Scissor Sisters are a cut above

11:16am Tuesday 7th November 2006

IT was never going to be a quiet affair - but the Scissor Sisters truly excelled themselves when they took to the stage at the MEN Arena last night.

Unashamedly brash, outrageous and clearly revelling in their ability to leave delirious fans aghast with their never-ending ability to shock, the Scissors kicked-off a night of chaos with one of their new songs, She's My Man.

About 14,000 screaming fans got involved in what can only be described as a seriously camp boogie-fest - so as any self-respecting music man would, I dropped my inhibitions and got involved.

Each dressed to impress, the band, which formed just six years ago after Shears and Babydaddy met while attending college in Kentucky, gave new meaning to the word razzmatazz. The group exudes an infectious energy which not many of the pop world's big artists display these days.

And what makes them such a pleasure to watch is the simple fact they obviously love what they are doing.

"America is home of the Brave but Manchester is home of the Rave," Ana Matronic proclaimed as the band kicked off the first night of their UK arena tour.

And the crowd proved it was true with an abundance of flashing bunny ears, cowboy hats, feather boas and glow sticks.

And who could blame them for having a good time? This was high-octane stuff with lead singer Jake Shears putting on one of the most exhilarating performances that has probably ever graced the stage at the arena.

Fans were on their feet from the word go and didn't sit down until the thunderous finale of one of the Scissor Sisters' anthems, Filthy Gorgeous.

No stone in the band's short history was left unturned as they ripped though two albums of dance floor fillers including Comfortably Numb, Don't Feel Like Dancing and Kiss You Off.

They did this with the consummate performance of a band whose rise has been meteoric and looks set to continue.

The Scissor Sisters became a credible act when Shears and Babydaddy hooked up with Matronic at a cabaret on Halloween.

The four-piece was completed shortly afterwards when they met Del Marquis at a strip club.

After becoming a quartet, the band was signed to independent record label and were first noticed in the UK with their glam/disco cover of Comfortably Numb when it was picked up by underground DJs in electroclubs.

The Cock venue in London staged their first British gig at this time. The band have since scored two chart-topping albums a string of hits and are selling out at major venus across the world in minutes.

The most recent offering Ta-Dah rocketed to Number 1 in the UK charts in its first week of release, officially taking the top spot on September 24, completing an historic first for the Scissor Sisters - a double consisting of a single and album at the top of the UK charts simultaneously.

And if their performance last night is anything to go on, their reign as the queens of glam pop will be long-lived.