Placebo, Brixton Academy | reviews, news & interviews
Placebo, Brixton Academy
Placebo, Brixton Academy
A wall of sound and a dazzling spectacle from Brian Molko and the rest of the band
![](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/mast_image_landscape/public/mastimages/87e6e3ab5b5ac79f45a46cd7037647c3.jpg?itok=YGhk4vvW)
My, haven’t they grown? In the several years (perhaps even a decade) since I last caught Placebo live, they’ve gone from being a scrawny three-piece with a somewhat thin sound – for much of the gig, I saw, they didn’t even have a bassist on stage – to become a properly equipped rock band with six on-stage members: here, on the first of two nights in south London, the band consisted of the regular trio, plus three side-persons on guitars, bass, keyboards and violin. They made quite a noise, blasting out satisfyingly slabby slices of sound.
My, haven’t they grown? In the several years (perhaps even a decade) since I last caught Placebo live, they’ve gone from being a scrawny three-piece with a somewhat thin sound – for much of the gig, I saw, they didn’t even have a bassist on stage – to become a properly equipped rock band with six on-stage members: here, on the first of two nights in south London, the band consisted of the regular trio, plus three side-persons on guitars, bass, keyboards and violin. They made quite a noise, blasting out satisfyingly slabby slices of sound.
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