The best live party band ever!

I first saw the Scissor Sisters on September 21, 2004 at Liquid Joe's right here in Salt Lake City.  Jake Shears bought his outfit at the thrift store across the street.  I can't imagine that there were more than a hundred or so people there.  We danced and sang along to those amazing Scissor Sister songs.  We took Polaroids. Even Paddy Boom was there. And afterwards Baby Daddy took the time to chat and let us even take a Polaroid with him and Felix.

I can confidently say, that was the best live concert I've ever experienced. And it's the reason I've gone out of my way to experience the Scissor Sisters every chance I get.  I saw them at Sundance. I traveled to Denver to see them. We hung out afterwards and took a couple of Polaroids with the always gracious Jake Shears.

 And I saw them when they opened for Lady Gaga (they're better without Gaga!). None the less, they never disappoint.

Most recently, I traveled with Felix to Las Vegas for the first US performance of their latest tour.  And Jake, Ana, Baby Daddy, and Del Marquee reminded me once again that the Scissor Sisters are unquestionably the best live party band ever. So let's have a kiki! Why say anything more than that?  Here are a few pictures from the show.

The astronomical alignment of the pop-music firmament.

Last summer I traveled to Vegas to see Lady Gaga perform.  I bought those tickets just weeks before Gaga announced she was coming to Salt Lake City.  Last fall, I traveled to Denver to see the Scissor Sisters.  That was just months before they announced they would be opening for Lady Gaga.  Last weekend, the pop-music stars aligned as Lady Gaga and Scissor Sisters performed right here in Salt Lake City.


I'll start with the Scissor Sisters.  As always, they brought more energy to a performance stage than just about any band I've seen.  Jake Shears looked amazing and a little trashy while Ana Matronic classed-up the joint with her big vocals and even bigger persona.


I will say that the Denver show was better for two reasons: 1) The group played a much longer set.  Here they played about five songs.  And with Gaga taking an hour break between the bands, it would have been nice to hear a few other of the Sisters' big dance-y gems.  And 2) The Scissor Sisters are for me, a classic bar band.  Which means they're best is smaller, divier venues, like the Odgen Theatre in Denver.

Lady Gaga's show is pure spectacle.  Seeing it twice may minimize some of the magic as you begin to realize how precise the show works.  But Gaga's performance was still exceptional thanks to her honesty both from a vocal standpoint and from her message of inclusion.


There were some big differences in this show, most notable the ending.  In Vegas, the ending involved massive sets with set pieces falling from the sky and Gaga rising dramatically on a giant riser.  Even her costume seemed to come alive.  In SLC, that entire scene was eliminated, I assume to allow for the final song, Born This Way (a song which hadn't yet been released at the time of the Vegas show.)

You're right. This is totally gay.

I've been following this story for a while and it's finally a reality.  I just got my tickets. And even though this event won't happen until June of 2011, I'm so excited I had to write a post.  Next June, in what may be the gayest trip ever, I'll be going to San Francisco to see a new musical theater production based on Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City with music and lyrics by Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters.  Holy cow.  Even for me, that's a whole lotta gay.  I can hardly wait!

Ladies and gentlement, the Scissor Sisters: World's greatest party band.

Some of you Salt Lake City old timers might remember heading to the Zephyr on a late summer night to see a great party band like the Disco Drippers.  You might remember feeling like the entire club was dancing in sync to the endless, danceable tunes.  You might remember feeling like the band members were a bunch of friends who had invited you to a party in their living room. Well if it's been too long since you've been to a concert like that, then get to a performance by the Scissors Sisters, because they take all those great feelings and multiply them by a factor of ten.

I like to complain about how the Scissor Sisters are a big act in Europe playing to stadium-size crowds and that they don't get the respect they deserve here in the states. But I'm not going to complain any more.  Because here, we get to see the Sisters in smallish, delightfully dingy venues like Denver's Ogden Theater, which goes a long way toward making you feel like you're just hanging out with a thousand or so of your closest friends. 

What really makes a Scissor Sisters' show great is the music and the people performing it.  Jake Shears is so amped up  you can't help but be infected with his love for the band's music.  And Ana Matronic gets better every time I see her with powerhouse vocals and a dark sense of humor that plays perfectly to the crowd ("Baby Daddy's parents are in the crowd tonight. That's Baby Mommy and Baby Daddy . . . Daddy").  Add the strangely charming, reassuring Baby Daddy and the quirky Del Marquis and you've got a group that delivers a better live performance than any band I've seen. I've now seen them live three times and they just get better every time.

Of course, the fact that they write such great songs doesn't hurt.  I can't think of another band working today that writes lyrics as complex and interesting as those of the Scissor Sisters.  Their lyrics are often Cole-Porteresque, telling innocent stories tinged with sexuality and melancholy.  And the music that accompanies them is an amazing, swirling mass of pop culture references mashed up into totally new, infectious tunes.  The result is songs from their current album like Fire with Fire, a new kind of rock anthem.  Or Any Which Way, a sexy (even smutty) tune that invades your brain and refuses to leave.  Or how about a tune from their last album like I Don't Feel Like Dancing, a grumpy song about not wanting to dance (and featuring the brilliant line, "you think that I could muster up a little soft-shoe gentle sway") wrapped in happy music that almost forces you to dance.

Word on the street is that the Scissor Sisters will join Lady Gaga on her tour in the early part of 2011.  Which means your chances to see them in smaller venues may be drawing to a close.  If you can't make it to one of their upcoming dates, then enjoy some of these photos from the Denver show.

Ana Matronic and Del Marquis.

The perfectly lovable Babe Daddy.

Ana and Jake Shears.

The view from the back of the Odgen Theater.