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19/05 Orpheum Theatre, Boston Pet Shop Boys modest, moving By Jim Sullivan, Globe Staff, 5/21/2002 The last time the Pet Shop Boys were at the Orpheum Theatre, they sold it out. That was 1991. They did the same thing Sunday night, with as high a percentage of men in the audience as you'd find at, say, a Metallica concert. (We doubt, however, there's much overlap among fans. The English Pet Shop Boys have been beloved in the gay world since the band's 1986 inception.) Eleven years ago, singer-guitarist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, plus sidemen, dressed up their elegant electro-pop with elaborate skits and costumes and dancers galore. The musicians were mostly out of sight. At the time, Tennant told the Globe: ''We always thought that it wouldn't be particularly interesting for us, or maybe for the audience, to just go out and do our songs in a regular concert format. We wanted to do a concert where there was always something happening, where it didn't flag after 10 minutes.'' This time out, the Pet Shop Boys turned that notion around 180 degrees during an 18-song, 100-minute set - with only minor flagging. They played on a bare-bones stage backed by four touring musicians. It was all about music and mood, the music going back and forth between mid-tempo and up-tempo tunes, the mood ranging from reflective and quietly despairing to percolating and giddy. No matter what, though, a level of sadness, as well as a minimalist sort of grandeur, permeated most of the music. Lowe spoke not at all; Tennant kept his comments to a minimum. There was, indeed, a sort of modesty about the show. Nothing was over the top. The show began with ''Home and Dry'' - melodic, moving, gentle, with almost a country undertone - and then kicked into U2's ''Where the Streets Have No Name,'' which is a longtime PSB staple, a sly, pumped-up reinvention pitched to the dance floor. The band rode this kind of seesaw throughout the night, mixing tracks from its latest disc, ''Release,'' with old favorites. Mostly, the songs were about love and loss. ''I Get Along'' is a mid-tempo number about trying to gather strength after a breakup. ''London'' is about two Russians looking for good times. ''The Night I Fell in Love'' is a surprisingly moving song sung from the point of view of a schoolboy who gets invited backstage and has a romantic tryst with notorious homophobe Eminem. The
Pet Shop Boys put the pedal to the metal near the end with their
debut hit ''West End Girls'' and the winsome ''Go West,'' played
in two parts - the first with voice and piano, rendering it melancholic,
and the second full of electronic beats and triumph. They encored
with ''Being Boring'' and the glorious ''It's a Sin.'' They closed
with the soft and somber ''You Choose,'' leaving 2,800 people with
memories of beautiful melodies, strong beats, and intelligent lyrics.
A lovely ride. A soft landing. |
