The Gossip Live in Vancouver at the Commodore
Beth Ditto and Co. Bring the Music for Men...and Women
Oct 24, 2009
It’s hard to know where to start with the Gossip. With the band literally supporting their opening act, MEN, by holding up giant cardboard signs of fists and slogans like “Silence = Death”?
Or with superstar Beth Ditto, arriving on stage larger than life, flame-haired and Siouxsie-eyelinered and being given a true heroine’s welcome? Or with the jubiliant, dressed-like-a-jumble-sale, party-hungry crowd? Or with the crushing girls making offerings of gold plastic bangles to their goddess? Or does one start with the music, speaking of an incomparable soul singer and bass-heavy, funk-punk-disco-synth-soul-rock band?
No, it’s better to start at the end.
Beth Ditto - Dimestore Diamond
Because when Beth Ditto decided to jump down into the crowd and sing the band’s final track of the evening, “Standing in the Way of Control”, while walking and dancing and literally hugging her way through every single audience member on the dance floor, she sealed it. The Gossip is, without a doubt, one hell of a great party band. And Ditto for their front woman. Imagine if Studio 54 existed as it did in the very early 80s in New York, and The Gossip was its house band. Awesome.
From the second the bass-funk roll of “Dimestore Diamond” hit, it became an inescapable truth that The Gossip was going to fairly blow the roof off of the Commodore. Ditto laughed, talked to the crowd, kissed a few girls, grabbed hands, strutted around the entire stage and bellowed as if her life depended on it.
Stone-faced, giant-glassed guitarist Brace Paine, tattooed drummer Hannah Blilie and a touring guitarist provided the backdrop but let’s be clear, Beth Ditto is the star. And through the handful of Music for Men tracks at the start, like the 70s synth samba of “Pop Goes the World”, “2012” and “Men in Love” (....with each other!), the planets around the star were in fair rock alignment.
Heavy Cross and Your Mangled Heart
By the time The Gossip strutted into their back catalog with “Don’t (Make Waves)” and “Fire/Sign”, the audience was one bouncing ball of happy. “Your Mangled Heart” turned into a huge singalong, while “Listen Up!” started with a few lines from Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer”. For “Four Letter Word” Ditto put the mic to the crowd to let a few kids sing a few lines. “Heavy Cross” – one of the band’s best – was another all-together-now moment. The Commodore’s legendary horse-hair, rubber-tired floor sprang under the hundreds of dancing feet.
For the two-song encore, Ditto – sans her black mini-dress and now just in a, errr, revealing black girdle, all boobs and jiggles, was joined on stage as she smiled and sang and sweated her way through Cyndi Lauper’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It” accompanied by MEN's JD Samson and a bold audience girl who clambered on stage to dance alongside her idol. Ditto was fine with it, of course, hugged the girl at the end and applauded her.
Standing in the Way of Control...In the Audience
But as mentioned, it was “Standing In the Way of Control” that totally stood out. Helped by patient roadies giving the girl enough rope, Ditto slid into the audience to sing and then bopped her way around the ecstatic crowd, thanking them, hugging them and then asking a few to help hoist her back onstage. They did. Then she ended the night with a “We are the Champions”. A totally cheesy and camp moment but who cares? Ditto kind of made us feel that way.
So, yeah, where does one start with The Gossip? With this: GO SEE.
The Gossip tour the US and Europe through to November. The Gossip live at the Commodore in Vancouver was presented by Timbre Productions.
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