She Wants Revenge and Placebo kicked off the first of a series of co-headline concerts at the Greek Theater on Oct. 22.
A DJ trapped in a trance spun music to the eager fans while they waited for the bands to play. Just a little past 8 p.m, the mischievous Brian Molko of Placebo took the stage and began to strum lightly on his guitar. He let the hypnotic lyrics of “Infra-Red” fill the outdoor theater complex.
Colorful lights helped set the high paced, thrilling music presented by Placebo that night. The lights scanned the audience and flickered on and off on stage. With every song played, the fans became more excited. The highest point of the set was when Molko and his band mates Stefan Olsdal and Steve Hewitt, began to play “Every You Every Me,” a song from the soundtrack for “Cruel Intentions.”
All the fans then began singing the lyrics and showing their love for the band. Placebo gave the crowd nothing short of the best. They made sure that they connected with their fans. Following some of their high paced songs, Placebo played a selection of heart felt slow songs, which connected with the long time, devoted fans.
The house lights came on and the crowds changed. The Placebo fans took leave while the die-hard fans of She Wants Revenge slowly, but surely, filled the seats of the theater. The anxious energy from the crowd ended as soon as the theater went dark. A surge of amber club lights began to break through the darkness as the bizarre looking duo of Justin Warfield and Adam Bravin entered and began to strum a haunting steady beat.
As Warfield’s deep voice serenaded the crowd during “Red Flags and Long Nights,” the fans began to cheer Warfield and Bravin on. The duo fed off the energy and apparently were not about to let the people down who had gotten them to where they are.
An interesting change occurred when a group of traditional instrumentalists including a violinist and cellist came on stage.
The mellodic and beautiful tunes from these musicians helped provide a nice contrast to the rock sounds usually heard at a rock concert. The violin and cello each provided a more fluid sound. Bravin caught the crowd’s attention with his amazing synthesizer abilities.
It did not take too long for the band to gain the energy from their fans, as they began to play upbeat songs in the next set. The songs “I Don’t Wanna” and “Tear You Apart” were expertly played for a strong memorable finish to a night of great music.
