Olympia Theatre, Dublin
There’s an odd logic to the idea of dancing to a song entitled
I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’
, but when Scissor Sisters break out the biggest hit from their 2006 album,
Ta-Dah
, the crowd jumps, claps, sways from left to right with what can only be described as gay abandon.
Sunday night's gig in Dublin's Olympia Theatre was a full-on, body-rocking dance experience, with the band both playing their biggest hits and persisting in their efforts to educate the crowd with their – for most – as yet unheard third album, Night Work, due for release this Friday.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest hits of the night were, well, the hits, but there were no misses as vocalists Jake Shears and Ana Matronic belted out the Scissor Sisters’ specific brand of disco pop.
There is no doubting the danceability of the Sisters' beat, from songs such as Take Your Mamaand Filthy/Gorgeous(kept, cleverly, for a stunning encore that seemed more like the beginning of a great night than the end) to their latest single Fire with Fire, but their Olympia performance demonstrated talents that stretched the boundaries of musical entertainment.
Shears and Matronic controlled the stage with an almost symbiotic power. Shears, in skintight jeans and, after 20 minutes, not much else, bounded from side to side for the full 90-minute set; Matronic, an almost Madonna-esque figure in a metallic mini, hair carefully set in a 1950s curl, was a kittenish vision, long hands curled around the drum beat as she, too, danced her way through the night.
Dancing is a big part of the show; not only was the audience warmed up by a DJ playing a selection of dance beats – and ending, fittingly, with Kylie's In Your Arms– but we were encouraged and enticed to dance at every juncture. Hands in the air, hands clapping, jump, jump! When the Scissor Sisters say jump, there's no time to ask how high, only to raise hands, feet and bodies from the ground.
There are several things these guys have in spades, the first being energy. Add to that catchy pop melodies, serious disco enthusiasm and an obvious love for what they do, and you have a recipe for a rollicking good time.
