The Gossip, The Planet The, King Cobra
The Blackbird
May 9, 10 p.m.
$8, 21+
To describe the sound of Gossip, one need only know their place of origin, Arkansas, and their current hometown, Olympia, Wash.
The group’s front-woman, Beth Ditto, described by one reviewer as a genetic hybrid of George Thorogood and Kathleen Hanna, waxes the searing garage-blues rhythms of her bandmates with lyrics and presence informed by the first wave of Oly riot grrrls but avoids the classic screech of those singers. Instead, Ditto possesses the voice of a seasoned, southern bar-singer, ranging from deep, throaty growling to vibrating howls in the upper registers.
Like this hypothetical bar singer, Ditto sings as though she has become accustomed to the occasional bottles and frequent slanders flung by rough n’ tumble audiences.
On stage, Ditto presents herself as though her audience can smell weakness and if she were to let her guard down for even a moment they would pounce. While in actuality, the Gossip’s audiences are generally sympathetic if not enthusiastic about the group. Ditto never lets down her guard, offering constant reminders of who is in control.
Everything from the quality of her voice to her movement on stage reinforces her lyrical content, often forthright statements about what you, the listener, are going to do for her, the singer and obviously dominant force in the relationship. Lines like “if you’re not certain, honey, I’ll make you sure” from “Rules for Luv” illustrate the relationship between Ditto and her audience. Gossip’s live performances can feel as much like initiation ceremonies as rock concerts, where audience members are sworn into Ditto’s servitude.
The rest of the group, drummer Kathy Mendonca and guitarist Nathan Brace, provides the sweaty, churning foundation that Ditto’s performance relies on. It has been suggested that reverb is the basis of religion, that people are drawn to the preacher’s voice simply because of a church’s acoustics. The Gossip work in a similar manner, with Ditto’s voice being the assertion and the guitar and drums providing evidence.
While Brace is able to exorcise his inner spazz with a side project, most recently known as Die Montr Bats, and focus on straight blues changes with Gossip, evidence of his big-city influences crop up in alternate tunings and occasional noisy Sonic Youth-like passages that will suddenly turn the Gossip aesthetic on its head as Mendonca’s insistent drumming keeps the music from losing direction.
Also performing on Friday will be King Cobra, a recently established group featuring indie-rock superstar Tara Jane O’Neil, known for her work with the Sonora Pine, Retsin and Rodan, as well as her solo recordings. She will be alongside Betsy Kwo and Rachel Carns, who boast impressive resumes of their own.