British Placebo is already celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, but I have only attended its concert twice. The first time was in Zagreb, Croatia, just a little over two years ago, when the band was on tour with its newly released eighth album, Never Let Me Go. The second time was about two weeks ago at the Pordenone Blues & Co. Festival in Pordenone, Italy. While the playlist was almost identical, there was one speciality in Zagreb - since Terra Relicta has existed, this was the only concert for which we had to buy tickets because the promoters were unreachable. But because the prices ranged between 30 and 35 €, that wasn't a big deal. Though this time, with 60 to 75 € per ticket, our participation would have been highly questionable. Despite the inflated prices, around 5,000 people gathered at the venue - a beautiful one, I must say - a city park that felt like a forest. And on the clearing under the tall trees, a magnificent stage with 18 vertical monitors flourished.

It took us (Tomaz and me) about an hour and a half to arrive at Pordenone and another twenty minutes to find a parking space. After circling the streets - and there were many others on the same mission - we finally found a place to park, not a parking space but at the end of a dead-end street. But because of all this circling, we had no clue how far from the venue we were. Luckily, we were less than a kilometre away. Near the entrance, another pleasant surprise awaited: we met up with two friends from our teenage years, with whom we used to party but hadn't seen each other for over ten years. They offered us a relatively cold beer, and then we entered the venue and spent the whole concert together. Of course, we were thirsty for another beer, and, of course, as usual in Italy, there was only one line, and a long one, to order a drink and another equally long line to get it. Someone could die out of thirst while waiting. As far as I'm concerned, that is the worst possible way to get a drink; the best is when there are more bars, you pay with cash or a card, and you get a drink (usual practice at festivals in Germany and Austria), and in between is a cashless payment, which could even be the best if there were no abuses. So, while still waiting in the first line, the concert started with a familiar recorded speech on not using cell phones during the concert but enjoying it instead (therefore, we didn't take many photos). Then, Placebo appeared on stage with its "Taste In Men", followed by "Beautiful James". I would have preferred the song was scheduled later in the setlist since it's one of my favourite tracks from the Never Let Me Go album, but OK, it "explains" the "Taste In Men", I guess. We got to witness "Scene Of The Crime" next, then "Happy Birthday In The Sky", and after "Bionic", we were "Surrounded By Spies". Some "old" songs, "Song To Say Goodbye" and "The Bitter End", among others, were "distorted", so it was hard to sing along, but maybe that was the purpose of "distortion", who knows. "Sad White Reggae", "Try Better Next Time", and "Went Missing" rounded up the latest Placebo album, while "Nancy Boy" from Placebo's debut full-length concluded with the official part of the performance. Of course, the encore followed with two more songs, "Infra-red" and, as in Zagreb, "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) (Kate Bush cover)", although there was no hill around this time. Placebo didn't interact with the public much - it only served some statements between the songs, such as "Ciao, mamma!" and "Fuck goverment!" but it graciously executed 19 tracks altogether, which, unfortunately, went by very quickly. I wished for more... At least another beer followed...

Placebo delivered, as expected, a "top-notch" performance, and, in a way, so did the audience. I was pleasantly surprised that there was no talking or mingling during the concert (at least not around me). I listened to the concert in peace, which, in my experience, doesn't happen often. The perfect evening was followed by the perfect day on a beautiful Italian beach - I won't say which one because then everyone would rush to it, and there would be a crowd ;). Till the next (hopefully, in a few days) not-so-complimentary report, regards, Jerneja

Report by Jerneja
Photos by Tomaz
Edited by Jerneja
Links: Placebo, Placebo (Facebook), Pordenone Blues & Co. Festival