Friday, July 07, 2006
Hot Gossip
Pssst...The Gossip are hot stuff. They live in Portland (blatantly the coolest place in America), they play the rawest southern-soul-filled dancefloor-filling angular-punk you could imagine. They released their third album, Standing In The Way Of Control earlier this year, and it has suddenly brought them to the attention of clubs and magazines and widespread acclaim that would have been totally unexpected seven months ago. NME's top photographer, Andrew Kendall had even been specially sent over for the gig in Berlin (photo in this week's NME, my my friend Sabrina and I also pictured!). It's mainly thanks to the album's title track, an undeniable slice of sweaty, power pop, with a hook that cannot be fought and a beat that can only lead to extreme dancing.
The sold-out crowd at Magnet was certainly feeling the band, causing the band to remark on the sheer heat coming from the sweaty crowd as they danced their way through the hour-long set, often grasping for the stage to find balance. Beth Ditto is an amazing frontwoman. She is instantly likeable and open in a way that only a laid-back Southerner could be (she and guitarist, Brace Paine, are originally from Arkansas), talking about her nether regions, humming along to herself between songs, pulling her tights off midway through the steamy set...she gave her all and the crowd loved her for it. Her voice has similar soul-baring qualities, as rich as it is strong, her vocals are unlike any others in the world of indie-rock. It's the tunes, however, which have really helped the Gossip's rising popularity; their unforgettable choruses and melodies appeal much more broadly than their earlier material, which was just as passionate, but not as melodious.
They are an amazing live band and you'd be a FOOL not to see them while they are in Europe this summer. The dates are:
8-Jul DE Weinheim Café Central
10-Jul DE Hamburg Molotow
11-Jul DE Offenbach Hafen 2
12-Jul DE Munich Atomic Café
13-Jul DE Berlin Ostgut
14-Jul DE GrŠfenhainichen Melt Festival
15-Jul BE Herk-de-Stad Rockherk
16-Jul BE Dour Dourfestival
17-Jul uk London Kings Kollege
18-Jul uk Manchester Night & Day
19-Jul uk Glasgow ABC2
20-Jul uk Newcastle Academy
21-Jul No Slottfjellds Festival
posted by Unknown at 7/07/2006 04:42:00 pm
1 Comments:
Unknown said...
testing new comments!
