I have been smitten with The Gossip and the overwhelming awesomeness of the band's frontwoman, Beth Ditto, ever since the the uber-cheesy, way low-tech, Super Mario Paint-looking video for "Standing In The Way Of Control" first dropped on Logo network's NewNowNext music 
series. At the first glance, I was preparing myself for a lame, tepid attempt at synth-rock from some people who never would have gotten their video on at all if someone from the band weren't gay, bi, or trans ('cause Logo likes to be supportive, even when the band sucks sometimes)...then she started singing. I couldn't even take in the lyrics to see what the song was about until about the fifth or sixth time I rewound it on the TiVo. I was just so transfixed by her voice. Big and broad and loud without reducing to a shout. It was like Aretha
Franklin decided to give her Queen of Soul title a 
rest and take on the mantle of Queen of Rock, just to see how it feels. Beth Ditto hops, twists, twitters, and vibrates her way around the video set in a way so completely unselfconscious it gives the impression that the band was just kind of messing
around and never really meant for anyone to see this video at all. Needless to say, I am, to this very day, completely gutted to know that my favorite karaoke bar (Sing Sing on St. Mark's Place) doesn't have this song. They have "Jealous Girls", but not "Standing in the Way of Control".
Is there no justice in this world? "Jealous Girls" is a great song, but "Standing in the Way of Control" is an anthem! Possibly the best
karaoke song in the history of...EVER! Gutted. Just gutted. (Sing Sing, can you hear me? Are you reading this? Help a girl out!) So anyway...Webster Hall. Don't ask me who opened. I'm sure I took some photos, but clearly nothing memorable. I'm sure they were very good (whoever they were). And really, when you think about it, it's probably best to be the forgettable opening act to The Gossip than to be the total train 
wreck that tries to follow them onstage, right? So, let's not worry our pretty little heads about such things. Let's think only happy thoughts. Thoughts like: The Gossip. Beth Ditto. Happy Warm Fuzzies. Rainbows. Unicorns. Hugs. When The
Gossip hits the stage, let's just say it's something to see. For anyone who's never been inside Webster Hall, you should know that it's one of those super old school, New York landmark, throwback venues with an up close and personal, intimate feel to it. When you see a performance there, it's a standing room only situation. There's a VIP area up in the balcony with little tables and it's all cutesy and whatnot, but for my own personal enjoyment, I'd rather be down on the floor, squished up against the stage (Yes, right up against the stage. No barriers to keep us a respectable 
distance from the performers at Webster Hall), with my camera snapping away, the ground vibrating under my feet, and the music pulsing through me. If the bass isn't regulating my heartbeat, how can I be sure I'm really
alive, right? Beth addressed the audience between songs in a manner that can really only be described, in a word, as neighborly. She came off not as your best friend, but like your big sister's best friend who is secretly nice to you when your sister isn't looking. She talked to the 
crowd about the songs and what inspired them. She talked about her roots in smalltown USA and what made her proud to represent the midwest. She talked about fighting against ignorance and the distant-but-not-so-distant 2008 presidential elections. She talked about hope, for the present as well as for the future, and how each and every one of us can find some way to make a positive difference in the world. For nearly ninety minutes, there was not a single pause or a lull in the momentum. One of the highlights of the show was the band's very own rendition of the Aaliyah classic "Are You That Somebody?" Naturally, 
Beth put her own 
unmistakable vocal spin on it, but the fact that this slow and purring r&b song was so completely unexpected at a rock show instantly succeeded in uniting the audience in the warm-fuzziest sing-a-long I've ever, to this point in time, had the privilege to be a part of. At one point, she had the entire hall repeating after her, chanting the words "I am special. We are special." And she meant it. Nothing further illustrates this point more than when, during 
the encore, an excited and ambitious young man in silver a silver jacket and a bowler hat climbed up onto the stage to get up and shake it with Miss Ditto herself. Just as event security was about to drag him off stage, Beth insisted it was okay...then she invited everyone else who felt like it to come up on stage, and even pulled a few people up herself! Not to be outdone by her dancing, singing, shouting acolytes who were now up on stage, Beth descended the stage quite literally into the arms of the frenzied crowd. She sang, danced, chanted, hugged, and sincerely thanked as many people as could lay hands on her for being part of the evening's experience. One that, I'm sure, no one in attendance that night will soon (if 
ever) forget. Like I said: The Gossip. Beth Ditto. Happy Warm Fuzzies. Rainbows. Unicorns. Hugs.Here's a little taste of what it was like to be there. Beth belting out 'Standing In The Way Of Control':
Video courtesy of susanna27 on youtube.
And because I loved it so much, here's a bit of their cover of Aaliyah's 'Are You That Somebody':
Video courtesy of supmag on youtube.
Bye babies! See you at the next show...
