I've loved Pet Shop Boys since I heard the first pulsating progression on "West End Girls" and they're one of the major components on the soundtrack of my life. I remember them echoing over the sound system in the Broadway as I hissed at my mom to keep quiet so I could listen while I picked out the perfect zebra-print jacket (it was the 80s, need I say more?). Their tracks were the highlight at every dance I went to in junior high and Discography was a treasured tape in my Walkman that kept me company on boring bus journeys before I had a driver's license. They were also one of the few synth bands that were actually played on KIIS FM and I loved them so much I even halted a make-out session in favor of dancing to "Always On My Mind" at a club one night. Yeah, they're that good! I was really anxious to see their long-awaited arrival back in L.A. and they didn't disappoint.

They opened with pairs of body-double dancers backed by an illuminated stage set that resembled something similar to Ikea meets Hollywood Squares. While the icy "Psychological" has a bit of a slower beat, they audience quickly jumped in appreciation as "Left To My Own Devices" slammed through the speakers. Neil and Chris asked "Can You Forgive Her?" and made it clear that "I'm With Stupid" right before they took us to "Suburbia" for a "Minimal" "Shopping" spree. They also reminded us that they loved us for paying their "Rent." A somberness showed while "Dreaming of The Queen" had footage of Princess Diana's fan and flower-strewn funeral procession and an emotional "Heart" had us dancing once more. There were lots of "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" to keep dancing as "Integral" ended and a twenty minute interval began.

While the sweaty masses queued for over-priced booze at the bar, the guy standing next to me said that he and his wife had been married 15 years and he played "Heart" when they went on their first date! He also said this was the first concert he had ever gone to where the line for the men's restroom was longer than the women's. "Well it is a Pet Shop show," I mused and he knew what I was talking about. As we headed back to our seats it was definitely boys versus girls and I'm not talking about the band!

We were all a bit "Numb" as the high-energy "Se A Vida E (That's The Way Life Is)" dove into "Domino Dancing." Neil commented that the audience was "Flamboyant" and played the heartfelt almost-acoustic "Home and Dry" and threw in my favorite dance-to ballad "Always On My Mind." We still had many things to see as they took us to a place "Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)" which is also home to the "West End Girls." "The Sodom and Gomorrah Show" sang of sinful sights as "So Hard" became a soulful segway to the raucous and repenting "It's A Sin." It was time to say sayonara as Neil praised his Los Angelenos for being "absolutely fabulous!" and decided to "Go West" for the final song of the night. Music, mayhem, costume changes and artistic expression--always Fundamental for Pet Shop Boys.