Linus's take
5/10“Our purpose is to create communion & transcendence.” That’s a lofty goal for a “day at the office” on a Saturday in Copenhagen.
There’s a whole host of mildly amusing puns and analogies to be made about the placebo effect, but we’ll try not to get stuck there.
It feels a bit daft to write a gig review and open by discussing something that really has nothing to do with the music, but I don’t think I have much choice.
Placebo put out the following statement on social media, and also in a filmed intro before the show:
“Dear Placebo fans,
We would like to kindly ask you NOT to spend the concert filming or taking photos with your mobile phones. It makes Placebo’s performance so much more difficult. More difficult to connect with you and to communicate effectively the emotions of the songs. It is also disrespectful to your fellow concert-goers who want to watch the show, not the back of your phone. Please be here and now in the present and enjoy the moment. Because this exact moment will never ever happen again. Our purpose is to create communion & transcendence. Please help us on our mission. With respect and love.
Peace.
Brian and Stefan”
In the film they also mention that phones “take focus away from their show”, and that it’s all so you can experience the show to the full.
And okay, I buy the idea, but some of the wording put me off a little, and from where I’m standing it means climbing onto a very high horse – one that’s easy to fall off.
Sadly, I can’t claim Placebo’s show was anything extraordinary, especially not compared with bands that actually put on a proper show, where the visuals and the whole performance really become a show. There I can buy the concept, but in this case it feels like you’re promising something extraordinary when you’re really serving up something pretty middle-of-the-road.
My next point might be even worse. When you tell people it’s important to put their phones away because the band wants to connect with its audience, and then play a gig that feels like you turned up, did your job and not much more, the whole argument loses a lot of its weight. It became even clearer when the support act, Kallsup, delivered exactly what we were missing from the headliner.
But being the peaceful, law-abiding gig-goers we are, we followed the rule and didn’t film or photograph a thing.
As promised, the setlist focuses on the first two albums, which probably makes it a magnificent tour for a hardcore fan. But for me, having listened to a selection of the songs over the years, it sadly falls flat – and that’s probably why my rating differs quite a bit from what a die-hard fan who’d waited twenty years to hear one particular song would give the gig.
It closes with Every You Every Me and not just one but two covers, which also raises an eyebrow. Including the cover of Running Up That Hill is fairly understandable given the boost it got from Stranger Things, but it still leaves you wondering: was there no more of their own material to showcase in the encore?
Musically and vocally there’s nothing to complain about. Brian’s voice is exactly as it should be, and even though I’m critical of the band going up and “just doing their thing”, his voice still hits exactly where it should – and isn’t that kind of the whole point of Placebo?
The band sounds good, and visually it’s at times really stunning.
So how do you actually sum this up? Musically and visually really good, but I’m missing a bit of soul – which, sadly, may always have been Placebo’s selling point? The band themselves wrote that this exact moment will never happen again. …That’s true, but it wasn’t quite the moment they promised.
Dea's take
7/10Harder, Faster – but was it really that hard?
Finally, there I was in the sea of people. After roughly 20 years of waiting and hype, it was FINALLY time to see my magical Placebo live.
For weeks beforehand I’d been listening through the 2026 setlist and was so pleased that nearly all my favourite songs were on it. On 24 October 2026 we were invited to Placebo’s 30th birthday party at K.B. Hallen in Copenhagen, and the nostalgia was real. At last we’d get to hear songs like “Pure Morning”, “You Don’t Care About Us”, “Nancy Boy” and “Every You Every Me” live.
Before the gig started, security staff went round letting everyone know the concert would be phone-free. Out of respect for the band, you were to leave your phone in your bag and experience the show here and now instead. It’s a brilliant initiative the band has had for a long time, and this time we didn’t even have to lock our phones away in Yondr pouches, which was a relief.
I admit my teenage self was in ecstasy getting to experience both “Pure Morning” and “Nancy Boy”, squeezed in among almost 5,000 sweaty, screaming fans. Together the crowd scream-sang
”A friend in need’s a friend indeed
A friend with weed is better”
and I smiled, with goosebumps on my arms.
The whole concert was an emotional storm for me, and blurry memories of late nights in a friend’s old basement came flooding back. Flashbacks to my first girl crush. Flashbacks to kisses in the school toilets and anxious nights spent trying to fill the void with outside substances.
Seeing Placebo live was definitely a big deal for me, and a memory I’ll carry with me for a long, long time. But if we’re going to review the gig completely honestly: was it really as hard as I’d thought?
In all honesty, the old band was still tight, and Brian Molko undeniably has a completely unique voice (which I love). Musically, it still sounded like Placebo. Stage-wise… I don’t really know? It felt like the band, despite all the hype at the start about us being at their 30th birthday party, went up, did their thing, and then that was that. I missed some energy and presence. Or maybe it was just me being so hyped for something that never quite happened.
I love the phone ban. One of the reasons behind it is that the band feels phones ruin the emotional connection between band and audience. But honestly, was there that much connection?
Another disappointment was that they chose to end the gig with two covers. Why? And I missed “Meds”.
Okay, if I’m going to try to sum up the evening in a rating, it lands – to my own disappointment and surprise – on a 7.5. That doesn’t mean it was a bad gig, though, because it wasn’t. I got to relive so many memories, and I can now finally say I’ve been kissed at a Placebo concert – something that, for some reason, has been on my bucket list for years.
Thank you, Placebo, for all these years. I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds!