Let's compare New York's Scissor Sisters to a box of creamy, chocolate-smothered bonbons: You know you can't eat just one; and the more you indulge, the more sinfully delicious they become.The genre- and gender-bending band packed 2,220 fans into the Palladium Ballroom on Thursday night for more than 90 minutes of retro-cool, rocked-up, disco-fortified and pop-savvy dance music. Colorful lead singer Jake Shears and his bombastic partner in crime, Ana Matronic, led the group through tunes from its two albums, 2004's Scissor Sisters and last year's Ta-Dah.

BEN SKLAR/DMN

Scissor Sisters' Ana Matronic and Jake Shears brought humor and hits to the Palladium Ballroom.

To fully appreciate the Sisters' sound, you may need a crash course in scratchy guitars à la Chic, pop melodies patterned after Elton John, harmonies and falsettos that are oh-so Bee Gees, a smidgen of pop-punk energy like, say, Blink-182 and even some of that cabaret-styled burlesque music.

Or you could just enjoy the ride. The show was feel-good fun, naughty in spots but always for the sake of the soiree. Mr. Shears played the spastic frontman with all-hangs-loose aplomb. In fact, he spent most of the gig shedding his clothing. The matching pants and blazer, capped by a canary-yellow shirt and glitter boots, withered to nothing but the skintight trousers.

His past as a go-go dancer at IC-Guyz in New York's East Village served him well on the platform. He gyrated, grinded, bumped, tramped, bounced, straddled the microphone and even bent over for a little spanking from Ms. Matronic.

She, no second banana to Mr. Shears, kept the crowd sizzling with her sarcastic yet grand sense of humor. She paid homage to the mustache, the religious experience that is dancing and the joys of striking a pose. Ms. Matronic looked like a cross between the B-52's Kate Pierson and early-era Madonna.

As for the songs, they made us all move. "She's My Man," inspired by Elton's infectious hit "I'm Still Standing," mingled with the decadent disco ambience of "Filthy/Gorgeous." The slamming "Kiss You Off" toyed with the falsetto glory of "Take Your Mama." The set's one serious moment found Mr. Shears soaring on "Land of a Thousand Words," showing off his upper register and his way with a ballad.

But it was all about that closing number, "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'." The first cut on Ta-Dah is perhaps the most intoxicating piece of pop from the last year. With its retro-dance vibe and chicka-chicka beat, the song sounded even more explosive in concert than it does on CD.

Like the bonbons, we could swirl to that one all night long.