London,

The Gossip is a big noise ready for the big time

By David Smyth, Evening Standard  29.05.09

Tabloid fixtures two years ago, Arkansas trio The Gossip were best known for an explosive Soulwax remix of their song Standing In The Way Of Control and a singer, Beth Ditto, with the fullest of figures and a frequently less-than-ideal quantity of clothes.

They could have vanished when the papers found another freakshow but then Rick Rubin stepped in.

The zen-like producer is known for his work with everyone from Slayer to Johnny Cash but is not noted for gushing, so it was quite something when he declared one concert by The Gossip
to be “the best show I’ve seen in five years” and signed them to his Columbia label for their fourth album, out next month.

I can’t disagree with a rock kingpin. During a sweaty hour that began with Ditto slamdancing to the guitar solo in Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain and ended with her in her underwear, deep in the crowd, singing Tina Turner’s Private Dancer a cappella, she left nobody short-changed for entertainment.

She was quick with her banter, making witty digs at London’s weather and uninvolved audience members on the balcony, and offering tips on the correct response to the new songs aired here (“Just go like this,” she offered, nodding and grimacing simultaneously).

When she kept picking out friends in the crowd to talk to, we wished we were going to the same party they were.

And she sang like a woman with jet engines where her lungs should be, offering one level of power on the tribal electropop of Pop Goes The World and chugging break-up song 2012 before the violent roar heralding the chorus of next single Heavy Cross.

There may also have been a band on stage, possibly including Nathan Howdeshell, who switched between wiry guitar and retro synths, sturdy drummer Hannah Blilie and relatively new bassist Chris Sutton, who added more weight to the group’s groove.
 
Many new tracks tidied up their punkier tendencies and emphasised the funk. Plenty were strong enough to elevate The Gossip from one-hit wonders to long-term dominators of the indie disco.

Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.

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