out but alas to no avail. Stef, however, did come out, joking that Brian was still in his coffin! So, I got him to sign mhy BFTS CD cover, told him I'd been a fan for 18 years & thanked him for all the great shows.  Now, WHY can't I talk like that to Brian?!? Ah, perhaps someday I'll manage to produce a full intelligible sentence in front of that man! :p

Setlist was the same as usual:

{Recording: Pure Morning vs Svefn-g-englar]
B3 
For What It's Worth 
Loud Like Love 
Every You Every Me 
Scene of the Crime 
A Million Little Pieces 
Rob the Bank 
Purify 
Special Needs 
Too Many Friends 
Space Monkey 
Exit Wounds 
I Know 
Meds 
Song to Say Goodbye 
Special K 
The Bitter End

Encore:
Begin the End 
Running Up That Hill
Post Blue 
Infra-Red 
[Recording: Outro]

Placebo @ Bristol, UK, Colston Hall, 03/19/15 (#placebogig190315)

Bristol was a good show that saw Brian in a better mood, though nothing out of the ordinary happened this night. The venue, Colston Hall, was very posh & seemed more like the place you'd expect to see an orchestra play! It kind of reminded me of the venue they played in San Francisco in the way of atmosphere. To everyone's delight, we all got to queue indoors away from the cold wind, and in fact, we even had time to check our coats & buy merchandise ahead of the show!

In keeping with this mellow atmosphere, the crowd was quite laid back as well, and we got second row once again right in front of Brian. Afterwards, the crowd at the buses was a bit smaller than the night before, so this time I was able to get Stef to sign my copy of the first album, however, I must be cursed now when it comes to Brian, because by the time I heard his voice & realized he was passing by, I suddenly got a total case of fan-girl brain, forgot the complete layout of my bag fumbling for what I wanted signed & for some stupid reason, couldn't open my mouth to say a word, so in a flash hbe was gone from view & I once again missed out on the opportunity of getting him to sign my book & to say thank you. *sobs*  Part of me wonders if he purposefully rushed by to avoid being asked for more hugs! *sigh* On a happy note, I at least managed to get another Stef pick to add to my ever growing collection, LOL!   Photos coming soon once I upload them to Photobucket...

And to the hilarious red-haired girl who had us all in stitches as we once again froze to death waiting by buses, you should so look me up if you ever come to Canada!  

It was the same as the rest of the UK tour, but here's the setlist anyway. 

{Recording: Pure Morning vs Svefn-g-englar]
B3 
For What It's Worth 
Loud Like Love 
Every You Every Me 
Scene of the Crime 
A Million Little Pieces 
Rob the Bank 
Purify 
Special Needs 
Too Many Friends 
Space Monkey 
Exit Wounds 
I Know 
Meds 
Song to Say Goodbye 
Special K 
The Bitter End

Encore:
Begin the End 
Running Up That Hill
Post Blue 
Infra-Red 
[Recording: Outro]

More pics available on my Instagram page at: http://instagram.com/tammytammers.

Placebo @ Birmingham, UK, O2 Academy, 03/18/15 (#placebogig180315)

The show was great despite Brian being in a bit of a "mood"! We got second row just to Brian's left, and hearing "I Know" again live after all these years was absolutely enthralling to the point of sending chills down my spine!   I was also over the moon to hear the return of "Space Monkey", and delighted by the fact Brian once again acknowledged all the fans who travelled from far & wide to come to the shows.  It's nice to hear, since I know he doesn't quite "get" why we do it, but he seems to genuinely appreciate our support, all the same.  To my surprise, I even enjoyed "Special Needs", which is better live than on the album IMHO.  We also met Lady of The Flowers from here who is totally awesome, and we convinced her to join us for another show, so it was a great time, despite the chilly wind we braved before & after the show. I also loved the light show, which seems to be more than what we got during the North American shows - understandably so, too, since I'm sure it'd be expensive lugging that gear overseas for for just a handful of shows.

At one point, *just* as I was about to dare to take a photo although my camera was still hidden from view at this point, he called out to one of his crew whose name escapes me (for some reason, "Trevor" just came to mind...) saying something to the effect of "Can you please tell theft blonde girl to stop taking pictures from that vantage point?!...You're stealin' my soul...you're stealin' my soul..!"   OMG, that last bit about stealing his soul was PRICELESS!!!  My guess is someone must have been taking flash photos from up above. Needless to say, I put my camera right back in my purse, LOL, and left it there till Infra-Red & the bit at the end where he, to quote Arcadia, "plays with his knob"!    I'll post them soon once I get around to uploading them to Photobucket. Got both food poisoning AND a cold the last day, so I've been in my PJ's on the couch for the past three days ever since I got back.  

During the point where Brian introduces the band, he referred to Stef as "the man with the magic fingers & broken toe" & to himself as "...and you can call me whatever the fuck you want!", to which we all volunteered our own personal answers.  *insert your favourite adjective or pet name here for Brian, LOL!  We also gave the new drummer, Matt Lunn, a warm welcome. I noticed Brian referring to him as the newest addition to the group, so I wonder if he's going to be a permanent fixture...or as permanent as Placebo drummers can get anyway. :p His drumming wasn't bad IMHO, but my friend commented he seemed rather reserved. I missed Steve's energy at the end & how he used to shake the audience's hands from the stage.

Sadly, despite the band coming out briefly after, people who'd already gotten stuff signed wouldn't move out of the way, so those of us at the back of the crowd got nothing.  My taller friend offered to pass one of my items over to be signed but I foolishly declined, wanting a more personal experience. Kicking myself now for not taking her up on the offer, as it was completely different to when I met Brian in North America in the fall. It was very rushed & not everyone got a turn. Oh well, it's not like I've never met them before...still, it would've been nice.

Here's the setlist: 

{Recording: Pure Morning vs Svefn-g-englar]
B3 
For What It's Worth 
Loud Like Love 
Every You Every Me 
Scene of the Crime 
A Million Little Pieces 
Rob the Bank 
Purify 
Special Needs 
Too Many Friends 
Space Monkey 
Exit Wounds 
I Know 
Meds 
Song to Say Goodbye 
Special K 
The Bitter End

Encore:
Begin the End 
Running Up That Hill
Post Blue 
Infra-Red 
[Recording: Outro]

More pics available on my Instagram page at: http://instagram.com/tammytammers.

Placebo @ Los Angeles, CA, USA, Club Nokia, 10/24/14 (#placebogig241014)

Mixed emotions were abound for me during this last show of the North American tour. First, the good: I had the perfect spot in front of Brian.  While I'm almost always on his side of the stage, this was only my second time being directly across from him, as opposed to being just slightly off to one side or another. The band was fantastic, Brian seemed to be in good spirits & acoustics were decent. The setlist returned to its normal sequence with B3 getting things started & Post Blue back in the encore, which I think I actually prefer, though the previous night's alternate setlist in San Francisco was a much appreciated surprise!   Initially, my impression of Brian in LA was that he seemed relatively quiet compared to other shows, using his usual scripts between songs with the only departure being when he was about to say it'd been a long time they'd played there, but then he realized it had only been a year! BUT then I remembered his Spanish, which sadly I don’t speak, so if you only understood the English, it might seem like the usual scripts, but for those lucky bilingual audience members, he said a bit more. Not sure if it was just a Spanish translation of the English stuff or if there was more to it. Do any Spanish speakers know? For those who saw them at the beginning of the LLL tour, though, the usual scripts were plenty, as he spoke even less at the start of the tour, so it’s all relative.  Whatever the case, he sounds so very beautiful speaking Spanish! Almost as good as when he speaks French!   Speaking of languages, I loved the fact he spoke both German AND Spanish during Song to Say Goodbye, using Auf Weidersehe one line & then 
Hasta luego the next. 

One of my favourite moments was Brian's reaction to the crowd during Meds! He had the biggest grin on his face, as he soaked up all our love & attention!   Admittedly, I was hoping they might've done something different during this last show but I'll take whatever I can get at this point!   I’m just so grateful they came over here & did the shows they have. Many of the songs took on double meanings for me as I sang them back to Brian...one…last…time. I'm really going to miss them. Another little gem was during the intro to One of a Kind, I could’ve sworn he pointed to the three of us girls up front, including the girl in the chair, myself & not sure if the third one was Susannah or the girl beside me But it was nice either way.  And last but certainly not least in terms of highlights, was running into Nick afterwards, where he posed for photos along side Soul.mate_USA & myself & he signed one of my many BFTS album covers. 

Despite the venue’s no-cameras policy on their website, security was so scarce up front that i probably could have gotten away with taking a few pics with my new camera, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, given who was standing right in front of me!   I came real close during the encore while he was kneeling, but my camera widget decided to malfunction, so after a few seconds, I gave up & opted to just enjoy the moment of those last few seconds with him instead. 

It was great finally meeting Soul.Mate_USA, DaniBrooke, and PFWW lurker Mokikinnetic (Michael) who also happens to be one of my fellow Canadians from the previous night's show (I will forever have his parody of TMF stuck in my head!!!  ).   aAlso, a very special thank you to Ironmoko, whose directions re: getting into the venue proved invaluable. I seriously would never have found it without your directions! In fact, your info literally saved me from having the cabbie drop me at the wrong venue! I was really bummed not to have met you! Perhaps next tour, eh?  Last but not least, many thanks to Soul.mate_USA for helping me get safely to a cab after some much needed post-show dinner!

Venue staff were extremely helpful, ensuring both myself & the girl beside me who was in a wheelchair got down safely into the pit. To say that venue is a nightmare is an understatement! Put into one word, CONFUSING is what comes to mind! Someone likened it to an airport, but it’s much much worse! At least airports have good lighting! If an airport & nightclub were to have a love child, this would be it! :p

Despite the challenges of the venue, this was a perfect way to end the North American tour! Now let’s just hope we inspired them to come back in much sooner than seven years!!!

My BFTS CD cover signed by Nick in LA, plus my signed stuff from SF & Minneapolis, SF setlist...and THE PEN...