CSS @ Webster Hall NYC

Let me just preface this by saying that I was shocked to even be able to get tickets the night before the event. After nearly an entire autumn dominated by Rachael Yamagata making the rounds to promote her new album (at B&N Union Square, with the Hotel Cafe Tour, and on her solo tour at Bowery Ballroom), I was thrilled to find that one of the bands that I've been most curious about for the past year, Cansei de Ser Sexy, would be playing in New York. CSS is that band that has a really good look, and a really good story, and really interesting interviews in all the magazines, but I'd never actually listened to much of their stuff before. I'd heard the odd snippet on myspace, but hadn't had a proper sit down to see what they were all about. After the events of Wednesday night, I think it's pretty safe to say that I am a very grateful convert. First off, Webster Hall is one of my favorite venues. I've seen some of my all time favorite shows there: Corinne Bailey Rae, The Gossip, and now CSS...There's no barrier to keep the audience away from the stage (which can be both a good and bad thing at times), and the stage itself is not so high up (if you're over 5'4", you can rest your elbows on the edge quite comfortably until a crowd surfer lands on your head because you were looking at the stage and didn't see him coming...*sigh*).

The show opener was a band called Ssion (pronounce that however you like...). This involved a heavily mustachioed lead singer, a keyboardist/sound engineer, a drummer, and two scantily clad boy back-up dancers. The music was club funky house goodness and with the antics of their lead singer and the dancing boys, there was not a dull moment in their set. And I will say this: their stage set was really quite elaborate for an opening act at such a small venue.

On to the main attraction: CSS at Webster Hall was the most insane show I have attended in my adult life! Lovefoxxx took to the stage wearing a black and white mudcloth printed bodysuit (with matching ankle boots...that, I'm sure, were not easy to find), and a feathered headdress, giving her the appearance of one of Maurice Sendak's famous Wild Things...and in this case, appearances were not deceiving. The action and energy on stage translated into utter madness on the floor. Did I mention the insane amount of crowd surfers using crowd surfing itself to circumvent security and have themselves deposited directly onto the stage? One guy was just plain greedy! I'm sure he was passed over or near my head and onto stage at least four times. And I took more than one unsuspecting foot to the back of the head when I was so focused on the band's antics on stage that I neglected to notice whole human beings hurtling toward my cranium. What could bring even more madness than this? I'll tell you what: Lovefoxxx in the audience, that's what! Aaaaahhhhhhhh!!!! Absolutepandemonium! And we loved it! She came down, not once, but twice...and toward the end of the show, after the "encore" (is it really an encore if you leave stage and we all know that you're coming back? I'm just sayin'...), Ana (keyboardist/guitarist extraordinaire) decided to have at it as well via a little crowd surfing. On her second go, she actually fell down into the audience and yours truly helped her up to her feet (so she wouldn't get trampled by all the people who didn't realise who the skinny girl at their feet was at first) and back on to the stage. Yeah, it was pretty awesome. I freely admit that there were a few times when I actually feared for my life (my life being my camera and her well being), but seeing CSS live at Webster Hall was, without question, one of my most exhilarating experiences in recent history...and I hope it's not too long before I can do it again! Oh, and did I forget to mention that I got a copy of the first cd signed by all the band members for the low low price of $12? Yeah, here's a shot of that, too. Jealous much?

Here's a snippet of what you missed...



Video courtesy of lickyoats on youtube. cheers!

The Gossip @ Webster Hall - NYC

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...