When: June 30, 2012
Where: House of Blues – Boston, MA
I’ve had the fortune of seeing Scissor Sisters twice before this show at House of Blues. Once was way back in 2006 at the Siren Music Festival in Coney Island. The other one was almost two years ago at House of Blues, except I was way too tired to enjoy the show but am pretty sure that they had people in robot costumes grinding on stage. Both occasions—though extremely different in nature—displayed the band’s unwavering energy and their massive cult following.
This show would be no different, only they were smarter when it came to selecting their opening act. The talented dancer/rapper/diva Rye Rye did more than hold her own when it came to warming up the crowd. The M.I.A. protégé delivered tracks off her debut album Go! Pop! Bang! as if she were onstage for the very first time and would stop at nothing to please the crowd. Her dance moves were enviable, her persona was quite demanding, and her frame noticeably small. With all of her star attributes, it was a little baffling as to why she wasn’t the headliner. At least, until Scissor Sisters took the stage.
Opening with “Any Which Way” off of Night Work, the band was greeted with vigorous screams from dedicated fans who stayed with Scissor Sisters from the very start of their career (you can just tell this about people at shows). If Jake Shears’ floral suit was any indication of how the night would be, I was under the impression that it was going to be a pretty memorable one. Ana Matronic complemented Shear’s brassiness with a sort of sleeker sexiness as they performed songs like “Baby Come Home,” “Only The Horses,” “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing,” “Let’s Have a Kiki,” and “Running Out.” Besides being ferocious party starters, they did take a minute to talk about the importance of voting and equal rights (specifically regarding gay marriage) as the audience roared in agreement. As the night drew to a close, I had no idea how Shears still had the energy to continuously bounce around toward the end of their set as he did in the beginning (it was even difficult to even get a decent photo of him—the man wasn’t still for one second), but I guess it’s just part of being one of the best live pop bands—period.