There and Back Again

Song in my head: What Have I Done to Deserve This? (Pet Shop Boys)
Pondering: Life disappears, and you feel your blood moving in your veins. Either that, or it’s all the whisky. (Julio Bernavides Alvaran on the experience of running with the bulls)

I had an out-of-this-world experience last night during the Pet Shop Boys concert at the Bill Graham Auditorium in San Francisco. It was out-of-this-world in a very good way. It made the cost of the ticket and the commute to San Francisco from a long day at work more than worth it.

First let me blab about the Boys themselves. They were amazing! Except for the fact that they have aged through the years, just like all 80’s icons, they were still the same. Chris Lowe, the keyboardist still looked and dressed the same. Neil Tennant, the front man looked and sounded just like he did two decades ago. And the songs - the songs dictated the energy of the evening. Neil is not a very ‘active’ front man, he almost prefers to just stand in one corner and sing; and we all know Chris hardly moves but the energy of the evening was never low. They belted out new hits and classic hit back-to-back and the set list made up for a night of non-stop grooving and jamming!

The other highlight of the evening was the crowd. Oh man, it was like a Gay Pride Parade after-party. It was straight out of a Queer as Folk episode. It was jovial, flamboyant, colorful and just happy. The scene confirms for me that one of the reasons San Francisco is so wonderful is because of its diversity. Everyone is different in so many ways and everyone is so welcoming about these eccentricities.

The Boys ended the evening with Go West, which Neil Tennant introduced as a song about San Francisco. My sisters and I were probably the only people who did not know that Go West is a song for every gay man, boy, girl or woman so it took me a few seconds to understand why everyone got doubly excited when Neil bid us goodbye and told us his last song for the evening. The very funny gay man sitting in front of me couldn’t contain himself when the intro to Go West started. And almost everyone, except my group knew the exact dance moves to the song. If Depeche Mode fans to wave their arms back and forth during Never Let Me Down Again, this crowd new exactly when to raise their hands and when to march and when to clap. It was just amazing!

So overall, I had a good evening despite being so tired from rushing through out the day and worrying about this particular project I am working on (the bane of my existence nowadays). Watching Pet Shop Boys was a good stress reliever and seeing all these shiny, happy people was a good way to remind myself that WORK IS JUST WORK and I should not let it consume me.