Scissor Sisters Family Values

Scissor Sisters Concert Preview:
Gay City News | Scissor Sisters Concert Preview | March 1, 2007

SCISSOR SISTERS
Theater at Madison Square Garden
Seventh Ave. at 32nd St.
Mar. 3 8 p.m.
$41; ticketmaster.com

On a recent episode of the daytime soap "Passions," a tiny girl, perhaps two years old, uses her magic powers to make the Scissor Sisters appear and play their latest hits for her enjoyment. Speaking from her part-time home in the U.K., singer and mistress-of-ceremonies Ana Matronic recounted, "Someone referred to it as an infomercial. I didn't realize when I was reading the script how much product placement there was going to be, but it was rather hilarious. I am a big fan of the show, and I wanted them to be as - you know - witchy as possible."

Of fan response she added, "Apparently, some people are appalled that we should stoop so low as to appear on daytime television."

This is the Scissor Sisters you just have to fall in love with - campy, ebullient, and slightly insane.

Soon after the release of their latest album "Tah-Dah," the disco-dance-cabaret-rock outfit began making fresh headlines in the States. Unfortunately, it' s not the music or their unapologetic weirdness that is earning them the attention as much as the way they are being manhandled by American retailers. Their recordings have been banned from Wal-Mart stores for explicit content, and moreover, Trans-World Entertainment (FYE, Coconuts, Sam Goody, Wherehouse) has decided not to stock their latest release as a response to some recent comments regarding the high cost of CDs by singer Jake Shears at an appearance in Kissimmee, Florida.

The new album is layered with seemingly infinite vocal tracks, guitars, keyboards, and infectious disco bass-lines. A general theatrical mood brings to mind Abba and Queen, while the costumes and Jake Shears' lead vocals emulate none other than Elton John, who co-wrote their latest single, "I Don' t Feel Like Dancing." Their clever, funny and often profane lyrics oscillate between witty darkness ("Happy yesterday to all we were born to die") and the sweetest romanticism ("I just might tell you tonight that I love you and you should stay all my life").

Matronic is utterly flippant when asked for her reaction to all the recent trouble. In response to whether she feels that the Scissor Sisters are being "Dixie-Chicksed," her answer is simple and delivered with a bit of a chuckle.
"I don' t know, and I don' t really care, to tell you the truth. I think we espouse better values than most of the people out there."

If I were Ana Matronic, I wouldn't care either. Although they have not reached the heights of fame in this country, the band remains very happy with where they stand in the popular consciousness.

"Fame was never a reason why I got into this. I did it for a love of performing." She added, "I am perfectly content with what we have achieved in the States. There are so many other bands that have slaved for years and driven themselves around and stayed at the worst hotels in the country. And we didn't really have that part of a gestation as a band. We were taken care of pretty quickly and that's something that should not be taken for granted."

To date, the groups biggest successes have been overseas, the U.K in particular, where their CD and single have stood solidly on the top 40 charts for over 20 weeks now.

She continued, "We did the whole van thing in England - which is a little bit easier. England being much smaller, we had exposure through dance clubs and dance culture. It was the U.K. that had the first and only record industry interest in us."

When asked about possible reasons for the inequitable reception, she retorted, "I think people over here in England really get us in a way we aren't gotten in America."

She is nothing if not frank.

"Right now I feel that we' re in a culture that is rewarding stupidity, and rewarding greed, and rewarding really negative aspects of life. The people who are in the mainstream are some of the most boring, stupid, and ugly people in the world."

Boring, stupid, and ugly are three words that will never apply to the Scissor Sisters. When asked what the band' s values are, she responds without hesitation.

"First and foremost we believe in personal freedom, and that anybody should be able to live the life they want to live and not feel impeded in any way by society. That' s the general heart of it. That can be expressed in many forms - from wearing fake eyelashes to voting a certain way. You should also be able to have as much fun as you want to have.

In many respects we get to have more fun than a lot of people."

Referring to the 2005 Brit Awards, when she and Shears burst out of a big pink chicken' s giant, sparkling yellow eggs dressed as something between Big Bird and Liberace, she added, "I mean, we get to work with Muppets!"

Although the Theater at Madison Square Garden may not be kitted out to such an extreme, expect every bit of the joie de vivre and enthusiasm that have turned the Scissor Sisters into such charming, sexy, off-the-wall international stars.