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21 & 22/05 Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City THE
ARTS/CULTURAL DESK The Hammerstein Ballroom looked ready to give a dance party last Tuesday night. It had a pounding beat, a blinding light show and a roomful of people with their hands in the air. Then the Pet Shop Boys showed up, and soon the beat had been relegated to the background. Neil Tennant's voice took over as he sang a sad song about life on the road and lovers separated by ''dark and frantic trans-Atlantic miles.'' The Pet Shop Boys, a British duo, have made plenty of great dance music in their career: one of their first full-length releases was a collection of remixes, and they have used a wide range of club-friendly beats.
The group's new album, ''Release'' (Sanctuary), is a collection of 10 songs about love and loneliness, one of which has already achieved minor notoriety. To introduce ''The Night I Fell in Love,'' Mr. Tennant said, ''It's about a young rap fan who goes to see his hero, and something very surprising happens to him.'' The hero is Eminem, the rapper who has been accused of homophobia; the ''very surprising'' episode is a romantic encounter. The lyrics are less elegant than the tune, but the audience cheered as Mr. Tennant, who is gay, gave Eminem a dose of his own medicine. Near the end of the song, the fan submits his report card: ''He was passionate -- I guess I'd rate him a 9 out of 10.'' In the second half of the concert, the Pet Shop Boys performed some of their old dance-pop hits. Mr. Tennant rapped his way through ''West End Girls,'' and the audience sang along to ''Go West,'' the Village People song that the Pet Shop Boys rejuvenated in 1993. Even at their most crowd-pleasing, however, the Pet Shop Boys embraced anonymity. Mr. Tennant and Mr. Lowe were silhouettes for most of the night, illuminated only by lights aimed from the stage into the audience. Trying to watch them perform was like staring at the sun. Maybe the idea was to make the audience feel like characters in the songs, coming to grips with the impossibility of intimacy. The show ended with ''You Choose,'' a placid ballad about unrequited love. In his thin, gentle voice, Mr. Tennant offered some brutal advice to anyone wallowing in self-pity: ''Learn the lesson, take the blows/You didn't fall in love by chance -- you chose.'' Published: 05 - 28 - 2002 , Late Edition - Final , Section E , Column 1 , Page 5 -- STYLE
DESK | May 26, 2002, Sunday By
SMITH GALTNEY (NYT) 740 words ''We're doing 'Regis and Kelly' in the morning,'' said Mr. Tennant, the one with the thin gray hair. ''We've got to get up at 6,'' said Mr. Lowe, the one in the baseball cap. Corrections (from NYTimes.com) (NYT)
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