Scissor Sisters at the Vic | Concert review
After belting out "Baby Come Home," the opening track from the Scissor Sisters' newest album Magic Hour and the third song at last night's concert at the Vic, vocalist Ana Matronic predicted that we were all going to party so hard that the the theater would rise like a rocket into the sky.
That didn't happen of course, but an 85-minute, high-energy set of classic jams and new material by a band whose fanbase is primarily gay, was nevertheless an ebullient finale to Pride weekend (although frontman Shears stated in his TOC interview that the band's Pride Sunday appearance was a scheduling coincidence).
The New York-based quartet (whose lineup also includes humble multi-instrumentalist Baby Daddy and svelte guitarist Del Marquis) opened with Night Work's stellar "Any Which Way," an anthem perfectly compatible with Pride's ongoing theme of liberation. "Take me any way you like it," sang Matronic in a tone oozing sexual suggestion, "In front of your fireplace, in front of your yacht, I don't give a damn baby just take me." During the second number, the funky "Keep your Shoes," Shears, wearing matching greens pants and jacket adorned with exotic birds and jungle flora, strutted around the stage while singing about one-night stand. I swear his baby blue eyes locked with mine at one point. Surely that's just in my imagination (what gay man in the audience didn't think the same thing?) but the point is that it was hard not to be captivated. He's a magnetic performer.
There were a number of highlights. Shears toned down his stage antics for Magic Hour's "Inevitable," a gorgeous, lovelorn ballad drenched in Bee Gees falsettos that sounded torchy and beautiful thanks to the assistance of two back-up vocalists. Meanwhile, the band struck various carefully choreographed poses set to fierce jungle beats for the campy new fan favorite "Let's Have a Kiki," a plea for a saner party experience. It could've been the show's finale it was so fun to watch. Instead, Ta-Dah's "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'," arguably the band's best single ever, won that coveted slot. The band's classic "Take Your Mama" was predictably fun and high-energy while cover song "Comfortably Numb" sounded more rock and less disco this time around.
Oddly, both the "The Skins" and "Skin the Cat," two milquetoast offerings from Night Work, both made an appearance while the upbeat Filthy Gorgeous and single Fire with Fire were noticeably absent from the set list. The band's two-track encore included a beatiful rendition of the knockout new single "Only the Horses" (although Shears's voice sounded a bit strained during the refrain) and "Music is the Victim." The latter, an offbeat choice that Matronic dedicated to Donna Summer, ended with Shears both diving into the crowd for a brief bodysurf and also busting his mic stand in half. You can't say this band doesn't know how to party, especially on Pride.
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