ENTER TO WIN TICKETS TO SEE SCISSOR SISTERS IN TORONTO!

Scissor Sisters

Fantastic news! Mr. Will-W.:Pop Maven, Collective Concerts & Universal Music Canada want to take three lucky Readers and their Guests to see the incomparable Scissor Sisters! Back in Toronto for Thursday, June 28, 2012 at the Sound Academy, Scissor Sisters always deliver an electrifying performance and this time around they are supporting their latest Disc, Magic Hour - now in stores.

To qualify for the win, click "like" on this Post at Mr. Will-W.:Pop Maven on Facebook and you should also be following on Twitter. Your deadline is Tuesday, June 19, 2012. One Grand Prize Winner also will also receive a copy of Magic Hour.  Good luck!

Check-out first Single Only the Horses below:

H&M RELEASES NEW "FASHION AGAINST AIDS!" COLLECTION

Penn Badgley in H&M

On Tuesday, April 26, 2011, affordable Fashion Retailer H&M will be releasing their latest Fashion Against AIDS! Collection. In the past, the Retailer has teamed-up with Celebrities to raise money for the Charity Designers Against Aids and various other HIV/AIDS Prevention Organizations around the World.  25% of sales from the Limited Edition Collection will go to these charities.

Names like Selma Blair, Penn Badgley, Akon, Sky Ferreira, Nikki Reed and Scissor Sisters, the latter who previously have collaborated with H&M for the Cause, are among those Celebrities involved this time around.  Unlike previous years, the Collection is Unisex.

Peruse the Collection here.

(Photo credit: H&M)

SCISSOR SISTERS IN TOKYO

Jake Shears in Tokyo - February 2011

One of our favourites Scissor Sisters, rocked Tokyo last night at ageHa@Studio Coast in Shin-Kiba, Kōtō, Tokyo and our dear Friend MiT caught up with them at their Hotel.

MiT was lucky enough to meet Jake Shears (Lead Vocalist), Ana Matronic (Vocalist and Mistress of Affairs) and Del Marquis (Guitarist), who were sweet enough to sign some Autographs and pose for Photos without any hesitation.

Jake held an Autograph Session on February 10th and the Sisterhood left on the 11th back to New York City, as they prepare to embark on the current leg of Lady Gaga's The Monster Ball Tour as her Opening Act in North America. Jake and Ana apparently will be returning back to Tokyo this Summer for a Club Gig.

See more Photos below (L to R: Jake, Del and Ana):

REVIEW: MARK RONSON & THE BUSINESS INTL - RECORD COLLECTION

Mark Ronson, what happened? After much anticipation for his third studio album Record Collection, I am hard-pressed to find just one track I like genuinely off the set - which is odd considering how fantastic his last effort Version was. Perhaps it's the lack of coherency which can occur on an album filled to the brim with "featured" billings or it's the more minimalistic production here, but Record Collection isn't quite what I was expecting.

First single Bang Bang Bang (ft. MNDR and Q-Tip) which ventures back a bit to the ghettos of New York City in the late '80s and second release The Bike Song (ft. Kyle Falconer and Spank Rock) revisits the psychadelic '60s; both have garnered lukewarm response only. Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters)-penned You Gave Me Nothing is a bit like of an homage to Pet Shop Boys and melodically is heads and shoulders above others on the set. It features the vocals Andrew Wyatt and Rose Elinor Dougall of The Pipettes, who surface throughout the album in this teaming of friends at the studio.  

Glass Mountain (ft. D'Angelo) is a surprise collaboration which on paper should be really exciting, but amounts in a jarring sequence of synth loops and soulful wailing; a lacklustre experiment. Introducing The Business (ft. Pill and London Gay Men's Choir) could have been a wonderfully fun collaboration, but alas it falls flat in its own introspective moodiness, as does Somebody to Love Me (ft. Boy George and Andrew Wyatt). Title track Record Collection (ft. Simon LeBon of Duran Duran and Wiley) has some semblance of a melody and a hook but alas, is uninspired.

SCISSOR SISTERS TO OPEN FOR LADY GAGA IN 2011

Well how about that? Just two days after their phenomenal Toronto show, Scissor Sisters have been announced as the Opening Act for the on-going second leg of Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour. They will be joining Gaga on-stage after a quick break from their current Touring schedule beginning February 19, 2011.

Make it known that Scissor Sisters are humbling themselves completely here. The band has been making headlines for a while, forming in 2001 and have won a number of BRIT Awards already including International Group, Album and Breakthrough for their eponymous debut in 2005. Success has not translated stateside and despite hailing from New York City (like Gaga) where they can easily fill a small theatre, they can actually pack 02 Arena in London.

After having seen Lady Gaga four times already in the last two years, I won't be attending her March 3, 2011 show at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Whoever has a ticket though to her show next year is going to be in for a real treat. Don't forget to check out my Review, Video and Pics from their show the other night!

(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W.)

SCISSOR SISTERS TORONTO SOUND ACADEMY CONCERT REVIEW (PICS AND VIDEO)

Ana Matronic and Jake Shears

If you've never been to a Scissor Sisters show, you've never been entertained truly. The four-member Performance Art Rock Band brought the house down tonight at Sound Academy, tucked away off the Lakeshore.  Hitting the stage at 10:15 PM after a surprise, yet  uninspired and pitchy opening performance by Casey Spooner, one half of Electropop duo Fischerspooner, Scissor Sisters delivered pure unadulterated sizzle.

Jake Shears

Lead singer Jake Shears arrived on-stage in a tight body suit, torso exposed, while vocalist and personality of the group Ana Matronic, looked sleak in heels and a form-fitting dress, undoubtedly taking some fashion cues from Kylie Minogue, a good friend of the band.

The audience was on its feet dancing right from the get-go with opener Night Work, the title track off their third studio effort about the life of a Hustler, perpetuating the group's obsession with the perverse. A delivery of their latest single Any Which Way, a laughable yet honest tribute to the Disco era, was delicious with simplistically stylish almost Aerobics-like choreography which had Shears and Matronic joining hands, tugging and pulling one another.

ADAM LAMBERT, SUSAN SARANDON AND KATY PERRY AMONG STARS AT SCISSOR SISTERS SHOW IN NYC

Scissor Sisters took to the stage at New York City's Terminal 5 last night and the celebrities came out in full force to show their support. Among last night's guests were Adam Lambert, Susan Sarandon, Katy Perry and Parker Posey.  Perry for one, had a great time Tweeting "I bow down to Ana Matronic" - the group's female lead vocalist.

Check out this photo below of lead singer Jake Shears with Lambert and Posey. Perry, who is in New York right now still promoting her new album Teenage Dream, was a little more low-key, ducking from Paparazzi.  More pics posted at JustJared.

I'm also pleased to announce the five winners of Mr. Will-W.:Pop Maven's VIP Ticket Giveaway for their Sound Academy show next week: Stephen, Brad, Max, Gavin and Jon.  Perhaps we'll see a star or two of our own next week?  Have fun at the show and see you there!  xx

(Photo credit: Splash News)

MR. WILL-W. EXCLUSIVE GIVEAWAY: SCISSOR SISTERS TORONTO SOUND ACADEMY CONCERT - AUGUST, 31, 2010

Exciting news, Mavenati!  Collective Concerts, Scissor Sisters and Mr. Will-W.: Pop Maven are joining forces to give away - not one - but FIVE pairs of VIP Tickets to their Toronto Sound Academy show on August 31, 2010 (Doors 8:00 PM).  Expect scandal, glamour and nothing but pure sweaty hotness.  *scream* 

Winners will be picked at random and all you have to do is tell me why you love Scissor Sisters.  Contest deadline is Thursday, August 26, 2010 at midnight.  One entry per reader, please and all are welcome to enter.  Travel and accomodations of course are not included. Please remember to leave some way for me to reach you back as winners will be e-mailed directly. Good luck!

xW

*Concert is All Ages, but to be admitted to the VIP Area, you must be of legal drinking age and have Photo ID.

SCISSOR SISTERS NIGHT WORK REVIEW

A lot is riding on the success of the Scissor Sisters’ third album Night Work. After failing to follow-up on the promise of their self-titled debut on 2006’s Ta-Dah (more fittingly titled Nuh-Uh), even they were aware of the unforgiving reality of the music industry, having scrapped a full album they felt simply didn’t meet the mark. This hotly-tipped third album is safe to say, a return to the glittery, body hugging form of their Brit Award-winning debut self titled effort.

Producer extraordinaire Stuart Price lends his talents to this effort, careful not to over-exert influence which may have marred The Killers’ last album Day & Age. Does Night Work break any new ground? Not particularly. First single Fire With Fire admittedly sounds a little out of place in its modernity when listened to in the context of the whole album. The majority of this effort is fixated on an era where album edits of The Bee Gees and Giorgio Moroder ruled the Dance Floors and Airwaves, not Remixes. We get this in full force on fun romps like Whole New World, Harder You Get and Any Which Way (one of a few apperances by Sir Ian McKellen channeling his best Vincent Price circa Thriller).

NEW MUSIC: SCISSOR SISTERS - FIRE WITH FIRE

So with Scissor Sisters having taken a proper amount of time away to work on their upcoming Night Work album, anticipation is high among fans. With snippets having been leaked for first single Fire With Fire produced by the in-demand Stuart Price, we have been given a promise of a return to form. But let me tell you, nothing will ever top the band’s debut self-titled disc. It was fun, emotional, invigorating, epic.

Although I’m hard pressed to criticize Fire With Fire as clearly it is a very pleasant track to listen to, it simply lacks the punch and brand of humour the band has created for itself. Are Scissor Sisters now taking themselves a little too seriously? My answer would be a definitive “yes”. This is an issue the band struggles with and upon speaking to lone female member Ana Matronic a few years back in Toronto at their Lee’s Palace show in 2004, she indicated to me that the band is very conscious of the dangers of being labelled as a “gay group” having been pressured by their label to edit tracks like Filthy Gorgeous to fit a wider audience.

SCISSOR SISTERS NIGHT WORK ALBUM ART REVEALED!

Hi....I'm over here!  Thanks.  This is the just-released album artwork for the long-awaited new Scissor Sisters album Night Work, out on June 29, 2010, starring Jake Shears and his cleavage of another kind.  Somebody's been doing their squats....  Buttastic.  Fire With Fire, the album's lead single will be released one week prior to the album on June 20, 2010.

To check out a live clip of Fire With Fire, check out this live performance at New York City's Bowery Ballroom below: