Live Review: Placebo, Deaf Havana

It's been a long time between Placebo gigs, 11 years to be exact, but a birthday party seems as good a reason as any to hit the road and delight the devoted faithful. 2017 marks 20 years since the band launched its first album, the focus of the Saturday show, and in an odd confluence of events, is the day the question of equal marriage rights moved to a decisive point.

Deaf Havana opened the show, a blokey UK five-piece, that were not deterred by playing to a sparsely peopled arena. Although the three young women dancing down in front seemed to get into their set, the punters present didn't seem too stoked one way or the other. It's not that the tracks themselves were bad, more that each song lacked differentiation in terms of pace, structure or hooks. That they seemed to sail a bit too close to early noughties emo didn't help matters either. Points for effort, more work needed on execution.

Placebo chose to announce their imminent arrival on stage with the Every You Every Me music video followed by a clip montage of band life on stage and off taken from the past 20 years. They opened the set with Pure Morning, a noisy confection that has lost none of its appeal when cranked through an arena PA and got the fans jumping early.

"Welcome to our 20th birthday party," frontman Brian Molko greeted the crowd. "Oh, you're not 20? Oh to be 20 years old. If I was 20 again, I'd fuck everything that moved. That's my advice for everyone under 20: fuck everything that moves - safely of course!" Thanks B, I know I did. But I digress…

While the set spanned the band's career, the biggest hits were saved for the back end of the show, the feedback blazed and Without You I'm Nothing featured a nicely framed tribute to David Bowie.

Although the stage was a nearly naked affair, devoid of props or elaborate design, the use of the three gigantic video screens and the seamless integration of lights, visual effects and onstage performance was a real highlight and a lesson in creative staging.

In honour of the day, live rarity Nancy Boy, accompanied by guitarist-bassist Stefan Olsdal's rainbow axe, was dusted off for the first encore, followed by Infra-Red. The band was called back again, this time sharing their accomplished cover of Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God). Here's hoping it won't be another decade before they grace our shores again.