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Updated in december 2005 :
.The Gossip ABC. 24.11.05.
The last time I saw The Gossip in Glasgow it was at the Barfly. That night, singer Beth Ditto left the stage in only her high heels, bra and knickers. Tonight is a much more respectable affair, but no less passionate, soulful or mesmerizing.
Ditto takes the stage, this time bearing an uncanny resemblance to John Water’s ‘Hairspray’ heroine Tracey Turnblad. The Gossip know that the majority of the ABC crowd are here for tonight’s homegrown headliners, Sons and Daughters, but they endear themselves to the Glasgow faithful by declaring their love for past Scot-punk luminaries, The Yummy Fur and Lung Leg.
The Gossip are based in Portland, in America’s Pacific Northwest, a region of embarrassing riches when it comes to challenging and inspirational music. When the Gossip started out five years ago they were the minnows of the scene, now they are the leaders of the pack. Always wearing their musical heart on their sleeve, the bands first two albums, That’s Not What I Heard and Movement, were raw soul-punk affairs.
On their latest offering, Standing in the Way of Control, they seemed to have drawn inspiration, a la Madonna, from the dance floor.
They open the show with Listen Up, its slow punk-funk build up is reminiscent of The Rapture, but Ditto’s blistering voice evades comparison and the song builds into a sensual disco thriller. Listen Up acts as a sucker punch, as they unleash shots from their more familiar punk-soul artillery. Don’t (Make Waves), Yesterdays News and Fire Sign find the band on their best ass shaking and jaw dropping form. Brace Paine, all floppy fringe and bad posture, alternates between bass and guitar and grows in confidence with every tune. New drummer Hannah, a sure fire hit with the lady slurring behind me, feeds out the beats and literally does kick out the jams, as her kit seems to be inching closer to the audience. At the center of all this is Ditto with her tornado of a voice. Her repertoire ranges from raw punk hollerin’, to the plaintive soul searching and quiet of All My Days.
The gig is punctuated with public service announcements from Ditto. She reassures the crowd that they only have to listen to a few more songs before Sons and Daughters come on. She needn’t worry. By the end of the evening The Gossip’s stall is doing brisk business. Their t-shirts read, ‘Last night the Gossip saved my life’. Tomorrow, I’ll be saying the same thing. Josie Dunning.
.Stink Mitt, Octobr 31st+Nov 1st, Spasibar Oslo
2 gigs, both at spasibar. Few people, I mean VERY few people... bad promotion, Monday, TV, you name it. The flyer for night 2 was inviting the Oslo hip hop crowd on a funny, provocative tone. what happened, then? well, we don't know since it was the same night as The Gossip. Night one essentially then in this short both respectful (to the band) and annoyed (at the general apathy and disinterest...of promoters mainly) review. We waited for a long time at Spasibar before Stink Mitt finally came. They were tired, a date a day type of tour, self-booked, impressive. The show was short but good, with new tracks and a lot of energy in spite of them being tired and us being so few and so self-conscious. Right on rhyming about drugs and tampons (not necessarily together), talent and MC super power, some splits, a voluntary, ultra-revealing camel toe (whatchalookin' at?) great stage personae: Stink Mitt own the stage and delivered a right-on, well-staged'n'sleazy electr-hiphop. They know what they're doing and they know you know they know, so don't fucking mess with them. This might be DIY, they’re still very professional .
.The Gossip, Garage Oslo. Nov 1st
We’ve been waiting for them for years: for their sexy rock’n’soul, for their genuine, their 500 volt stage performance, Beth’s voice, their queer politics, their big heart. The first time we saw them was at Ladyfest Glasgow in 2001… it seems to be a century ago… so we can be patient! To spice things up even more, they had a new drummer, replacing Kathy Mendonca and directly borrowed from Shoplifting : Hannah Blilie a.k.a. "Stangela Handsbury"(also with Sarah Dougher (guest), ex-Chromatics, Stiletto, Mr Yuk, The Lumpies, Soiled Doves). The warm-up band I have nothing to say about besides the fact that it was a BIG mistake from the booker: having a feminist queer rock’n’soul band with art and politics in their bellies getting a warm up by a boring, über-conventional egocentric white boys band getting high on showing how such good instrumentalists they are -huh- (and who can’t write lyrics without the word ”whore” in it…. Yes, it does rhyme with ”more” and ”you can do better” rhymes with ”wanker”). No need for names, really, if you’re interested, I am sure you can find out. This unexplainable choice only proves one thing: the booker’s either incompetent or simply careless. Whatever it is, the point was missed. Bands The Gossip toured with? Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Le Tigre, Erase Errata, Stereo Total, Sonic Youth, Sleater Kinney, Har Mar Superstar, Les Georges Leningrad, The Kills, Tracy + the Plastics & Glass Candy...now dear Booker, those were good mixes, so take notes for next time, there are norwegian political bands, ya know? Back to the fact: Brace on bass at first. Sweat was immediate Epileptic movements that multiplied as he grabbed the guitar, Brace you are OvaryAction/BabesInBoyland’s strings hero...or one of them at least. Electric Brace! Hannah, how can you look so relaxed, with your foot resting on the high hat when not in use and be so loud and fast, and perfectly steady & tight all at the same time? You people are impressive. Beth. Oh Beth! Whose voice is getting more and more beautifully clear and perfectly filled with soul. You looked like a riot 60s garage queen in your dotted dress and high heels. Barely enough time to catch their breath between the tracks and wild dancing. They were rock’n’roll possessed -but the crowd remained motionless, grrrrrrrrr. There was a good feeling though, between the stage and the crowd, as The Gossip give it all for their performances. They are quite clear and uncompromising on their political stands: ”how many of you are gay” Beth said in the beginning (5 people raised their hand… the size of the queer community in Oslo? I refuse to believe it!). Beth ended up in the pit, addressing people directly while the band was rocking the stage like few can. That was their first date on this European tour, fresh out of the plane, jet-lagged, exhausted but happy… and so were we.
Standing in the Way of Control is to be released on KRS on January 24th.
http://www.gossipyouth.com
Updated in november 2005 :
.The Early Years / The Organ/ Electrelane, ULU, London. October, 26th 2005
I must confess: I cannot say much about the first band since I did not listen to them really carefully... It was my first time in this venue and I really enjoyed the comfy armchairs in the bar lounge on the right hand side of the stage. When The Organ hit their first note, , I moved in front of the stage, in front of the bass player, to be more precise. I was quite surprised not to recognize the girl playing the instrument, though. Indeed, Ashley left the band and was replaced by a young lady (no news about this on the band's news page so far),who does a very good job. This was the first first real The Organ concert I saw since their Parisian performance in August had to be cancelled (or very much modified, with the band performing without their vocalist) because of Katie's health problems. Their set was short, 10 songs tops and I was pretty much left unsatisfied. Their sound was actually really bad, but no, I didn't not have the best spot to fully enjoy the audio quality. As far as the stage performance of the band: Katie is the only one moving slightly (going circles), eyes closed, while the others are totally static, and look incredibly bored. I started wondering if the audience was not actually bothering them... sorry for being there. It's a pity, really, becuase Katie Sketch's voice is outstanding.. but unfortunately that's not it...
I was at an Electrelane concert for the 7th time in my life, and the more I see them, the more they impress me. How can I explain this? .... I have a special relationship o this band, they are not strangers to me anymore, and still I had problems getting into their latest album ( Axes/Too Pure). However, the more I hear the tracks played out live, the more accessible their art seems to me. The contrast with The Organ is incredible: Electrelane literally live their music on stage, and so does the audience. Mia taught us a guitar lesson. She would not stop, in a transe, keeping playing on the neck when she did not have a part, over-boosted, electric. Mia whom I seetransform gig after gig. No need for tattooes nor attitude to be "rock'n'roll". A nice lesson, indeed.
.The Organ, Festival Les Inrockuptibles, November 4th 2005, Paris.
Second try which unfortunately didn't change my mind, it was exactly the same set as in London. The sound was better, but I was in the back of the venue, right in the middle, which might explains....I exprienced the same visual boredom, the same feeling to be one too many. But I am being unfair, there was something different: they had changed t-shirt. the impressive act that night (besides maybe Cat Power who I could not watch) was the Mansfield TYA, who were in charge of the transition between The Rakes and Cat Power. They had 3 tracks to try and impose their guitar+violin in difficult conditions. They were on the tip of the stage, in front of the curtain hiding Cat power's installation. Their tour de force was to drag the audience's attention, since nobody was expecting to see them play. The two girls from Nantes (Fr) did manage, and they brillinatly did so. Congrats! As said before, I could not stay for Cat Power's performance, I will therefore not talk about it, sorry.
Updated in September 2005 :
.The Organ Live for club NME @ Bierkiller, Ø 77 Piccadilly, Manchester , August 1st 2005
Monday and a quiet Manchester on a night too chilly to qualify as a summer one. The Valerie & co and OvaryAction crew leave the pub in a hurry, not sure what order the three bands are going to play, and already stories of Sleater-Kinney concerts half missed due to "just one more pint and then we go" are going around the table.Panic. We had to drink up quick. In a perfect world, on a perfect Monday we should not have worried about this, since it should have been Valerie opening for The Organ... and it would have been warmer outside. Nobody's really sure why they did not get the act, the most probable interpretation being the booker was scared Valerie's riotpunkers would have stolen the act. 2 other bands were chosen (we missed one: see! You have to be careful and keep an eye on the clock!!!), that sounded more like The Organ. Heavily Interpol influenced white boys...yawn... at the band but especially at the lack of ri sk-taking from promoters or anybody in the music Business (capital BOLD B intended... I have some fat anger in me)
Ticket booth, body search (only for me, though... my paranoia is somehow founded) and downstairs we go. Forward Russia is already on stage. We stop by the merch table. No vinyl except for the brand new single, the t-shirts are nice. Beers and patience, a trip to the bathroom, the gents, since I misunderstood the subtle difference in the orientation of the arrows. Nobody says anything, unlike the all too frequent "this is the ladies" when I go to the bathroom I am supposed to belong to, but I digress.
Anyway, the place is not exactly packed, as I said. Maybe 50 people, tops. Disappointing since it's the first date of this tour of this Smiths/Joy Division influenced band and it's in Manchester. The thing is, 1/ we did not even know the band existed 6 months ago and we are probably not the only one, 2/ general lack of interest for live performances yhat do not appear 12 times a day on tv, being presented as "the gig of the year" 3/"entertain me, I am as black as can be"... 3/ it is, after all holiday time.. and nothing's new under the sun.
The Organ get on stage. Not a smile, as expected. They start playing right away, barely looking at one another. I am not surprised. Katie's voice is captivating and yes, she is beautiful, indeed. The songs follow one another, with only Shelby letting some feelings slip out from behind her drums. But don't get me wrong the performance triggers deep feelings in the (also quite still... except for Jo & Trixie dancing a waltz in the pit) audience of early fans. A couple of new tracks, a couple of mistakes due to sudden lacks of concentration apparently, which pissed Shelby off, but otherwise, it was pretty much like putting the cd on...ok, it might have been a bit louder than on your cd player, but then the sound was far from astonishing, so it balances out.... They came back for one encore and that was it. Not catching them on this tour would have pissed me off, but I didn't get much from seeing that gig in particular...oh, well, at least I heard Steven Smith live!
Updated in July 2005 :
.Ambassador 21, 13th of May upstairs at the Garage. (Photos)
If you like Digital Hardcore or industrial techno, breakcore, mixed with evil noize, you’ve got to try the Sick and Twisted parties. They’re run once a month, and if you want to sweat your ass off, don’t even hesitate, just go and experience it by yourself. Last month Alexey and Natasha aka Ambassasor 21 from Belarussia ended up their 2.5 months UK tour doing this show. It was another reason not to miss them.It’s always a big surprise to see them live because this male/female duo really blows up everything: your mind, your ears, your lack of knowledge in belarussian (so you could understand more about the lyrics)…Anyhow, the blast started, we got immediately snatched by their wall of sound, their samples and beats hammered our brains, getting deeper and deeper inside us. I am still wondering how two people can make such a powerful music, what’s their secret? Alexey was triggering his gear while Natasha was giving us a snarl of fury, then he was back with her screaming his guts off for our pleasure and theirs. Ever wanted to know what pure rage could sound like? Well I’ve found my answer, they’ve had it! And if you can cope with harder sound than Atari Teenage Riot, go and raise your fist with these digital punks!!!
http://www.ambassador21.com
Updated in June 2005 :
. Evelyn Petrova, Mephista, Nikos Veliotis, Broadway live in Saint-Etienne Friday, May 27th
Cool and coal venue for the “festival des musiques innovatrices”; this is a renowned cutting edge festival in its 16 th year in St Etienne, France. Let's head to the coal mine museum.
For the opening night of the 3-day festival, this place with a rich past was to welcome the Swedish accordionist Evelyn Petrova, Mephista, aka Ikue Mori, on laptop, Susie Ibarra on drums, Sylvie Courvoisier on piano, Nikos Veliotis, a greek artist I had heard of for his cello work, and Broadway, a local electronic postrocker outfit.
The show started in the “Extraction Room” of the museum with Evelyn Courvoisier: this accordion virtuose is hitting the keys as only academists can play jazz on the piano, sometimes adding her voice to the music. A perfect industrial place to hear her surrealist improvisations on the months celebration theme.
That was a particularly warm night. I went to the bar to refresh and waited for Mephista to perform. I was telling a friend i was looking forward to seeing Ikue Mori live and checking out what her work sounded like as part of a band without any Kim Gordon, Dna or John Zorn around.
Ikue Mori sat in the centre of the stage programming her Mac laptop. I tried to get a front view but got a back position instead, enabling me to see the whole three-piece having fun. With her free jazz drum playing, Susie Ibarra is beating the skin off the snare drum, feeling her floor tom, finding the best cymbal sound to cast a spell on her instrument, all the while winking at Sylvie Courvoisier. Sylvie is answering each of Susie's drumstick hit as well as the beats coming from Ikue Mori with tickling the keys of her piano. This exploration of sounds, mixing high tech noises and birds twittering with the analogue music of the drums and piano, is a perfect balance between the research of sound and amusement. The complicity between them and their instruments produced the effect of a great all women compositors avant garde show.
Nikos Veliotis then introduced his video programming and cello repetitive notes, dumping the audience: it sounded like a loop and he was in the semi-dark at the back of the stage, making it difficult to see him playing.
The four-piece Broadway ended up the show in the “Hung Room” creating a hypnotic lazy cold atmosphere mixing scratches, samples, beats with the aerial great pop tonality of Fabb’s voice. Their debut album 06:06am will be out on June 14 th.
Raymonde Howard.
More info :
www.ikuemori.com
www.nikosveliotis.com
www.broadway6am.com
Updated in May 2005 :
.9th April 2005 @Club Motherfucker
-Scanners-The Organ-Les Prototypes-Lesbians On Ecstasy (Photos).
Once more I went to my favourite London Motherfucker Club, run by the lovely Zena and Becky that promote grrrls bands.
The Scanners opened the show. The girl fronted band played a support slot filled with alternate subtle 80’s pop tunes and some Siouxie / Sonic Youth more inspired moments. Apparently they had a bad day, they said. Why did they tell us? More energy and stage presence would have been appreciated but, hey, as they said, maybe it was really bad day for them!Then followed the Vancouver quintet The Organ. Imagine The Smith or Joy Division but turned into girls. Everything was reminding me of that depressive side of these 80’s bands but from a girl’s point of view. And yes The Organ didn’t crack a smile as if their stoical attitude would show us the depth of their feelings. We’ve had some nice emotional melodies predominantly outlined by the guitar and the organ (of course!). And, on the top of it there was Katie Sketch’s vocals, clear and filled with passion.
http://www.theorgan.ca
The third band was very different. Les Prototypes took the stage and warmed it up. These four French guys showed us what french rock’n’roll arrogance was at its best, speaking their mother language to introduce their songs and wriggling their asses like fishes. The audience appeared very enthusiastic and it reacted very well to their performance, cheering them and dancing on all the way through their show. When came their song ‘Dance sur la merde qui passe à la radio’ (which means dance on the crap that is broadcast on the radio), everyone was sweating with pleasure. The blonde lady Singer perfectly brought her own personality and acid vocals/lyrics to the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s influenced guitar riffs. http://prototypesonline.artistes.universalmusic.fr/
Finally the Lesbians On Ecstasy arrived, wearing leather outfits and caps. They opened their show with "The Pleasure Principal". Their sound was much harder that I was expecting. These four ladies got unceremoniously to the point : sex!!! Their weapons were a mac, a bass, keyboards, drum pads and a mic all wrapped up with lust and smiles. They triggered their electronic sounds to an extreme dirtiness, causing ass rolling and lip sucking in the audience. That night was definitively hot in the Club Mofo. Ecstasy you said? Well, maybe some people reached it!
http://www.lezziesonx.com/
Riotmiloo
.Marianne Faithfull, live in la Hune, festival du printemps de Bourges, Wednesday April 21 st.
As we queued one hour before the opening time to rest our legs in front of La Hune venue in the spring festival of Bourges, I realized I was gonna be one of the youngest member of the audience that evening. Sure! Marianne Faithful manages to gather all ages. I was sure her show was going to be great!
900 seats full in a few minutes, 50 yr old she-fans with husbands, jostling through people to get the front view; firemen dealing with the coming swooning. Weird feeling at a gig: age respect.
9:00 pm the curtain rises. Françoise Breut tried her best to support Marianne Faithfull's gig with her sweet, aerial slow tempo melodies. A 40 minutes cold show reminding me of nothing but of a female version of Dominique A.
30mn later: changes of instruments, 4 sets of video cameras rushing on stage... And blue spotlights welcomed a long awaited woman stepping to the centre of the stage. In her white shirt and black suit, Marianne Faitfull pronounced a "Je suis très heureuse de vous voir", thus establishing a friendly link with the already convinced audience. Her four musicians started "Falling from grace". Her deeeeep low voice, the one you’ve heard so many times on your turntable, is coming out from the amplifiers to flirt with your emotions. Some glances at her music score and still this humble and funny tone "How do you like my glasses? They are not very professional!"
A musical journey into her albums, into her works with Mick Jagger, Damon Albarn, Pj Harvey, Chuck Berry, Nick Cave, and into her life. Bluesy versions of her famous tunes alternate with tracks from the latest Album “Before the Poison". Working class hero", "Sister Morphine" in a Manzarek style, “Crazy love”. As she introduces her musicians to the audience, she gives Fernando, her bass player, a kiss. On "Strange Weather" she bursts out her feminist anger burning in her heart "your dick's like a pistol in my bed". Such a charisma that you never want this evening to end. Under her spell, a never ending round of applause asks for more. And here she is for the encore, ending the show with "Broken English" and "Why d’ya do it?”. As the crowd is standing up, the musical friendship between the audience and her has definitely touched everybody that night in Bourges.
Laeti.
Updated in April 2005 :
.Stink Mitt, Spasibar, Oslo, March 22
They opened the show on a casual tone, telling anecdotes related to their tour and their first impression of Norway. Immediately the atmosphere turned into a friendly, relaxed one in the living-room-like Spasibar. People turned less stiff on their chairs, the one standing changed their quasi army-like position to a smoother, more comfortable one. The two grrrlz on stage definitely knew what they were doing: this was their space, their passion, their art. We all realized this was going to be a good show.
The music began and the grrrlz started dancing and riming: it was fun, political, radical, in the Scream Club/Fanny Pack/Gravy Train-y trend if you see what I mean, miles away from the 98% boring MTV hiphop that you have to endure when you turn the TV or the radio. MC Jenni Craige & MC Betti Ford offered the crowd a powerful, colourful, exciting performance, and as someone in the audience put it: "they are rawking with the best mistresses and masters of ceremonies that exist, if it's one thing they surely don't lack, it's talent that's for sure" see, I was not the only one getting super enthusiastic. What I especially liked with the show is that everybody left with a big smile on their face.
For part II, stay tuned: they are coming back this summer !!!!!
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