BorderSound: Let’s Have a Kiki with Scissor Sisters

From Khelan Bhatia. Follow Khelan on Twitter @KhelanB or email him at khelan[AT]borderstan.com.

Happy Heat Wave, Borderstanis. It’s been a while since I’ve written a music review…mostly because I haven’t been to a concert in over six weeks. (Yes, Borderstan still doesn’t have a regular concert contributor. Yes, the editors are still looking for one. Interested?)

My self-imposed melodic drought came to an end on July 3, when a friend asked me if I’d like to accompany him and a few others to see the Scissor Sisters, part two of their back-to-back concerts at the 9:30 Club. Ok, before I go any further, it’s full disclosure time. I’m not the biggest fan of the Scissor Sisters. Don’t get me wrong, I dig some of their songs, but they’d never crack my top 20 bands/artists list of all time. Not to mention, I’ve already seen them once when they opened for Lady Gaga early last year at the Verizon Center (a non-ideal music venue in my humble opinion). So really, I never intended to see them again.

But I do love the idea of spontaneously going to see live music. (Living in Austin for 10 years will do that to you.) And it was technically a “weekend” night considering that I, like a good portion of the District, had the 4th off from work. So why the hell not. Right?

You know, sometimes, it takes seeing a band in the right place at the right time with the right attitude to become a lifelong fan. At approximately 11:01 pm on Tuesday, July 3rd, I became that lifelong fan. It certainly didn’t hurt that Jake Shears, Ana Matronic and the rest of the gang kicked off the set with one of my favorites, “Any Which Way,” a tribute to its disco forefathers. The rest of the evening felt like an unbelievably fun party scored by a medley of tracks–old and new–including “Comfortably Numb” (yep, the remake of the Pink Floyd song), “Take Your Mama,” “Only the Horses,” “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’,” (ironic, that the whole place erupted in a dance party), and “Let’s Have a Kiki,” a recent club hit reminiscent of early 90s house tracks by Deee-Lite and Crystal Waters.

Speaking of Kikis (slang of a get-together where the participants dish a little gossip and dirt), the highlight of the evening for yours truly was when Matronic brutally took-down an audience member in the front row for texting or tweeting during the band’s performance. Listen, I’m a social media nut, but sometimes you gotta put down the iPhone and experience life, especially during an amazing concert. Plus, there’s nothing more frustrating than seeing someone elbow their way to the front, then stand there like a mannequin (or, in this case, not pay attention). This is a gift; don’t squander it.

All-in-all, “this kiki was marvelous.” Even though they didn’t play “Filthy/Gorgeous.”

That’s it for me this time, kids. Stay cool!

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