Jake Shears In Concert
Amid an early 2000s Brooklyn scene overrun with Strokes-inspired garage rockers and electroclash deviants, Jake Shears and his band Scissor Sisters stood out by being the most shamelessly over-the-top band in town. Onstage, the group were an orgasmic, exploding confetti cannon of �70s glam-rock excess, disco gloss, and sexualized queer iconography (informed in no small part by Shears' past experience as an erotic dancer).�
Fueled by Shears' high-pitched, Bee Gees-worthy voice, irresistible singles like "Take Your Mama Out" and their mirror-balled spin on Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" made the band's self-titled 2004 album an instant classic of the era. It hit No. 1 on the album charts in the U.K. (their most receptive audience) and earned a regular place on the stereos of celebrity mega-fans like Bono and Sir Elton John (who guested on the 2006 follow-up, Ta-Dah).�
As the Scissor Sisters continued to pump out hit albums over the course of the '00s, Shears became an active collaborator, guesting on tracks by everyone from Kylie Minogue and Cher to Tiga and Queens of the Stone Age. But after the Scissor Sisters announced their hiatus in 2012, Shears moved from New York to New Orleans and eventually corralled the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and members of My Morning Jacket for his 2018 self-titled solo debut.�
The record finds Shears as exuberant and extravagant as ever, but with the club-oriented tilt of later Scissor Sisters records replaced by an earthier, more soulful, unmistakably Cajun vibe. The album's release coincided with another personal project � the publication of Shears' tell-all memoir, Boys Keep Swinging.�
But while he's comfortably ensconced in the Big Easy, Shears still craves the occasional taste of the Big Apple. He spent the first few months of 2018 making his Broadway debut in the beloved drag musical Kinky Boots, an experience that no doubt put him back in spotlight-seizing form for his current solo performances.
