Pet Shop Boys bring out their political side

Los Angeles had the luck Wednesday to host the first Pet Shop Boys concert of the post-Republican era, a bit of timing that gave the English duo’s new song “I’m With Stupid” an extra kick.

An early high point of their set at the Wiltern LG, “Stupid” skewers British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s attachment to President Bush, and its wryly scathing commentary (“Before we met / I thought like everybody did / You were just a moron”) and instrumental flourishes assumed a celebratory edge in the wake of Tuesday’s election results.

Though the Pet Shop Boys are one of pop’s longest-running dance-music acts, celebration hasn’t always been their priority. On their infrequent tours, singer Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe have tended to balance the euphoria of their pulsating electronic music with an undercurrent of melancholy that became even more pronounced in the era of AIDS.

On Wednesday (the first of two nights at the theater), they summoned that spirit only once, on “Dreaming of the Queen,” which intertwines grief over the death of Princess Diana with a eulogy for a way of life.

“And there were no more lovers left alive,” Tennant sang with his signature aching tone, holding his hat at his side as footage of Diana’s funeral procession played behind him. “No one had survived.... And that’s why love had died.”

But maybe love is in the air again. That moment was a well-placed change of pace in an evening dominated by high-spirited music, clever staging and the tireless Tennant, exchanging his familiar distanced, deadpan pose for the ebullient manner of a circus ringmaster.

The show, divided into two hourlong sets, began with Tennant (in top hat and tails) and Lowe (yellow sweat shirt and cap) being shadowed by more limber versions of themselves in the form of identically clad dancers. Those dancers, three backup singers and a resourcefully utilized structure of fabric-covered cubes enhanced the music with plenty of visual diversion.

The songs from the new “Fundamental” album, especially the grand “The Sodom and Gomorrah Show,” folded easily into the Pet Shop Boys’ two-decade body of work. That means they’re largely reworking their basic formula rather than moving to new musical horizons, but they’re still able to keep it fresh.

The pacing was a little problematic, especially opening the second segment with the downbeat “Numb,” accompanied by imagery of a Russian winter. But then they moved inevitably toward a show-stopping, crowd-pleasing series of hits, including “Always on My Mind,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “West End Girls” and, in the encore, “It’s a Sin” and “Go West.”

Even in the froth and glitter of these sweeping synth symphonies, the Pet Shop Boys remained keen and cynical social observers, but this time around, they seemed more interested in the booty than the brain.

richard.cromelin@latimes.com