| The Maxidrom festival has become truly international Several years ago, Maxidrom set a course for internationalization; Over the past three years, several famous Western bands have come to the festival - for example, the Finns HIM. But this year, Maxidrom outdid itself by making the English group Placebo, one of the most relevant rock bands in the world, the headliner. The team already performed with us a couple of years ago. Back then they were the favorites of the musical bohemian public, but today among Placebo fans there are many young girls who even try to look like vocalist Brian Molko. Strictly speaking, for a girl with thin features and short black hair, making herself look like Brian is a piece of cake. Moreover, Brian himself already looks like them, even in build. Before his performance, the singer walked an impressive distance between the dressing rooms and the Olympic stage a couple of times, without being recognized by anyone. But the moment he, Stefan Olsdal and Steve Hewitt (these two just look like real stars in real life) got up on stage, Brian picked up a guitar (Epiphone), a star turned on so bright that it’s scary to say. Placebo played a short set (about forty minutes) without any encores or special repertoire sophistication - just hits. What the same Maximum radio plays: Bitter End, English Summer Rain, the latest single Special Needs and a few old things - Special K, Pure Morning, Slave To The Wage. It’s boring to say that Placebo are energetic, charismatic and generally better than everyone else. The group has been established for a long time, is actively developing, and I think that in a couple of years we can expect something completely stunning from them. The best idea of what this band is like live now is provided by the recently released DVD Soulmates Never Die, which features a recording of the Paris concert. Yes, Placebo didn’t play at the Olimpiyskiy for as long as we would have liked, but judging by the public’s reaction, they energized everyone for the year ahead.
Russian participants of the festival are Russian participants, they are the dearest, the most beloved, because the festival began with Russian guitar pop-rock. This year, the veterans were “Night Snipers” and “Bi-2”. The leader of the “snipers” Diana Arbenina complained that her team was placed second, and not third, as promised. (In general, the organizational tension this time was felt somehow especially acutely.) “Bi-2” appeared on stage with an unexpected guest - the Latvian group Brainstorm, with whom they recently recorded a joint song. The Brainstorm team, by the way, was the very first foreign participant in the festival, when no one here knew him yet, and those who knew him called him “the Latvian Mumiy Troll.” As usual, Zemfira caused boundless excitement among journalists and the public. It seems that her popularity will never go away.
The other two foreign participants are the German-Irish line-up Reamonn and the Belgian trio Hooverphonic. Reamonn was at one time “discovered” by Maximum, who made his song Supergirl a real hit (later migrated to the German comedy “Moonlight Tariff”). Unfortunately, since then the band has only had a couple of relative hits. Although the musicians work very well, Reamonn’s destiny is most likely to be a “festival band”. In the overall context they looked great, and that's the main thing.
Hooverphonic are, in a sense, unique people. At least because the group comes from Belgium, where, as we remember, stars of all things came out: Jacques Brel, Salvatore Adamo, and a couple more modern ones. There is nothing specifically Belgian in this group (light melodic trip-hop), with the possible exception of the appearance of the singer Geike Ahnert and the occasional lyrics in French. Hooverphonic played a compelling set of five or six songs, including their first hit, Mad About You. This was perhaps the most relaxed and sentimental part of the festival. Alexander BELYAEV |
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