Michael and I saw the Pet Shop Boys Saturday night at Radio City Music Hall. The crowd was just what you'd expect -- like everyone you used to see at Splash 15 years ago ... 15 years later (they might wanna get the Indigo Girls to open for them next time).
We had a really good time, although we couldn't help but feel just a little underwhelmed by the whole thing. Most of the reviews -- ranging from the guy sitting next to me to Kelefa Sanneh to Joe's blog -- seem to think the show was just perfect. Michael and I couldn't help but notice that they went onstage 30 minutes late and then had the nerve to take took a lengthy "intermission" in the middle of the set (what they needed a break from was beyond us: they didn't seem to be playing a single live note and while Neil was singing live, even that was disputable at times). Joe claims they did more than 25 songs, but it sure didn't feel like it.
Probably most disappointing was their skipping "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" -- their second biggest single of all time that also happens to be Michael's and my favorite song. (They also could have done something from "Behavior," our favorite album, but that's another topic; it is a very sad album and all.) They even had a fun female backup singer with wonderful soulful voice who could have sung the Dusty Springfield part perfectly, but I guess when you have a catalog as huge as theirs someone's bound to get hurt. "Rent" was a surprise treat, as was "Home and Dry." And they didn't overlook "Suburbia" or "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money" (a huge crowd favorite), so I have to give them credit for that.
The best thing they did was ending the show with their rousing version of "Go West." The whole place was stood up and began waving their arms and feeling very happy ... and by the time it was over all was forgiven.
*Portions of this concert may have been prerecorded for your music-listening pleasure.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Pet Shop Boys Live* at Radio City
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4 comments:
Have you been going to concerts of late - they ALL go on 30 minutes past time and take a million intermissions - it's called "shitty value for your ticket dollar". ;-) If they didn't sing "What Have I Done to Deserve This" I'd have gone postal...*BAH*!
hi Ken:
It was a great concert. I saw them in Toronto on the wednesday before.
Do you know the name of the last song they sang before the intermission? I don't knwow the name... HELP>
I always see them when they tour - love their shows.
They did "What have I..." on the last tour with a video of Dusty on screen singing.
PSB have almost a cult following by now. I think their concert attendee's fall into the group of "I love them" or "it was ok".
I'll be seeing them next month here in SF and two days later in LA - can't wait.
The song before the interval was "Integral" from their latest album "Fundamental" and they went on 30 minutes late because they had to wait for the audience to get in to their seats.
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