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06/07 Brixton Academy
9 July 2002 More than twenty years after they first met and formed the Pet Shop Boys, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe still continue to develop their unique blend of classic pop, hi energy disco and clever lyrics. Since the release of their latest album Release, the duo have been on the road for their most extensive tour to date. It was no coincidence that the tour hit London on the day of the biggest European gay festival – Mardi Gras. But while the band’s following has always been largely gay, it would be wrong to assume that their music is so stereotypical that it wouldn’t appeal to a good crossed-section of the population. They may not attract them in the same numbers but it was obvious, looking at the audience, that the Pet Shop Boys fan base has gracefully reached the very loyal early to mid thirties. After years of putting on stunning and outrageously expansive shows this tour was surprisingly low-key. There was no huge stage, no dancers, no grand concept. Instead the Pet Shop Boys have gone for a full band line up, including two guitarists, one extra keyboard player and a percussionist. Right from the beginning the Pet Shop Boys asserted their new identity. The show opened with a rendition of Home And Dry, led by Neil dressed in a black t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, on guitar. The song kicked off in true PSB fashion before mellowing down to reach the more controlled tone of their recent album. The connection with Behaviour was made perfectly clear with the next song, Being Boring, returned to its former glory after the extravagant reworking heard on the last tour. A rather surprisingly tamed down version of Red Letter Day followed, once a blazing disco number, it was given a more subdued touch. And the forthcoming single, I Get Along was reminiscent of Oasis - although admittedly in their better years. It was then time to show the audience that Neil and Chris hadn’t turned their back on the past. Always On My Mind in its full frontal inferno splendour sent the crowd into a frenzy and even the Brixton Academy security staff had trouble keeping everyone under control. Domino Dancing, Sexy Northerner and Where The Streets Have No Name and Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You were all equally appreciated, with the more restrained Birthday Boy, London and Love Is A Catastrophe providing the necessary moments of relief in between. The versatility of the Pet Shop Boys’ compositions is not always fully recognised, but the lounge-esque version of West End Girl gave an opportunity for them to show it off. The idea may sound incongruous but it actually worked rather well. Moments later, the boys once again brought the house down with their version of the Village People’s Go West, Left To My Own Devices and It’s A Sin providing the main body of the encore. With
a well balanced set, made up of old and new songs in almost equal
measures, the Pet Shop Boys’ new style proved to be a rather
more interesting live experience, which mixed intimacy with dance
floor credibility. They still know how to put on a great show. -- Ah, sweet release PET
SHOP BOYS So, the Pet Shop Boys have gone rock'n'roll. Well, OK, so Neil Tennant is hardly going to clear up in the Oasis swaggering stakes and the two onstage guitars (one strummed by none other than Mr Tennant) match Chris Lowe plus additional assistant in the synth stabbing departments. However the Pet Shop Boys' new release 'Release' (Oh ha-ha boys.) definitely has more than a hint of indie (with tunes, mind) about it. And, despite having a house DJ as support, the stage decidedly errs away from erstwhile PSB architect-designed mega-bucks frippery towards, well, not much really. There is some percussion, the synths, modest amp stacks, a stool for Tennant to perch on for the slowies and the back brick wall of the venue. They open with 'Home and Dry', the first single from the new album. It may jangle like a polite Stereophonics number, but it's classic PSB fare: a tune that creeps up and massages the heart-strings into quiet pop ecstasy. As if to rub home this point, next up is 'Being Boring', a poignantly euphoric opus which your correspondent has to admit to regarding as a near pop miracle. Being beefed up with six stringed beasts, oh-so modestly emphasising its potential power chords, does it plenty of favours. And so the glorious tunage continues. There's old numbers: 'West End Girls' gets the expected crowd roar, even though its synth-pop essence sounds slightly thin compared to more guitared-up tracks; 'Love Comes Quickly'; 'Left To My Own Devices'. Then newer material: 'Red Letter Day' emerges as a fully fledged diamond amidst the fuller stage sound; 'New York City Boy' deserts the rock trappings to pump along like the dance track it is; 'The Night I Fell In Love' raises a wry chuckle with its cheeky skit on having a (gay) affair with Eminem. Blinding in parts, then, although Chris Lowe just sits there, as expected, and Neil Tennant, although engaging, when stripped of theatrics and staging paraphernalia doesn't quite make the electric frontperson the Brixton Academy requires, a fact not helped by his frequently only being visible as a back-lit silhouette. And then there's the music: the wry, detailed nature of the Boys' songs mean that a few too many don't quite satisfactorily fill the Academy's great lumpen space, even with their new added guitar fizz. It's all very good, but it's still perhaps educational that the obvious crowd-rousing highlights are cover versions, songs that are undeniably big. The first is 'Go West', a song so daftly camp it couldn't fail (and yes, the male voice choir was on tape, as surely everyone found out), then 'Always On My Mind', proving that perhaps JXL wasn't quite as original as has been thought. The other was 'Where The Streets Have No Name', not the U2 bits (which, with the addition of guitars, sounded more like U2's original than the Pet Shop Boys), but the Frankie Valli 'Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You' sections, which send the post-Mardi Gras crowd into justifiable raptures. An evening of such pop genius is not to be sniffed at and can still get a hearty thumbs up, even if, overall, Neil and Chris don't always hit the heights they're aiming for. WORDS: Robert Heller |
PET
SHOP BOYS LEFT TO THEIR OWN DEVICES 
