Electric Pet Shop Boys Live
Resorts World Convention Centre, Compass Ballroom
Last Saturday

Synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys are survivors.
Singer Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe made their debut back in 1986 with the album Please and quickly hit the big-time with indelible tracks such as West End Girls, Suburbia and Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money). Justin Timberlake would have been five then and Justin Bieber was not even a blip on the horizon.
The Boys’ popularity might have dipped from those early giddy heights, but make no mistake, they are no mere nostalgia act peddling past glories.
Last month, they released their 12th studio record, Electric, and they are in the midst of a world tour promoting it as well as their previous album Elysium (2012).
Over the course of their 100- minute-long gig, they flitted between familiar favourites and newer numbers and managed to consistently engage the sold-out crowd of 5,000 fans. And they did it with a relatively straightforward set-up which included two tireless dancers and a huge screen on stage. Meanwhile, Tennant dressed to impress, first appearing in a black spiky outfit that made him look like a punkish porcupine.
The evening began with the more recent songs such as Axis, A Face Like That and Memory Of The Future. Even so, there was a sheen of familiarity to them, thanks to the synth basslines and Tennant’s distinctive high and delicate vocals and crisp enunciation.
The light show kicked in when he later announced: “This show is called Electric.”
Beams of green, blue and white laser swept across the darkened hall and other effects came into play, from a shimmering fan-like projection to strobe-lighting.
Some of the inspiration for the concert came from the songs themselves. There is a line from I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind Of Thing which goes: “I feel like taking all my clothes off/Dancing To The Rite Of Spring”.
The Boys sample Stravinsky’s ballet of the same name and echo the idea of primitive rituals with the use of animal heads. Tennant wore a giant silver bull head over a dapper suit that made it seem as though the mythical Minotaur was serenading us.
Loud cheers would erupt whenever a classic hook came on, from Suburbia to Rent.
The set ended on a high when the duo reeled off the campily defiant It’s A Sin, irresistible Domino Dancing, joyously anthemic Go West and fabulous Always On My Mind in succession. The fans were up on their feet and dancing and singing along with abandon.
For the encore, Pet Shop Boys bridged past and present.
They played their first ever single, West End Girls, as well as their second single off Electric, Vocal.
It seemed a bit of a gamble to end the night with a new offering but the lyrics were fitting: “This is my kind of music/They play it all night long.”
(ST)