To talk about Pet Shop Boys is to talk about the very evolution of pop music, electronic elements, and club culture. For over four decades, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have created hits that have not only transcended generations, taking root in the hearts of their fans, but have also gracefully withstood the drastic changes in the recording industry. They have done so with great class, precision, and meticulous sonic and visual architecture, transforming each performance into a spectacle.
With Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live, which has been touring the world since 2022, the experience was no different. This time, the Brazilian audience was treated to the complete structure of the tour and a generous setlist of 26 songs last Tuesday, the 3rd, at Suhai Music Hall. On stage, the duo was accompanied by a meticulously synchronized backing band, composed of electronic percussion, additional synthesizers and, of course, Lowe's imposing control console at the center of everything and Tennant's well-preserved voice, which doesn't seem to have been affected one bit by time.
"A world of dreams, of memories"
Contrary to the cliché about British punctuality, the show started 15 minutes late. The short interval wasn't a major obstacle, considering that a good portion of the audience was still arriving after facing the city's chaotic traffic, the congestion in the SP Market Shopping Mall parking lot, or the long lines at the bars. After a playful opening complete with drum rolls, the stage screen opened and the duo appeared sporting tuning fork masks amidst deafening screams from the audience.
Anyone who thinks that only those chasing the golden age of youth went there is mistaken. The meeting of generations provided a curious contrast and an extremely diverse audience. While part of the audience sported a more casual and contemporary look, others, who experienced the genre's heyday, dressed as if they were at a Studio 54 night, with sparkly dresses, high heels, and an air of "the new wavers drinking prosecco.".
In the opening songs, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe remained isolated between two streetlights, evoking both a typically London and New York urban landscape, while the backing band remained hidden behind a perforated iron screen. The stage design was meticulously planned to reflect the tour's aim of delving into decades of their career. Initially, the total focus on the duo in an urban environment functions as a metaphor for origin that expands as the stage opens up to reveal new layers and depths.
The visual design, by renowned theater designer Tom Scutt, immersed the audience in a dreamland filled with geometric shapes, textures, and a color palette with direct references to 1980s aesthetics. A key detail was the metamorphic lighting, which changed drastically with each song, redesigning the stage and altering the atmosphere of the Suhai Music Hall according to the narrative of each hit.
The peak of this visual dynamic occurred when the screen finally rose, revealing the band and expanding the stage, transforming the initial introspection into a grand, collective celebration of over forty years of career.
Trouble in paradise
Unexpected events are common in any concert, whether logistical or technical. Despite the charming appeal of the Suhai Music Hall, perhaps the venue wasn't the ideal setting to host a tour of the caliber and technical demands of the Pet Shop Boys. While the venue offered clear advantages, such as its strategic proximity to the train station and a physical structure with a giant screen capable of accommodating the duo's theatrical setup, its capacity of 9,000 people seemed to have been pushed to its limit, resulting in problems that did not go unnoticed by the fans.
The main critical point was the flow of the crowd. At one point, some sections became so overcrowded that it was impossible to dance or even breathe without bumping into someone. The management of the spaces also failed when the restroom in the general admission area reached its maximum capacity. Many spectators took advantage of the opportunity to bypass the division between sections, which overcrowded the premium area and generated widespread discomfort. This excess of people even impacted the bars, which were surrounded by fans trying to watch the performance from the sides, mixing with the service lines.
Another recurring problem was the acoustics. From the beginning, as a prelude while the audience was still in the venue, the DJ set sounded more like timid background noise than proper ambience, barely rising when the main show began. During the performance, the equalization fluctuated drastically, and the sound impact was only fully clear in specific areas of the venue, with those in the premium section being privileged. This ended up dissipating some of the magic of the dense and complex sound layers built by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe.
Full repertoire
Unlike their last show here at Primavera Sound 2023, and also more recent shows like the one in Chile, the setlist featured 26 songs; many of them from the duo's early career, with the only exception being the song "A New Bohemia" from their most recent album, Nonetheless.
As expected, the house's energy exploded with synthpop classics like "It's a Sin" and "(You Were) Always on My Mind," as well as the urban urgency of "Suburbia," the irreverence of "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)," the infectious beat of "Left to My Own Devices," and the ballad "Love Comes Quickly." But the emotional peak, that moment when the impeccable production and the audience's fervor finally came into perfect harmony, was during "Domino Dancing." The widespread chorus from the crowd was so massive that it broke the vocalist's composure, earning genuine praise from Tennant for the Brazilian energy.
Beyond the sheer impact of the super production, one of the most memorable moments of the night occurred during the performance of "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", when Neil Tennant shared vocals with Clare Uchima. As their voices intertwined, stage props were pushed by technicians dressed as construction workers, physically narrowing the stage space and creating a more intimate atmosphere.
The encore, like the entire show, had another peak of theatricality, beginning with black and white videos and even the costumes being prepared for "West End Girls," followed by "Being Boring," which closed the night.
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