Pet Shop Boys / The Ting Tings

Mencap's 'Little Noise Sessions' have been providing much needed financial support to the "voice of learning disability" charity for the past 5 years. Curated each season by DJ and ambassador for Mencap, Jo Whiley, the events have historically seen some of the many of the biggest popular music acts playing acoustic sets and not heard before collaborations in the delightful surroundings of Islington's Union Chapel.

With this year celebrating the 5th anniversary, the format of the Sessions has been slightly updated. Following the traditional Union Chapel run, which this year saw performances from the likes of Tom Jones, Paolo Nutini and Hurts, a couple of extra concerts were scheduled. Saturday saw festival favourites, Scissor Sisters, play the intimate 350 capacity ex-ballroom, London's Bush Hall, and tonight, renamed as a Big Noise Session, saw Pet Shop Boys bring their much lauded show to Hammersmith's Apollo theatre. The evening is both the finale of this year's Mencap Sessions and also the final show of the Pet Shop Boys 18 month 'Pandemonium' world tour, previously having performed in countless countries and headlining, to much acclaim, the Other Stage at this year's Glastonbury Festival.

Unusually, and despite their ability to consistently sell out arenas around the world, the venue was nowhere near sold out. Downstairs standing seemed pleasantly busy but not too crowded; but the balcony was perhaps only half full. This did nothing to dent the atmosphere though, and we had free roam to choose preferred seats.



A strange choice of support act for the electro-pop headliners, The Ting Tings were on stage first to attempt to warm the crowd. Launching with their poppy 'Great DJ', a 40 minute set of noisy indie-rock followed. The watching crowd were not exactly lapping it up, many stood with folded arms. The bar seemed to be doing a good trade though. Unsurprisingly, The Ting Tings finished their set with their number one hit, 'That's not my name', perhaps the only song of the set known to the mainly 30+ audience. Very energetic, but not well paired with the Pet Shop Boys.

The stage was cleared of The Ting Tings' equipment to the sounds of some great house music through the PA. This, a much better choice of accompaniment to the main act, did well to build the mood of the impatient crowd, whom were shouting for their boys.

The stage was set, the sound system was turned up, and the chimes of set opener 'Heart' thundered through the theatre; Neil Tennant's voice repeating "beat, a heart beat". Piles of white boxes towered from the stage, colourful projections displayed on them. 2 figures walked on stage. Lego-like, with coloured boxes on their heads, taking position behind a keyboard. Not the Pet Shop Boys though, but two of their backing singers/dancers, whom were to mime keyboard playing, staccato-like.



A much grander entrance for Tennant and Lowe; from doorways created in the box towers, our boys, with matching boxes on their heads, walked out to much applause and took their positions. Tennant, centre-stage as the main performer of the show; with Chris Lowe taking control of the bank of computers, sequencers and keyboards that provide the soundtrack to the show.

The reinvented set-opener is followed by the high energy 'Did You See Me Coming?' and one of my personal favourites, the very danceable 'Love etc.', dedicated by Tennant to John Lennon on the 30th anniversary of his untimely death.

A Pet Shop Boys concert is unlike many others; as pioneers of sample-based electronic pop, there are no live musicians on this tour, unlike some of their earlier forays into live performance. Lowe does intermittently add some drumming of pads and possibly some keyboard riffs; but on the whole, the show is primarily a visual and sensory extravaganza with Tennant providing vocals, fantastically choreographed dancers acting out the songs, and a number of men in white coats and hard hats rearranging the many boxes on stage ready for the dancers to climb.

Classic song follows classic song, and we can't stop ourselves from singing along to every word, and although I've never liked the camp 'Go West', the dancing and projections keep my attention throughout.

Gladly, the back catalogue gets a good airing, with the first and last tracks from debut album, 'Please' being segued together perfectly: 'Two Divided By Zero' into much a improved version of 'Why Don't We Live Together', reminding me a little of Rockwell's 1984 classic, 'Somebody's Watching Me'. The tempo is kept fairly high for the next few songs, with 'Always On My Mind' leading to a wonderful re-working of 'Left To My Own Devices' closing the section.



The pace is lowered, and stage given over to the dancers to accompany slower numbers 'Do I Have To?', 'Kings Cross', 'The Way It Used To Be', and finally 'Jealousy'. The latter providing much hilarity to the audience as the dancers throw boxes at each other during their choreographed 'fight'.

With the audience itching to dance again, the set returns to the up-tempo numbers. 'Suburbia' sees the dancers in city suits, stripping to glittery micro dresses, and to the audience's glee, finally removing their box head coverings to reveal themselves as beautiful blond twins.

Audience favourite, 'What Have I Done To Deserve This?' sees massive projections of Dusty Springfield projected onto the wall behind the stage, before the dancers retreat for yet another costume change, reappearing in colour coordinated sports wear for 'All Over The World'.

The tempo remains at pace, and we move into the Brazilian style 'Se A Vida E' mixed into 'Domino Dancing' blended with Coldplay's Viva la vida', before the set is destroyed in an wash of strobes for the intro of 'It's A Sin'. The audience are on their feet, if they weren’t already, and Tennant powers his way through the final song of the set, before leaving the stage amid an explosion of glitter confetti.



Of course, there's always an encore, and tonight we are treated to two! New song 'Together' is followed by career starting 'West End Girls', and the stage is left for a second time. Not to disappoint though; as its December, we are treated to a festive song, 'It doesn't Often Snow At Christmas'. Dancing Christmas trees are on stage, and the confetti cannons shower us with 'snow'.

Tennant's voice was a little pushed at times, and the venue's PA a little shrill; but all in all, a fantastic show that I'm glad I finally had the opportunity to see.

Set List:
Heart
Did You See Me Coming?
Pandemonium
Love Etc.
Building A Wall
Go West
Two Divided By Zero
Why Don’t We Live Together
New York City Boy
Always On My Mind
Left To My Own Devices
Do I Have To?
Kings Cross
The Way It Used To Be
Jealousy
Suburbia
What Have I Done To Deserve This?
All Over The World
Se A Vida E / Domino Dancing / Viva La Vida
It's A Sin

Encore 1:
Together
West End Girls

Encore 2:
It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.