The Gossip, Webster Hall, NYC. 4/16/08
I have become totally obsessed with American Idol this season, which might be ironic since everyone is up in arms about how it’s the worst season ever — which I totally disagree with, — and how the ratings are down. Isn’t everything down this year? The economy, record sales, my emotions. It’s all down.
Tons of big video after the jump!
But I digress… I went to see the Gossip after having a less-than-riveting evening with my TV and Idol. They were all doing their best karaoke versions of Mariah Carey songs, which bored the hell out of me for several reasons including: I don’t know any Mariah Carey songs other than maybe 4 of them, I can’t stand it when people sing Mariah Carey at karaoke or on Idol because it’s so played, and I really just wanted to see the Gossip frontwoman, Beth Ditto, show them how it’s done.
If Beth Ditto were on American Idol she would probably win. Her curves are like Aretha, her voice is like Janice Joplin if she were raised to sing like Aretha, and she’s got more originality and sexiness in her little pinky than, dare I say it, Michael Johns.
Lucky for me, attending the Gossip’s show at Webster Hall was almost like a nod to my favorite show, but instead of being filled with crying teenaged girls like it is on Idol, the venue was filled with screaming Gay & Lesbians and me. The Gossip performed well on their original songs, and of course amazingly on their breakout hit “Standing in the Way of Control”:
But they shined during George Michael’s “Careless Whisper”:
And Ditto was even awesome when she started singing Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy” while the band turned their instruments:
The most memorable moment of the show was when Ditto led the entire audience in a “We Are Important” chant that had nearly 100 people from the audience on stage with her:
April 25th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Absolutely love Beth Ditto. I mean who apologizes to her front row because and i quote “my pussy might smell.” It didn’t smell & i couldn’t think of a more intimate venue than The Troubadour to get my Beth on. Monster voice. Monster performance.