Fans came from all corners of Europe to celebrate Placebo’s performance as headliners at the second day of the Frequency Festival. Frequency takes place every year in St. Poelten, Austria, and it is promoted by Skalar Entertainment GmbH. At the Space Stage, where Rock is the center of attention until the end of the festival on August 18, several acts took to the stage on Thursday, including Noel Gallagher’s Highflying Birds, leading to the moment where Placebo would go on at around 11:20p.m..

An intriguing play of lights announced the arrival of the band on stage; the musicians took their places and started the show with Kitty Litter. Frontman Brian Molko did not seem very much into the performance and right after the song ended, he left the stage.

Drummer Steve Forrest looked disappointed at the gesture, and both he and bassist Stefan Olsdal were confused. Olsdal excused himself to the crowd, saying he would be back in a couple of minutes, and went to look for Brian Molko. In the meanwhile, Forrest tried to fill the time with some jamming. He then left the stage too, as Olsdal was not coming back.

The crowd kept on cheering for the band, waiting for them to come back on stage and entertain them as promised. After a while, though, some became annoyed by the behavior of the band and of Molko in particular. Stefan Olsdal then came back on stage and announced in German that the show would not take place. “My brother, and singer, Brian, is not well, he is sick and can’t play tonight. I really am sorry,” he said while the disappointment of the crowd was growing; he then concluded “We will try to make it up to you coming back next year. Good night.”

The crowd was speechless, some people were crying, some could not believe what was happening. Considering that many fans had come from abroad only to see Placebo live, the surprised and angered reactions were legitimate.

Rumors have circulating among fans websites right after the performance, concerning Molko and the possibility of him performing at future shows scheduled by the band. Nothing has yet been said about the band’s future performances.

An official statement was published on the Placebo website shortly after the failed show “Placebo regret to report that Brian Molko was taken unwell with a virus today, he had felt poorly all day and the adrenaline rush from the crowd as they walked on stage disorientated him and he felt unable to continue, more details will follow tomorrow.”

On August 17, another statement, signed by the three band members, was released “It is with great regret that we had to pull out of last nights show at Frequency Festival after only 1 song due to illness. Brian has been suffering from a virus for a couple of days but we had hoped, with enough rest, he would be able to perform. Unfortunately this proved not to be the case. We want to apologise to everyone who attended last night’s show and to the fans who we’ve let down. We’ll make it up to you! Love & Peace. Brian, Stefan , Steve”

Image Courtesy of  Placebo

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About the author

Veronica Cinti
Italian native, extremely passionate about music in general. Although she appreciates a wide variety of music genres, her strongest field of expertise is Rock music, Grunge and Punk among its styles. Contact the author: veronica.cinti@toonarimedia.com; Follow Veronica on Twitter: @VeronicaCinti