DVD REVIEW: Placebo - Coming Up For Air / We Come In Pieces

Placebo
Coming Up For Air / We Come In Pieces
(Shock/Eagle Vision)
½ (out of 5)

Placebo has always been a band to push the envelope when it comes to how music should be experienced. In their infancy they emerged onto the British music scene when Brit Pop was king and their controversial views, sexual ambiguity, and music, were either something you liked or didn’t. There really didn’t seem to be a middle ground.

I have always admired the band’s in your face attitude over the years and was pleased to discover through watching Coming Up For Air that there is a hell of a lot of substance behind this globe-trotting band. In 2008 Placebo embarked on the Battle For The Sun world tour playing 143 shows in 44 countries. This beautifully shot documentary follows them on the road for nearly two years, painting a picture of who they really are as people, and as a band.

Front man Brian Molko, who grew up in Luxembourg with surviving original band member Stefan Olsdal, has come a long way from his hedonistic beginnings. By his own admittance he has a short temper and hates the idea of ‘celebrity’. But also shows himself to be a well spoken, spiritual and philosophical man who is not averse to meeting world leaders, oh say like, the President of Chile.

This package also includes We Come In Pieces, capturing the final show of the tour with a band that hasn’t lost any of its angst or showmanship.

Definitely one for the fans, but also a fantastic insight into a worldly band. 
 

Placebo - We Come In Pieces

By Craig Easson