At last, Pet Shop Boys in Nashville

 

Nashville enjoyed a night out with the Pet Shop Boys in November, "at last," as Neil Tennant declared. I was thrilled to be there for my second PSB concert and not to have to make the much longer drive to Atlanta as we did in 2009 for the Yes tour. It was a fantastic show in Andrew Jackson Hall near the Tennessee Capitol, with the additional on-stage musicians bringing a little twist to the performance, which included spectacular visuals. It's always thrilling to hear the new mixes they bring to the live shows.

Setlist highlights: "Love Comes Quickly," "Domino Dancing" and "The Dictator Decides"

Setlist quibbles: 1) The exclusion of "Being Boring" 2) The inclusion of "New York City Boy" 3) The representation of Fundamental only by "The Sodom and Gomorrah Show;" I'd choose any other of the album's tracks over that one except "Numb."

A special note: To the person seated in row L, seat 30, who sat on top of your seat, everyone behind you thought you were a giant douchebag.

Sometimes the clothes do not make the man, or: RIP George Michael

I've often wished that George Michael had just let go of whatever demons there were and made the proper follow-up to Faith, one of the greatest (if not the greatest) pop albums of the '80s. Listen Without Prejudice was a really good album, even if the fun had gone out of it. But, while it arguably has his best composition in "Freedom 90," it didn't feel like the proper successor to Faith. As the years went by and albums like Older and Songs from the Last Century slowly emerged, another pop opus clearly wasn't going to happen. As deep and impressive as his legacy of songs is, it still seems to me there was untapped potential. If he had ridden that imperial phase skillfully, he'd be on the short list with the likes of Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince and Whitney. He currently sits at #37 on my most-played artists list.

The late-period single "White Light" seems rather poignant now.