Placebo, who are due to perform at the Pordenone Blues Festival tonight, have responded to criticism for the problems they experienced during their June 30 concert at the Open Air festival in St. Gallen, Switzerland, which forced the band to shorten their setlist. After the show, the online clash between different factions predictably began, and various interpretations of what happened circulated.
Brian Molko wrote about it on the band's Instagram: “We have seen a lot of discussions, arguments, accusations and skirmishes among our fans in connection with the interrupted concert at the St. Gallen festival. We have also received quite a few (unimaginative and unfounded) insults. We would therefore like to shed some light on what happened.”
Shortly after the concert began, Molko explains, Stefan Olsdal began having problems with his guitar, until the instrument stopped working altogether. “He could no longer play pieces that were supposed to be played by his guitar.”
The technicians couldn't solve the problem. At that point, “one option was to leave the stage and never come back, but we decided to continue and play” what they could with the means they had, namely “the songs where Stefan plays bass. From the stage we made several announcements (in German) to explain that there was a technical problem that could not be solved at the moment. We made this clear several times.”
Molko explains that “Placebo don't use backing tracks. It's all 100% live. And yet it's clear that this isn't enough for some people.” Technical problems and shortened sets “are things that happen in live performances. And that's something no band can control.”
“Situations like this are inevitable. If they still make you angry, we suggest you go see the bands where most of the music you hear is recorded. We also suggest you put things into perspective and try to take a different point of view than your own, if you can. It's a polite way of saying: get a life.”
Moral: “Most things in life are out of our control and even though we are strong, electricity is much more powerful than us. No one is forcing you to come to one of our concerts, it is your choice. Feel free to exercise this choice in the future and please stop insulting our loyal fanbase in the virtual world.”
