As I was walking home in the rain from tonight’s Pet Shop Boys show, I found myself thinking about all of the acts I’ve 
seen over the last 40 years. It’s an interesting mix, from Pink Floyd, King Crimson, and the original Genesis, through Depeche Mode and OMD, to October Project and Porcupine Tree, with repeat performaces by Al Stewart, the Grateful Dead, and the Legendary Pink Dots sprinkled across the years.
But tonight was, without doubt, the best show I’ve ever been to, the one that brought me the greatest delight. It was simply splendid.
It was also the first time in their 21 year career that the Pet Shop Boys have played in Seattle, and there were a lot of people who were clearly experiencing that “they’re playing our song” feeling. Listening to the HNRG of songs like Suburbia, Opportunities, and Shopping it’s strange to realize that they were hits in the mid-80s.
The production was excellent: singers, dancers, constumes, staging, and so forth. But it was the songs that we were there for. Seven cuts from the latest album, “Fundamental”, several of the early hits, and three of the big anthems: Always On My Mind (Maybe I Didn’t Love You), Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You), and the grand finale Go West. I’m reluctant to pick any favourites, but I particularly liked the understated presentation of Rent and the relentless power of Integral.
The setlist:
Psychological
Left To My Own Devices
I’m with Stupid
Suburbia
Can You Forgive Her?
Minimal
Shopping
Rent
Dreaming of the Queen
Heart
Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money)
Integral
Interval
Numb
Se A Vida É (Thats The Way Life Is)/Domino dancing
Flamboyant
Home and dry
Always On My Mind
Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You)
West End Girls
The Sodom And Gomorrah Show
Encore
So hard
It’s a Sin
Go west
Whew! The PSB always did give good value for money, didn’t they?