Placebo: Fiona Brice myspace blog entry on Nov. 7, 2010

END OF TOUR
So the Placebo tour has finally drawn to a close after about 20 months 
of our lives in rehearsals and on the road. What an amazing journey. I 
have toured with bands for years but this was my first 'world tour' and 
they don't get much bigger than this one. Thank you to everyone that 
came to see the gigs, thank you to those that came to see several shows 
in different countries, thank you to everyone who gave me 
gifts/flowers/messages, sorry to everyone who had tickets to cancelled 
shows, thank you to the pilots who flew us safely to our destinations 
and of course to our management, tour managers, crew&drivers for 
taking care of us the whole time. 
I loved visiting all the incredible cities I had never seen before but 
want to return to (in no particular order: Moscow, St Petersburg, Kiev, 
Mexico City, Tokyo, Melbourne, Bologna, Lisbon, Carcassonne, Buenos 
Aires, Lima, Taipei, Bangsaray, Bucharest.. ) as well as returning to 
some of my favourite places in the world (Paris, Berlin, Brussels, 
Barcelona, Budapest, Prague, Bangkok, Sydney). I am amazed by the 
dedication of the Placebo fans and am flattered that they took me to 
heart! It was a shame we couldn't complete those last few dates but it 
was fitting that our last gigs were at Brixton Academy. We came home.

Outside Brixton Academy 28th September 2010
I learned many random things about myself during this trip, mostly that 
music is a powerful universal language and I am unswervingly committed 
to it as a vocation, that I have largely overcome my fear of flying, 
that I don't like performing with a hangover (oh wait, I knew that 
already..), that anxiety is a useless state of mind, that the people I 
travel with are some of the most wonderful and entertaining people I 
know, that I want to improve my language skills so I can communicate 
with more people. But more importantly, I have learned a lot about 
others. The more I travel around this world of ours, the more I 
understand that people all over the globe are fundamentally exactly the 
same. We live, we love, we multiply, we suffer pain and loss, we share 
laughter and tears, happiness and illness, are equally capable of 
profound thought and incredible stupidity, and are missed when we die. 
Subsequently the less I understand or am willing to tolerate 
nationalism, racism, religious fervour&fanaticism, gender 
discrimination and everything else that divides us locally and 
internationally. This is not news, but I feel there are only two choices
in life: love or hate. I choose love. What about you?
Now I am home and autumn is encroaching, the leaves are crunchy
underfoot, the afternoons are dark and knitwear is essential :) I went
to Texas to relax for a couple of weeks then returned with my friends 
Midlake and have just spent a week on the road with them. They are on 
their last stretch of their year-long tour and still working very hard 
on absolutely no sleep! Their gigs at the Roundhouse (London) and La 
Cigale (Paris) last week were magical.

Midlake after their show at la Cigale, and 7 years since they first played in Paris, next door at La Boule Noire.
Of course I am trying to take a break but am never far from the violin 
and will be doing a few guest spots and arrangements with other 
artists. I hope to be performing with the wonderful John Grant at the 
Queen Elizabeth Hall on 11th Nov and with Lucas Renney on 16, 17, 23 Nov
(see their websites for details). I wrote the string arrangements for 
both artists' current records and am happy to be able to play for them 
once in a while. I have just seen the artwork for the long-awaited The 
Separate album and am encouraged that it will be released soon, and I am
looking forward to Patrick Wolf's new album coming out in the next 
couple of months (I haven't heard the strings, brass, woodwind&
choir arrangements since we recorded them at Air studios, and can't wait
to hear the finished record!). 
Of course I am in touch with my Placebo bandmates and we'll see what the
future holds - I hope to be involved! Meanwhile, we're getting back to
normal life, whatever that means, and spending much-needed time with 
our loved ones.
So, enjoy the rest of 2010, stay in touch, keep listening :)
F x

Autumn leaves, Paris 3/11/10