TORONTO -- Last night's Massey Hall appearance by Erasure -- the veteran British synth-pop duo's first visit to T.O. in six years -- began promisingly enough.

Wonderfully flamboyant, openly gay and sweet-voiced singer Andy Bell made his entrance in drag -- dressed in the severe black clothes of an Edwardian female.

Restrained in a top hat with veil, and a jacket and skirt complete with bustle and hoop underneath, Bell looked funeral-ready -- save for a jeweled fan in one red leather-gloved hand.

But then he bent over a gramophone -- one of several props on the drawing room-like stage -- and wound the instrument up, getting himself, his two female backup singers and the audience going in the process.

Over the course of the next few songs -- Alien, Blue Savannah, Ship Of Fools and Solsbury Hill, the latter from Erasure's new covers album, Other People's Songs -- Bell could barely contain himself.

He skipped around the stage, swinging his skirt and hoop and kicking up the heels of his red leather boots, which only hinted at the Madonna-esque outfit to come later.

Meanwhile, Bell's musical partner, Vince Clarke, was dressed as an Edwardian male but was his usual stone-faced and stationary self behind various synthesizers which blasted out plenty of pre-recorded music while he occasionally strummed an acoustic guitar.

Unfortunately, the muddy, loud sound coming from the four large columns of speakers elevated high above the stage often drowned out Bell's impressive voice.

You only had to hang around for the first encore song -- a pretty, stripped-down cover of Buddy Holly's True Love Ways featuring Bell accompanied solely by Clarke on acoustic guitar -- to know just how good the show could have been.

As it was, there were songs where you could literally feel the bass pounding in your chest, which, given the intimacy of Massey Hall, just didn't seem necessary.

Still, it was worth it to see Bell's enthusiastic display of energy, both in the Edwardian getup and later when he had removed his clothes -- while quoting lines from Madonna's Vogue no less -- to reveal a leather-bar fantasy of red bustier, red underwear with codpiece, and red elbow-length gloves.

The 38-year-old singer, looking toned and muscular, often performed the Can-Can like a young chorus girl in the Folies Bergeres to enthusiastic cheers from the crowd of about 1,700.

Song standouts during the second half of the hour-and-40-minute show proved to be of the get-up-and-dance variety -- Chains Of Love, Victim Of Love, A Little Respect and Always -- along with uptempo reworkings of Elvis Presley's Can't Help Falling In Love and the Righteous Brothers' You've Lost That Loving Feeling.

JAM! Rating: 3 out of 5 However, the drab looking stage -- with the exception of a modern-looking video screen stored inside a picture frame against the back wall -- really didn't lend anything to the proceedings, which could have been wildly fun and theatrical. (More on Erasure)