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

The article Placebo Stops Show, Cancels at Frequency Festival 2012 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Placebo fans have been waiting for this moment for a long time now. After the successful release of the album ‘Battle For The Sun’ in 2009, and a subsequent world tour, which went on through 2010, the British alternative rock band made its fans hold their breath last year.

In 2011 the band made its only festival appearance in August, at the Mercedes-Benz celebrative festival in Stuttgart, Germany. A couple of days before the gig, they also played a very intimate warm-up show in Berlin, announced to fans shortly before. Needless to say, the excitement among fans was high, and the tickets for both events sold out right away. People traveled from several countries to see the band perform the two gigs. The shows were both very successful, and the warm-up show in Berlin was brilliant. An exciting, energetic, and very passionate performance, which expressed all the love Placebo have for their fans. Drummer Steve Forrest stated after the show how much he missed performing with Placebo during the months of break, “Glad to be back with the family,” he said.

This year is a different story though. Placebo are giving their fans what they want. They already performed at Sundance festival in London, with a couple of warm-up shows in Liverpool and Edinburgh. They are touring Europe through several summer festivals, to the joy of Placebo lovers. Furthermore, fans will have the chance to attend few free concerts promoted by Mercedes-Benz, for which an online ticket competition took place. The band declared to like the approach that Mercedes-Benz is following to support emerging artists, hence they are glad to team up with the brand. It will be a series of five shows in 5 different cities in Europe, touching on Italy, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and France.

Fans are not only excited about touring. Three years after the release of the amazing ‘Battle For The Sun,’ Placebo are back in the studio, working on new material. The announcement of a new album comes directly from the band. On the band’s official website, a statement by the band members reads, “We had a good break last year for the first time in 15 years and enjoyed time with our families and friends, did some traveling, and basically recharged the batteries. The creative juices are now flowing again so we’re back in the studio working on new material. A long time coming we know!! We’ve been working with Adam Noble (dEUS, Red Hot Chili Peppers) on a bunch of new tracks which we hope will see the light of day later this year following our festival appearances this summer. We’re in a good creative place right now and ideas are flowing. We’re hoping to have a new studio album ready for release pre summer next year.”

The new Placebo album is surely something to look forward to. What the band has demonstrated is to have grown constantly: the last album, ‘Battle For The Sun,’ comes across as slightly different from the previous ones to the listener. The band showed a level of maturity of sound and depth in content that, although always present in Placebo’s records, is astonishing in this one. Surely an interesting basis from which to start for the new album.  Luminary Brian Molko’s vision, Steve Forrest’s passionate energy, and the perfectionism of Stefan Olsdal’s musical approach will do the rest.

 

Image Courtesy of  Placebo

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