Gossip Live Review - City Life, May 2009

Gossip

By Stuart Holmes | Sun, 31 May, 2009

AFTER being relatively unknown in the UK for many years, Gossip quickly rose to prominence three years ago with their third album Standing In The Way Of Control, and the anti-governmental single of the same name which came from it.

Tonight the band play a sold out warm-up show at the intimate Club Academy in promotion of their forthcoming album Music For Men, but their performance is by no means a case of going through the motions.

Their now symbolic front woman Beth Ditto takes to the stage behind the rest of the band. She is in extremely good spirits, and clearly thankful for the warm welcome they receive after a long absence.

As expected, the band’s set largely covers their new offerings, but does not lack any energy despite it not yet being officially released.

Their current single Heavy Cross is performed half way through the set and is quickly followed by Jealous Girls, by which time Gossip have gained full momentum after already hitting the ground running.

Whilst the rest of the band plays their respective parts well, it is Ditto who is the undeniably star of the show. Her conversations with the audience between tracks are endearing and humble, and her vocals come across as being far stronger and more soulful than they do on record.

Not surprisingly, the main set ends with Standing In The Way Of Control, during which Ditto works her way around the crowd with the help of the security staff. This would have arguably been a good place to end proceedings, but after such an active set an encore was inevitable.

They make a brief return to the stage for a strong rendition of Listen Up! during which Ditto thoughtfully distributes bottled water to the crowd. It is a noticeable change of pace from the previous song but nevertheless concludes the show well.

The band exit the stage after theatre-like bows to the audience, accompanied by a tongue-in-cheek rendition of Joplin’s The Entertainer on the keyboard, which is a fitting summary of Ditto’s integral role in tonight’s performance.