Placebo to play anti-slavery gig

BANGKOK (AFP) - Alternative guitar band Placebo are to headline the first rock concert at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple complex, putting years of catering to their fans’ teenage angst behind them to speak out against human trafficking.
The December 7 gig, held as part an of an MTV Exit campaign, will transform the 12th century Khmer ruins into a rock venue that will also feature US band The Click Five and a host of other international and Cambodian stars.
Lead singer Brian Molko, best known for his androgynous looks and penchant for black nail polish, told AFP he felt “honoured” to play at the historic jungle temple complex. “It’s just one of the most breathtaking and unique places I have ever spent time in really,” the 35-year-old, who visited the ruins as a tourist three years ago, said in a telephone interview from London. “It’s also a very spiritual and quite calming place and so to be able to perform in front of it is just ridiculous.”
But taking on the one-off gig at the crumbling ruins has presented some technical difficulties for the London-based three-piece, whose hits include “Nancy Boy” and “Pure Morning”.
“We decided that since we don’t have access to a massive wall of sound... we have been forced to deconstruct our songs, tear them to pieces and put them back together in novel and unusual ways. “It’s very challenging and very stimulating,” he said, describing the end result as “more melody than bombast”.
Molko said he hoped the show will attract Cambodians as well as international fans and highlight the problem of this “modern form of slavery”.