Placebo : Soulmates Never Die, Live in Paris 2003

Synopsis

Every so often it all comes together. Band, crowd, venue and the music itself. Always the music. But each element has its own part to play. Without one the rest is nothing. Alchemy, they sometimes call it. They also sometimes call it a great show.

When Placebo took to the stage on October 18th 2003, before 16,000 up-for-it fans, everyone just knew. There was something in the air, along with several thousand arms. The ensuing hour and a half journey through the band's carrer moved effortlessly from the anthemic euphoria of favourites Pure Morning, The Bitter End ans Taste in Men to the cathartic drama of tracks such as Peeping Tom and Protège Moi. The latter managing to achieve a poignant, vulnerable intimacy, despite or quite possibly because of the vastness of the surroundings.

By the time Frank Black arrived onstage for the show-stopping finale Where is My Mind - nobody wanted the night to end, least of all Brian Molko, Stefan Olsdal ans Steve Hewitt. Everyone was relieved that the whole thing had been captured on film: a permanent, lasting record - one in which soulmates never die.