Diary of an up and coming sociopath

One thing I didn’t mention was that on Wednesday, Nikki and I went to the Placebo instore at Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street. I’d never been to an instore this one, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I did think the sound quality would be shite, since most people have said that’s the case, but for this one it was actually really good. I had ear plugs just in case I was in danger of some traditional ear-bleeding, but they were wholly unecessary.

The setlist was almost entirely new material (Meds, Infra Red, Drag, Because I Want You, One of a Kind, Song to Say Goodbye, and as an encore, Running up that hill) and as expected, the stuff off the new album does improve being played live. It’s only recently I’ve had that experience, for years I vastly preferred the cd versions of music to seeing it live, but I think between this album and the last ben folds album coming to life when I’ve seen them at a gig, I might be moving in the opposite direction. Still, the best song was easily “Running up that hill.”

After they played their set we queued for like an hour to get our CDs signed. That in itself was nothing special, but it was cool enough to get up close to the band like that. It’s incredibly unlikely that I’ll even get to see them in a venue that small again, let alone get close enough to rip out a chunk of hair (if I were so inclined). They didn’t have the same effect on me that Simon Pegg did, though, so I like to think I’m still cool.