Another hot day in Manchester. Yeah, believe it people. Cloudy but warm. So how better to spend it than queuing by the doors of what used to be known as the Manchester Evening News Arena at four in the afternoon with nothing but a MacDonald's milkshake to keep you going? Yep, for the first time, I've decided to try to get down the front to watch one of my favourite bands, Pet Shop Boys. And in order to do so, I'd have to get there 2 hours early for the doors opening at 6:00pm. And unsurprisingly I wasn't alone as about 30 other fans were there already.
The previous Pet Shop Boys tour, "Pandemonium" was brilliant - possibly their pinnacle live, and I should know, having seen the show three times. It would be hard to top, and the signs weren't good - a rum album ("Elysium") last year, and a new one "Electric" delayed and yet to be released at the time of the two shows in the UK. An article about the duo's first shows of this tour in the latest Q magazine didn't really give much confidence, as the initial concept for the show was scrapped quite late in the day, and apparently the end result was compromised. Oh dear.
I needn't have worried. What a show. Whilst not as immediately spectacular as the last tour, the simpler "Electric" concept works amazingly. I think being down the front changes your focus on the show, as you're forced to take in less of the elaborate visuals and concentrate more on the dancers and our intrepid duo themselves, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. It's hard to describe the show adequately. Whereas the previous tour could be summed up in one word (boxes) this one takes three words. Lasers. Horns. Mirrorball.
The lasers come in for their version of the song they wrote back in the day for Patsy Kensit's Eighth Wonder, "I'm Not Scared", and left most of the crowd like kids going "ooh, lasers". And that song was a bit of a summation of Neil and Chris's setlist selection for this tour - not scared to play new stuff mixed with songs not played in a long time, as well as some familiar hits. So we get the likes of "Fugitive" (an extra track on the deluxe version of "Fundamental"), "I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)" (a b-side from 1988), and "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" (not performed since 1993). Eight of the songs were from their current albums. Out of the opening 6 songs, only one ("Opportunities") would have been immediately familiar to someone coming expecting the hits. So it's a challenging show musically, although long term fans such as myself lapped it up. And like the previous tour, producer Stuart Price's arrangements revamp much of their back catalogue to tremendous effect, making most of the night like some kind of rave circa 1991.Horns, I said. Not musically - that would be awful (some of us still shudder at Courtney Pine's noodling on the 1989 tour... even though that wasn't horns. But you know what I mean) but the horns as you'd find on a bull. Or minotaur. Or in this case, two dancers dressed up like this. For some reason that isn't immediately apparent. And I thought the boxes on head was a daft concept. Anyway, it works very effectively.
Mirrorball. Well yes, Chris Lowe at one point dons a helmet like a mirrorball, as you can see from the photo. It's daft, silly but it makes total sense and is very Pet Shop Boys. As is the whole show. For a band who once were quite proud in the late 80's of "not being able to cut it live", they're now actually a really good live act. Neil Tennant strides about the stage these days like an old pro, hamming it up amazingly whilst Chris does what Chris does best - apparently very little, but actually such a lot.
- Axis
- One More Chance / Face Like That
- Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)
- Memory of the Future
- Fugitive
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- Suburbia
- I'm Not Scared
- Invisible
- Last to Die
- Somewhere
- Leaving
- Thursday
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- Miracles
- It's a Sin
- Domino Dancing
- Go West
- Always on My Mind
- Encore:
- West End Girls
- Vocal
