Pet Shop Boys at The O2

The final night out in our Gadding About Week was a trip along to Docklands to the O2 arena to see the Pet Shop Boys and their Pandemonium Tour.

First up was Frankmusik who was, um, well, he was. The sound was quite thin and echo-y so he probably sounds a lot better on record, but I wasn't impressed. His voice and phrasing made me think of the '80s and the way he dressed (skinny jeans, light jacket and garish shoes) and moved (jump up and down and jump to the side) made me think of Plastic Bertrand... Lack of stage presence didn't help. He did one song, about 'your boyfriend' or something that sounded quite fun. Then out to the bar for the interval before the main event.

The backdrop was two walls of big boxes/cubes and when the PSB lads walked on stage they had cubes over their heads, with Neil singing 'Heart' and an animated heart and veins projected onto the walls. The cubes came off the PSBs but the walls stayed for the first half dozen songs or so with various things projected, including the colour tapestry of squares that features on the tick on the cover of 'Yes', the latest album being promoted on the tour (the same design effects covered Chris's dj booth). Then the wall was pulled down and the cubes re-arranged loads of times into different sets with the backdrop behind becoming the display wall for the barrage of lights - it was a great idea for a set and I loved the men in white coats and caps coming on every few songs to re-arrange the boxes that made them a part of the show as well as the four dancers that often wore the cube-heads.

The sound for the PSBs was much better, much fuller, and Neil could clearly be heard. The focus was on songs from 'Yes', at least in the first half of the show which is understandable, but I think I'd have preferred some of the songs to come later in the set. 'Love, Etc', 'Did You See Me Coming?' and 'Pandemonium' (the name of the tour) would have been better coming later in the set as highlights (they're all excellent songs) rather than in the first part of the set when you're still getting into the experience. All three were highlights and great fun live.

With a back catalogue like the Pets there's always going to a problem in constructing a setlist to please everyone but I thought it worked really well, with lots of light and shade, joy and drama. A couple less slow songs would work for me and I'd hoped for 'The Sodom and Gomorrah Show' but my hopes were dashed. On the other hand, there were fab versions of 'It's A Sin' with the set flooded in red lights, a frantic 'Suburbia', a majestic 'All Over The World', a joyous 'Se A Vida E', a touching 'Being Boring' and a mad 'Go West'. There's something for everyone in the PSB songbook.

I had been nurturing a quiet little hope that Neil might introduce a special guest at some point to duet on a song ... okay, to be blunt, I wanted Phil Oakey to walk on stage to sing 'This Used To Be The Future' with Neil and Chris but they didn't play it. It was a silly hope, but a hope nonetheless. My spirits rose with this possibility with the first few synth-chords of the final encore song, harsh electronica from the '80s that turned into a hard (and fab) version of 'West End Girls'. No Mr Oakey but a great version of their classic hit that was impossible not to sing along to.

The Boys turned in a very confident and powerful performance, an evolving set changing behind them and a great light and projection show. Neil loved his black coats and hats while Chris was bit more sparkley in a Noddy Holder inspired mirrored jacket at one point. Chris also won the hat competition in the encore songs by wearing a tropical garden on his head (see the photo above with Chris in the white dj booth) - I *want* that hat!

And yes, I've already scored tickets for their show back at the O2 just before Christmas - I'm hoping for Christmas trees and carols... in a PSB-stylee of course.