The infamous Scissor Sisters certainly know how to get a party started, and this Tuesday, Oct. 17 they’re bringing the party to Nashville. Jake Shears (lead vocals), Babydaddy (bass, backing vocals, keyboard and guitar), Ana Matronic (vocals, percussion and emcee), Del Marquis (lead guitar) and Paddy Boom (drums) are taking their electronic circus on the road through North America, making a stop at City Hall on 12th Avenue at 8 p.m. for one crazy night.

Famed for their campy stage shows, the Sisters did not disappoint on Sept. 10 at the Bestival festival on the Isle of Wight off the southern English coast. The group took to the stage dressed in full clown regalia in an act of rebellion against festival organizers’ insistence that no one dress as clowns, so as not to deter any festival-goers with coulrophobia (the fear of clowns) from attending. By the end of the encore, lead singer Jake Shears (get the pun here?) was bare-chested, covered in fake blood and joined onstage by dancers in 10-foot high clown costumes.

Formed in 2001, the seeds for the Scissor Sisters were planted when lead singer Shears and Babydaddy met while attending college in Kentucky. They left for the bright lights of the big city in 2000, where Shears worked at a strip club called IC-Guyz. After meeting Ana Matronic at a Halloween party, the group began playing gigs in New York’s gay club scene. Before long, they had recruited Del Marquis and signed to Touch of Class Records with whom they recorded their first single, “Electrobix.”

The band signed with English label Polydor in 2003, where they recorded their first widely released single, “Laura,” which enjoyed moderate success, hitting No. 54 on the U.K. charts. However, the group’s popularity in London’s underground gay club scene was about to propel them into the mainstream — and to stardom.

The Sisters’ gender-bending stage shows should come as no surprise to anyone who understands the origin of the band’s name (or has been to their Web site to figure it out), which references a lesbian sex position. Three out of five band members are homosexual, and the group won a GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) media award for Outstanding Music Artist in 2005. Even Elton John has become a fan and collaborated with the band as co-writer and pianist of the No. 1 hit “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’” from their 2005 album “Ta-Dah.”

The group’s androgynous persona is taken from ’70s and ’80s bands like the Bee Gees and Duran Duran (“The reason we got into music,” says Matronic), and glam rockers like David Bowie. They blend psychedelic, glam rock and harder-driven alternative guitar to produce a sound all their own.

Lyrically, the band deals with a wide range of subjects, such as the homosexual community and drug abuse all the way down to just having a crazy good time. While many listeners praise their bold treatment of such issues, some lyrics have been considered controversial and have caused stores such as Wal-Mart to pull Scissor Sisters albums from their shelves.

But even this censorship hasn’t stopped them. The Sisters’ newest album “Ta-Dah” dropped on Sept. 18, 2005 to rave reviews throughout the U.K. It jumped to No. 1 spot on the U.K. charts, even though it had been leaked on the Internet five days prior to the release. And on Sept. 24, 2005, the Sisters’ single “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’” hit No. 1 as well – the band had an album and a single dominating the charts simultaneously.

While dance-hall regulars in London have long loved the group, sales were more modest stateside. But that’s quickly changing. If you haven’t yet heard the hit single, “Take Your Mama,” from their first eponymous album, then you haven’t been to a bar this semester, or even to the Vanderbilt bookstore, where I heard it playing just yesterday. Another chart-topper, the hedonist anthem “Filthy/Gorgeous” is the perfect track for any late-night dance party. Hits from their newest album, which incorporates a little more psychedelia than the first, include the aforementioned “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’,” as well as “Everybody Wants the Same Thing,” “Hybrid Man” and “Hairbaby,” an ode to the phenomenon of rare tumors that contain partially formed fetuses.

If the past is any indication, the Nashville show is sure to be a glam-rock, glitter-filled train wreck – shocking, yet mesmerizing. It’s a show not to be missed, unless, that is, you’re easily offended or have coulrophobia. Get your tickets from ticketmaster.com or the Ticketmaster desk in Sarratt.