Christmas is supposed to be a time to let your hair down, but no one seems to have told the Pet Shop Boys' fans. Many of the crowd at Wembley were hardcore Pet-lovers, and approached the venue compiling their fantasy set list and swapping choice Neil Tennant interview quotes. Once inside, however, it took meaty anthems like Go West to get them fired up. Perhaps they had seen the Boys too often; I confess I was impressed, exhilarated and thoroughly charmed.
They are not the perfect live band. Even when supplemented by ricocheting percussion, Chris Lowe's music would sound better in a club. You need to be seriously dancing to appreciate the heavy bass, the lack of contrast and the way each song is at least a minute too long (snip them and another 10 songs could be played - Rent and Suburbia for starters).
They pull off an arena show because their songs are uplifting and because Tennant, despite the fact that he does little more than stroll across the stage and shimmy his right leg, has mesmerising stage presence. When the show opened with For Your Own Good, Tennant's face projected on to a screen, it seemed it would concentrate on new material and not even be live. When the screen tumbled to the opening bars of West End Girls, the effect was thrilling. From then on, the Boys surfed the back catalogue, alternating tracks from Nightlife with raucously revamped versions of the classics.
Resplendent in spiky orange wig and ludicrous striped culottes, Tennant sported an infectious grin and relished every minute. His between-song banter was enjoyably daft: grabbing a guitar for the gorgeous new single You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk, he settled down with the caramel-voiced backing singers for a Von Trapp-style session. Brassy versions of Shameless, Opportunity and It's a Sin reeled into each other, Tennant delighting in their links. Zaha Hadid's dramatic, swooping platform and angular, steely-white screen were a brilliant backdrop, soaking up light and reflecting crisp images.
During What Have I Done to Deserve This?, videos of Dusty Springfield in her beehive days melted into a more recent film, perfectly synchronised so that she appeared to be dueting with Tennant. It was eerily beautiful, and a reminder that the Pet Shop Boys appeal because they are forward- looking while respecting old-fashioned pop traditions.
