Retro View By Efren J Martinez
Electric Remembering The Pet Shop Boys from the 1980’s isn’t something that I could embrace because I’ve never forgotten about them. It was 1983 when I purchased their album “Please” and since then, I’ve followed their music to their recent release “Electric”. On October 7th my wife and I spent a little time with Neal and Chris at The Fox Theater in Oakland for their Electric EP Tour. This was the 5th time we’ve seen them in concert and just when you think their concerts couldn’t get any better, they blow us all away with their show. Keep in mind, The Pet Shop Boys don’t just give you a concert, they give you something more on the stage that would be compared to a Broadway Show. Their shows deliver a great style in synthetic pop, but always include other vocalist/dancers, costumes and loads of theatrical mind-boggling special effects. During the Electric show, they not only featured mostly all of the new hits from Electric, but they also graced us with songs from everything in between. From their first big release Please to their New EP Electric. Their New EP that’s on sale now has eight original songs and one cover “The last to die for” that was written by Bruce Springsteen, which incidentally was my favorite first song. As I got into Electric, the song “Thursday” took me by surprise because in it included a short rap featuring the Artist Example. Rapping lyrics in a Pet Shop Boys song, who would have thought? But it wasn’t hard for the boys to figure out how to work it in, they are musical geniuses. Lets face it; they are more than your average 3-piece band. The Pet Shop Boys music science brings you so many instruments coupled with such complex synthesized beats that it instantly intoxicates you to move and dance with joy. On October 22 at the culmination of the Q Awards in London, The Pet Shop Boys were presented with the award for “Outstanding Contribution to Music”. Neil and Chris were there to accept the award which was presented to them by Robbie Williams.
As a D.J., their music has always been a treat to spin, in fact I’m not the only DJ that feels this way. Their song “Love Is a Bourgeois Construct” off their new EP has been holding at number 3 on the club dance charts and moving with the speed of light to number one according to Billboard. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier for The Pet Shop Boys. They are wonderful to their fans and my wife and I have had the pleasure in meeting with them at all of the five concerts we’ve attended since 1993 in The Bay Area. During the last concert, I learned that San Francisco is one of their favorite places in the USA. During the 3-day stay in the city, they actually tried to visit one of our national parks, but weren’t able to enter because of the previous government shut down. Sorry about that boys, or as The Brits would say. “It was a bloody mess.” Thankfully they took it in stride. Their new EP Electric is on sale now, and if you liked their Elysium EP that was released in September of 2012 you will love Electric. Here are a few other Pet Shop Boys Albums to look out for. Fundamental released June 13th 2006, Nightlife released December 19th 2006, Bilingual released January 1st 1996, “Very” released 1993.
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