Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

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G_Goalden
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Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#1 Post by G_Goalden »

I've just bought a new TV with a YouTube button on the remote so I pressed it, typed Pet Shop Boys and thought about what I could listen to in the background whilst working. I thought - what about the Performance tour?

It's now an hour later and I'm transfixed. How good was this show?

It hasn't aged a bit. It's completely mental and much, much better than I remember (and I saw it twice Blackpool & NEC). People were raving about the Talking Heads show in the summer because everyone just walked about - but this is on a different level. Loads of singers, loads of dancers - classical music, rave, all the songs that they would never play live anyone. Chris singing and dancing, surfboards, lawnmowers, electric chairs and five minute 'art piece' opening that just bizarre at a pop concert.

There is current debate (which has lasted 30 years) that Domino Dancing ended the Imperial stage - but this stage show suggests that it was at alive and well in at least 1991.

Treat yourself this weekend and watch it. It's bloody brilliant.

G.
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Marie loves PSB
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Re: Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#2 Post by Marie loves PSB »

We had to replace our beloved Tv some years ago. The newer Tv we replaced it with had "Smart TV" on it. I said to my Mum "Doubt we will be using that!" lol... How very wrong I was! I love YouTube more than all the other channels. 8) We should be really lucky to be honest as there is a lot of PSB's on it. There are some nice videos of the "Super Tour" and some of the first ever tour - the "1989 Tour" that I never ever seen before.


Many thanks to the fans that have posted on there. I have learnt a lot though watching YouTube and there is always something to look at on it.


Happy Viewing! :mrgreen:

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York Minster
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Re: Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#3 Post by York Minster »

It's definitely their best DVD/show, by a decent margin. I've converted non-fans by having them watch.
And tryin' to figure out what happened to 'Germaine Propaine'
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"What happened to the way you was rappin' when you was scandalous
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Plus he raps with his regular voice [BOOSH! BOOSH!]
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dtraversscott
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Re: Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#4 Post by dtraversscott »

I was there in Chicago. Every tour I've seen since was comparatively disappointing.
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Danimal
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Re: Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#5 Post by Danimal »

dtraversscott wrote: Mon 22 Oct 2018, 4:23 am I was there in Chicago. Every tour I've seen since was comparatively disappointing.
I was at the Detroit show, which was I think a day before or after the Chicago one. I wholeheartedly agree, everything after "Performance" has been relatively disappointing. I remember watching it from the general admission audience, a relatively small venue called the State Theatre at the time and the Fillmore now. It seemed impossible they could have fit such a huge production on such a small stage. It also wasn't like any show I've ever seen and I didn't know quite how to feel about it at the time as they weren't playing as a conventional band, and on many of the songs they weren't playing or singing at all. But as time passed and I went to more and more shows, it really stood out as special and extraordinary. To this day I feel it is the best concert I've ever attended.

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SynthMan Wales
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Re: Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#6 Post by SynthMan Wales »

I've seen PSB on every tour Savoy residency onwards and nothing matched my expectations having seen Performance on VHS.

I think the nearest has been the Fundamental tour and/ or Battleship Potemkin in Trafalgar Square.

I am very envious of those who managed to see it live.

Peak PSB, IMHO.

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Re: Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#7 Post by Andie »

I've only seen Performance on DVD but it's amazing! I don't think anything could top it!
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Re: Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#8 Post by Drico One »

Nothing could ever top Performance. I saw the very last show, in Dublin, one day after turning 19. Blown away.

All of their tours have been hugely enjoyable, but Performance was the apotheosis of everything they ever set out to do. The giant clock, the dystopian dorm, the blow up doll, the bondage, blow job, whip, and burning crucifix... It might all seem rather passé from 2018, but actually some of the staged choreography would probably be considered beyond the Pale (well, it was in Dublin) now. Let's face it, the paedophilia would probably be a bridge too far. But in 1991 Ireland, well, the Catholic Church was burning its reputation to the ground. Performance, like so much of what they did at their peak, was impeccably timed.

I don't think I've ever been as transfixed by a piece of popular entertainment as I was that night. I came out of the show on a high. The sheer scale of the production was unparalleled - and one must remember that this was a ground-breaking pop show, in general, at the time. It set new standards.

The Russian Revolution, moustachioed surfers in fluorescent top hats, electric shock therapy, mental illness, dancing angels, paparazzi pigs, vacuum cleaning knicker-dropping floozies, and a stripping Chris all on the one stage. The whole extravaganza was outrageously presented - and I'm not even mentioning the music.

To be honest, the DVD does absolutely no justice whatsoever to proceedings, but I'm glad of it. This was a one-off.

Drico.
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Re: Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#9 Post by TallThinMan »

Performance was the first concert I ever went to and it’s still my favourite. I was 17. It was a Sunday and I caught a coach from Lincoln to the Birmingham N.E.C. for the 90-odd mile trip. I was supposed to be going with my friend who’d got me into a lot of PSB material a few years previously, but he wimped out because we had mock A-levels the next day. I didn’t give a stuff about that!

I was so shy that I didn’t talk to anyone else on the coach and didn’t even get up to see if there was a toilet, in spite of being desperate for a piss during most of the journey. When we arrived the venue security confiscated my Sony Walkman. I got to my seat not that far from the front and immediately felt excited to be surrounded by tens of thousands of fellow Pet Shop Boys fans. Stick with the gang if you want to belong. They announced that (the) performance was being filmed.

When This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave started I couldn’t believe how loud and good it sounded. I could feel the percussion in the pit of my stomach. Everyone stood up, you couldn’t help but move. I remember Chris mentioning somewhere that they were using a 70,000 watt Turbopower sound system “which all the ravers out there will know is very impressive.”

It was an amazing evening. An aural and visual spectacle. I’ve enjoyed many of their live productions since, but Performance was the one where they first and most fully realised their previously talked about vision of what a theatrical pop concert ought to be like. For me the only one that’s come close to the sheer euphoria I felt then was seeing Inner Sanctum in 2016, but that was very different in so many ways.

When it was time to leave I collected my Walkman and half-deaf emerged into complete blackness and the vastness of the venue car park. I didn’t have a bloody clue where my coach was! Somehow I managed to find it and board with about a minute to spare. When it arrived back in Lincoln I had to walk four miles home at one o’ clock in the morning, because I didn’t have any money for a taxi as I’d spent it all on the programme, a badge and a T-shirt. What is now irritatingly referred to as “merch”. I didn’t care about the long walk because I had the first Electronic album (newly released) on my Walkman.

I can’t remember how the mock exam a few hours later went, but I’m still talking about that gig.
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Re: Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#10 Post by Ghost within this house »

Drico One wrote: Thu 25 Oct 2018, 7:35 pm Nothing could ever top Performance. I saw the very last show, in Dublin, one day after turning 19. Blown away.

All of their tours have been hugely enjoyable, but Performance was the apotheosis of everything they ever set out to do. The giant clock, the dystopian dorm, the blow up doll, the bondage, blow job, whip, and burning crucifix... It might all seem rather passé from 2018, but actually some of the staged choreography would probably be considered beyond the Pale (well, it was in Dublin) now. Let's face it, the paedophilia would probably be a bridge too far. But in 1991 Ireland, well, the Catholic Church was burning its reputation to the ground. Performance, like so much of what they did at their peak, was impeccably timed.

I don't think I've ever been as transfixed by a piece of popular entertainment as I was that night. I came out of the show on a high. The sheer scale of the production was unparalleled - and one must remember that this was a ground-breaking pop show, in general, at the time. It set new standards.

The Russian Revolution, moustachioed surfers in fluorescent top hats, electric shock therapy, mental illness, dancing angels, paparazzi pigs, vacuum cleaning knicker-dropping floozies, and a stripping Chris all on the one stage. The whole extravaganza was outrageously presented - and I'm not even mentioning the music.

To be honest, the DVD does absolutely no justice whatsoever to proceedings, but I'm glad of it. This was a one-off.

Drico.
Couldn't agree more! I was 18 when I saw Performance at the NEC Birmingham and it blew me away.
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Re: Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#11 Post by Ghost within this house »

TallThinMan wrote: Thu 25 Oct 2018, 8:15 pm Performance was the first concert I ever went to and it’s still my favourite. I was 17. It was a Sunday and I caught a coach from Lincoln to the Birmingham N.E.C. for the 90-odd mile trip. I was supposed to be going with my friend who’d got me into a lot of PSB material a few years previously, but he wimped out because we had mock A-levels the next day. I didn’t give a stuff about that!

I was so shy that I didn’t talk to anyone else on the coach and didn’t even get up to see if there was a toilet, in spite of being desperate for a piss during most of the journey. When we arrived the venue security confiscated my Sony Walkman. I got to my seat not that far from the front and immediately felt excited to be surrounded by tens of thousands of fellow Pet Shop Boys fans. Stick with the gang if you want to belong. They announced that (the) performance was being filmed.

When This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave started I couldn’t believe how loud and good it sounded. I could feel the percussion in the pit of my stomach. Everyone stood up, you couldn’t help but move. I remember Chris mentioning somewhere that they were using a 70,000 watt Turbopower sound system “which all the ravers out there will know is very impressive.”

It was an amazing evening. An aural and visual spectacle. I’ve enjoyed many of their live productions since, but Performance was the one where they first and most fully realised their previously talked about vision of what a theatrical pop concert ought to be like. For me the only one that’s come close to the sheer euphoria I felt then was seeing Inner Sanctum in 2016, but that was very different in so many ways.

When it was time to leave I collected my Walkman and half-deaf emerged into complete blackness and the vastness of the venue car park. I didn’t have a bloody clue where my coach was! Somehow I managed to find it and board with about a minute to spare. When it arrived back in Lincoln I had to walk four miles home at one o’ clock in the morning, because I didn’t have any money for a taxi as I’d spent it all on the programme, a badge and a T-shirt. What is now irritatingly referred to as “merch”. I didn’t care about the long walk because I had the first Electronic album (newly released) on my Walkman.

I can’t remember how the mock exam a few hours later went, but I’m still talking about that gig.
Hey, Tallthinman, I'm there! Your description brings it back viscerally. Thank you.
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Re: Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#12 Post by MikeyC »

TallThinMan wrote: Thu 25 Oct 2018, 8:15 pm Performance was the first concert I ever went to and it’s still my favourite. I was 17. It was a Sunday and I caught a coach from Lincoln to the Birmingham N.E.C. for the 90-odd mile trip. I was supposed to be going with my friend who’d got me into a lot of PSB material a few years previously, but he wimped out because we had mock A-levels the next day. I didn’t give a stuff about that!

I was so shy that I didn’t talk to anyone else on the coach and didn’t even get up to see if there was a toilet, in spite of being desperate for a piss during most of the journey. When we arrived the venue security confiscated my Sony Walkman. I got to my seat not that far from the front and immediately felt excited to be surrounded by tens of thousands of fellow Pet Shop Boys fans. Stick with the gang if you want to belong. They announced that (the) performance was being filmed.

When This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave started I couldn’t believe how loud and good it sounded. I could feel the percussion in the pit of my stomach. Everyone stood up, you couldn’t help but move. I remember Chris mentioning somewhere that they were using a 70,000 watt Turbopower sound system “which all the ravers out there will know is very impressive.”

It was an amazing evening. An aural and visual spectacle. I’ve enjoyed many of their live productions since, but Performance was the one where they first and most fully realised their previously talked about vision of what a theatrical pop concert ought to be like. For me the only one that’s come close to the sheer euphoria I felt then was seeing Inner Sanctum in 2016, but that was very different in so many ways.

When it was time to leave I collected my Walkman and half-deaf emerged into complete blackness and the vastness of the venue car park. I didn’t have a bloody clue where my coach was! Somehow I managed to find it and board with about a minute to spare. When it arrived back in Lincoln I had to walk four miles home at one o’ clock in the morning, because I didn’t have any money for a taxi as I’d spent it all on the programme, a badge and a T-shirt. What is now irritatingly referred to as “merch”. I didn’t care about the long walk because I had the first Electronic album (newly released) on my Walkman.

I can’t remember how the mock exam a few hours later went, but I’m still talking about that gig.

Damn that was a fabulous, illustrative read. Felt like I was right there with you, even though I was (and still am) across the pond! Thanks for sharing your amazing "Performance" experience!! 8)

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Re: Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#13 Post by York Minster »

I am envious of those who got to see it live. I've seen every US tour except that one. Probably due to the fact that I was 10 at the time.

My live experience versus the DVD/youtube:

Nightlife: Really great live. DVD is pretty good, despite the naysayers.
Release: Love comes quickly sounded good. I wasn't into most of the rest. Bad set list. Youtube: same
Fundamental: Mediocre live, wasn't that excited. DVD sounds great and I enjoy it more than live.
Pandy: Was blown away live. Really blown away. Saw it at the smallest venue they performed at, was just amazing. I am betting it lost a lot of it's power in a stadium. DVD: Not bad, but not the same. Vocal mastering on CD leaves much to be desired Mr. Price.
Electric: Mostly blown away, although not quite to the extent of Pandy. Was in the balcony which was the right place to be for the lasers. Wanted badly to see it again but wasn't able. Youtube: Not at all the same. I watch it now and think, is this the same show I saw at all? Can't even sit through it.
Super: Didn't feel good at the show, and didn't get into it. Probably my least favorite show with Release. Haven't bothered to watch much of it on youtube.
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"What happened to the way you was rappin' when you was scandalous
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Plus he raps with his regular voice [BOOSH! BOOSH!]
[BOOSH! BOOSH!] (What was that?) Pet Shop Boys

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Re: Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#14 Post by stussyboy »

My memory is much like Drico’s and TallThinMan’s - I was 17, first concert and in those pre-internet days you didn’t really know what to expect - what I didn’t expect is what we got.

As much as I’ve enjoyed subsequent tours, Performance will never be beaten.
Last edited by stussyboy on Sun 04 Nov 2018, 8:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Pet Shop Boys Performance Tour

#15 Post by Remark »

Wow what a great thread to revisit. I too saw Performance when I was 18 — it was the first night of the US show in Miami, the one that got infamously cancelled due to technical issues. I went back to read my synopsis of my experience from my dedicated fan page. It was also the first night I met them, and snapped a photograph. Excerpt below:

"I have had several lucky opportunities to meet Pet Shop Boys. The first time was in 1991. It was my senior year in high school, I was 18 years old. I drove to Miami, Florida (from Orlando) with two friends to see them. It was the opening date on their first US tour — Performance — and there was a lot of hype: I remember MTV and various other news outlets were there filming the event. The first night was actually cancelled, however, due to technical issues. I was so worried we wouldn’t get to see them, but they rescheduled for the following night (thus requiring my Mom to call my school and tell them I was sick for a second day!). The show was over-the-top and one of the most amazing things I had ever witnessed. It was also the very first time I heard their version of “Where the streets have no name (I can’t take my eyes off you)”. After the show, my friends and I decided to try and get backstage. It was quite a feat, and required what seemed like hours of loitering in the lobby before we were finally noticed by one of their dancers who was willing to help us out. My friend Kelly had snuck a disposable camera into the show, and we were lucky enough to snap a picture. It was completely surreal to meet my favourite band of all time. They were funny, pleasant, and excited. As expected, I had so many questions to ask, and yet failed to ask any. I think shock is the word I would use, because I just was overwhelmed to be in their presence."

Ah, the memories! So great!

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