Scissor Sisters @ VodafoneArena, Melbourne (09/02/2007)

Sat 10th Feb, 2007 in Gig Reviews

As the introduction music started (Ta-Dah!s ‘Intermission’, less the lyrics) a giant set of elevator doors started slowly counting down the ‘floors’. As the light moved along the arched top of the doors, the lights of Vodafone Arena dimmed to darkness. A final ping sounded out and the doors parted, along with the curtain to reveal to Melbourne the Scissor Sisters.



Front man Jakes Shears ran forward, wearing a tailor made, dark blue, Walt Disney suit; covered in pictured of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, along with matching visor. Front woman Ana Matronic wore a shimmering, multi-coloured dress, which whilst striking did not draw too many eyes off Shear’s bizarre wardrobe. Ta-Dah! Tracks, ‘She’s My Man’ and ‘I Can’t Decide’ opened the set and immediately the energy of the five-piece could be felt throughout the “soulless” arena. Bassist Babydaddy and guitarist Del Marquis introduced themselves to the audience, moving to centre stage and playing with backs against one another; Del’s pants could not have possibly been any tighter. Paddy Boom on sat on his left-handed drum kit in the centre, wearing a sparkling red vest and pants.



Matronic expressed the anger of the band toward a Sydney woman, who had written the band a letter regarding her dissatisfaction toward the constant swearing during their Sydney show. Without any hesitation Matronic very vocally expressed her disbelief at the woman’s comments, telling her to, “Eat my fuck” and explaining why swearing and offensive lyrics shouldn’t surprise anyone, before choosing an offensive song to sing, ‘Tits On The Radio’, offering, “Let’s start with tits”.



Old Scissor Sisters favourite, ‘The Skins’ followed, Shears dancing around with a tambourine and Matronic with a pair of maracas, before Jake took an opportunity to speak to the crowd. Joking about Laura Bush, Shears stated what a good humanitarian and peace maker he thought Bush was, and that she had great taste in men. He then took it all back, quickly adding that he hopes she dies and rots in hell, before the band burst into, ‘Laura’.



The tributes kept rolling in, as Shears spoke of the death of Anna Nicole Smith that morning. Both Shears and Matronic sympathised with her death, both noting that she stood up for the big girls. The band then broke into a rendition of Elton John’s ‘Candle in the Wind’, rewriting lyrics, with the inclusion of Smith’s real name, “Goodbye Vikki Lynn”.



New single, ‘Land Of A Thousand Words’ and Ta-Dah! bonus track, ‘Transistor’ were rare still moments amongst the crowd. The latter being a surprise inclusion as thought by many punters. These did not draw away from the energy and excitement of the night, however, as new tracks, ‘Kiss You Off’ and ‘Lights’ and old favourites, ‘Take Your Mama’ and Pink Floyd cover, ‘Comfortably Numb’ kept the floor and seating areas alike bouncing around. Matronic worked with the audience incredibly, throughout the more dance-friendly tracks, stating that the group was going to be more entertaining if the crowd was entertaining them. A vast selection of bright strobe and spot lights complemented the Scissor Sisters’ fun, dance tracks greatly, whilst darker blue lights and smoke machines made tracks like ‘Transistor’ eerily more powerful and captivating. Shears yelled that they wanted to end the set with some real rock n’ roll, and did so by belting out their rockiest track, ‘Music Is The Victim’, before leaving the stage.



Returning to the stage, Marquis, Boom and Babydaddy began the introduction to Australian Number 1 hit single, ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancing’, as Matronic and Shears ran on to stage in time to begin singing the ironically dance friendly track. Shears had changed whilst offstage, now wearing a matching sparkling silver vest and short shorts. The arena erupted in noise and movement and the crowd danced and sung along to the Scissor Sisters’ most popular track in Oz. One song remained for the New York five piece at the end of their hour and half set, ‘Filthy/Gorgeous’ and they had definitely saved one of the most entertaining performances for last. Matronic tore Shears’ vest off, and later pulled down Shears’ pants to give the audience a clear view of his behind as she suggestively smacked it. As the encore came to an end, Shears jumped to both sides of the stage, jumping off tall speakers and giving everyone a last look.



The Scissor Sisters brought Vodafone Arena to life on Friday night, as their infectious pop/dance music had everyone dancing and singing like crazy. Whilst the venue has been criticised as a poor site for live music, Shears, Matronic and band definitely livened it up and made their show as good as it would have been anywhere else.