Live Review : Placebo + Cruel Hearts Club @ Eventim Olympia, Liverpool on November 21st 2022

This is our first time at the Eventim Olympia in Liverpool, and it’s certainly a unique venue. I queue up in the rain to grab my press pass and then make my way into the auditorium. It’s very reminiscent of Manchester Apollo or even a larger Liverpool Arts Club, but has a character of its own. The Lower Balcony, complete with fancy new seats, is linked to the floor area, and that means your tickets get you between the two with ease. Good news then, as Johann can grab his two songs worth of shots and then come join me in the seating for a comfortable but not less engaged view of the gig in full.

There is just one support act tonight, and that takes the form of female three-piece Cruel Hearts Club. The tall Langley sisters, Edie and Gita, are statuesque at the front of the stage, striking dynamic poses with their guitar and bass slung across them. Gabi Woo provides a metronomic White Stripes-style beat behind the grungy, punk rock melodies from the sisters. You can clearly see their influences of Hole and Nirvana through T-Rex to The Distillers. Each song is bouncy and pleasant, with plenty of mid-tempo swagger and the twin vocals of the sleazy drawl from Edie and the angelic purrs from Gita complement each other perfectly. All three members of the band are mothers by day, punk-rockers by night, and its that kind of commitment and attitude that has undoubtedly got them as far as they have together with their talent. There’s an interesting cover of tATu’s ‘All the Things She Said’, but the real hooks for those in the crowd will be in their own catchy grunge-laden rock they lay on for everyone.

Before headliners Placebo take to the stage, we’re given both written warning and a pre-recorded electro-robo-Brian Molko telling everyone to live in the moment and not to record or take photos during the gig. It’s a totally fair request, and as someone who does get infuriated at having to look at other people’s phones instead of the act on stage, I’m completely onboard with the message. Meanwhile, I can see that almost all the equipment, including amps, drumkit and paraphernalia on-stage, has a white theme to it. It means little though as the lights go down and the four backdrop panels above the stage flicker. The backing band come on in shadow (to which they stay for virtually the whole set), before Stefan Olsdal and then Brian Molko make their way onto the front of the stage under beams of focused light. They set about moving through a setlist which has very little old stuff at all, lending most of tonight’s time to tracks from March’s eighth studio album “Never Let Me Go”. We don’t get ‘Nancy Boy’, ‘Every You Every Me’ or ‘Pure Morning’, but that’s not to say there aren’t some fantastic older tracks thrown in, with sing-along moments evident during ‘Bionic’ and ‘The Bitter End’. The newer material is actually much more vibrant and enjoyable live, and there’s a distinct feel of The Cure or even a less electronic Depeche Mode about the delivery. Luscious swells of delay and reverb on the guitars, together with synths, heavily clipped and processed drums and pounding bass make for a catchy head-nodding vibe to the whole gig. They’re professional and demonstrate their musicianship continually, with Olsdal striking killer poses throughout. As always Molko’s voice is iconic and unique, and is pitch perfectly spot-on with every song. We get some surprise additional instruments in the form of a full piano (albeit a mini full piano) and violin for ‘Too Many Friends’ and ‘Went Missing’ and, together with the backdrop screens and entrancing whirling tracking lights, it just adds that extra feel of unique decadence to proceedings. A three song encore of a cover of ‘Shout’, “Never Let Me Go” closer ‘Fix Yourself ‘ and their classic cover of ‘Running Up That Hill’ is a perfect end to a superb night.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos! Placebo, Cruel Hearts Club