Experienced live: PET SHOP BOYS

Automatic translation. Improvements are constantly being worked on.

“Best of” tour
Hanover, ZAG Arena, June 29, 2024

The electro-pop pioneers Pet Shop Boys also stopped off at the ZAG Arena in Hanover as part of their “Best of” tour. Even though the German team’s round of 16 match in the European Football Championship was to take place that evening, the ZAG was sold out with almost 10,000 visitors. There was no support on this evening, so the show with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe started at 8pm sharp. The stage design was initially extremely minimalist: just the two main protagonists, two street lamps and an LED wall, plus spotlights and large video walls on both sides of the stage on which the two could be seen with their distinctive masks. After a long intro, they started with “Suburbia” – without much movement, but with a clearly noticeable bass and Neil’s crystal-clear vocals. And despite the seating, the Hanoverians could no longer stay in their seats.

Singer Neil quickly grew tired of his mask and standing still wasn’t quite his thing either. So he kept walking up and down and standing under or by the lanterns while he sang. One well-known favorite song followed the next until he addressed the audience: “Hannover it’s nice to be back it’s been so long!”. He explained that all the songs played that evening were hit singles. Then the LED wall, which had previously separated the rest of the band from the boys as such, went up, revealing the entire stage set. Chris was now standing behind his keyboard in the middle of the stage and had swapped his mask for sunglasses and a cap. Neil had the entire lower area to himself, walking back and forth with a permanent smile on his face. From this point on, there was also more and more colorful light and videos on the huge LED walls, which made the show absolutely worth seeing. No confetti, no pyros, apart from the grandiose light show, the Pet Shop Boys skillfully kept their show minimalist.

Neil’s voice was also absolutely remarkable. Considering the frontman’s age – he’s about to turn seven – his voice is still full, clear and completely captivated everyone present. There was no sign of the local newspaper claiming that the Pet Shop Boys had arrived “by train and in a bad mood”. Perhaps with the exception of Chris behind his keyboard, who kept a straight face.

During “A New Bohemia”, the ZAG Arena was transformed into a sea of cell phone lights and “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” was performed as a duet with a female band member. Four outfit changes and almost two hours later, “It’s a Sin” was the last song for the time being. However, two encores were planned with “West End Girls” and “Being Boring”, which were celebrated with cheers. Of course, the band was also introduced once again before the stage emptied very abruptly. Back in the here and now after this journey through time, there was good news for the soccer fans in attendance: The match had to be briefly interrupted due to the thunderstorm. – And so you could still experience both.

Text & Photos: Mina Wagner

Setlist:
“Suburbia” – “Can You Forgive Her?” – “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)” – “Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You)” – “Rent” – “I Don’t Know What You Want But I Can’t Give It Any More” – “So Hard” – “Left to My Own Devices” – “Single-Bilingual/Se a vida é (That’s the Way Life Is)” – “Domino Dancing” – “Dancing Star” – “New York City Boy” – “A New Bohemia” – “Jealousy” – “Loneliness” – “Love Comes Quickly” – “Paninaro” – “Always on My Mind (Gwen McCrae Cover)” – “Dreamland” – “Heart” – “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” – “It’s Alright (Sterling Void Cover)” – “Vocal” – “Go West (Village People Cover)” – “It’s a Sin” — “West End Girls” – “Being Boring”