Placebo @ Terra Vibe 7 years later

7 years later, Placebo were once again at Terra Vibe as headliners of the 2017 Rockwave Festival. I wasn't originally planning to go (and I was hoping that I could avoid Terra Vibe at least for this year) but then I found out that some of my friends were going and they had one available seat in their car. So I decided to tag along on one of the hottest days of this summer.

We arrived, after being welcomed by this friendly horse on a nearby farm, just a few minutes before Cigarettes After Sex were due to start their set on the other stage. After some thoughts on whether we should give up our places near the stage, some of us went to check them out. Our verdict: They are really good but it seems that their music should be heard after dark. And it was still quite early.

We had to leave before they finished their set (and in the process missing what I guess must have been an amazing cover of "Keep On Loving You" of REO Speedwagon) in order to be able to get easily back at our reserved places.

Next up there was Sivert Hoyem. I was expecting him to be rather boring or, in the best case, mostly indifferent, but he and his band were quite good at first. It did become a bit tiring towards the end however, probably because as one of our company (who is studying music) remarked "all of his songs were in the same key".

Anyway, it was finally time for Placebo, who not only were 7 years older but were now celebrating their 20 year anniversary (I thought this was a good excuse for them to play "20 Years" which they did. In fact their set started with a video projection on the screens showing moments from these last 20 years.

The first song was "Pure Morning" and their set consisted of songs from both their early and later years. In fact, as our company consisted of three 40-year olds and two teenagers, one of us remarked that they catered for both our age groups, the young fans and the -ahem- old(er) ones...

Footage with David Bowie was shown (as was probably expected) during "Without You I'm Nothing" and while they did not play "Every You Every Me", one of my favourite songs, they did pleasantly surprise us with "Running Up That Hill" during the encore. But as far as I'm concerned the highlight of the night was "Slave To The Wage".

During this tour Placebo have been playing full 2-hour sets, however we only got 90 minutes... Still it was a lovely experience which was made much better as it turned out to be a reunion with friends. I usually feel nostalgia for the 80's. But on that weekend it was probably the first time I felt nostalgia for the 90's...

SETLIST:
01. Pure Morning
02. Loud Like Love
03. Jesus' Son
04. Soulmates
05. Special Needs
06. Too Many Friends
07. Twenty Years
08. Exit Wounds
09. Protect Me From What I Want
10. Without You I'm Nothing
11. For What It's Worth
12. Slave To the Wage
13. Special K
14. Song To Say Goodbye
15. The Bitter End
16. Nancy Boy
17. Infra-red
Encore:
18. Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)