The Gossip at the Enmore Theatre

Last night was my first gig at Newtown’s Enmore Theatre, to see The Gossip. It reminded me of some of the great music halls in London, particularly the Hammersmith Apollo: grubby, ornate, and well-worn with sweat and loud music. It’s much smaller than the Apollo or Brixton Academy, though the upstairs seats seem to stretch back a long way.

The opening act was meant to be Friendly Fires, but a family crisis mean they had to pull out. I caught a few songs from the latter of the two bands that replaced them: Art Vs Science. They were good openers: their simple, slightly crunchy, very synthy, bouncy, dance sound made for good hype.

There was also a short set between acts from triple j DJ Nick Findlay that kept our toes tapping as we waited.

The Gossip have made a big splash in the UK and in just-slightly-off-mainstream rock circles elsewhere. The capacity crowd certainly screamed from the moment Beth Ditto shimmied on stage in her printed bodysuit. There’s obviously a lot of notice and fan love because she’s an outspoken, unafraid, very short, very fat, gay woman. And she was a good frontwoman last night, dancing and talking and playing with the crowd.

But really, The Gossip’s musical appeal – which is substantial – is threefold:

1. Beth’s voice isn’t a particularly sweet or delicate instrument, but she’s got great emotional rock pipes.
2. Every song is danceable.
3. Drummer Hannah Blilie plays in just the right style to maximise each song’s danceable groove.

They played a fun, 75 minute set. They covered Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” Beth stripped to her undies for “Standing In The Way Of Control”. The delivery is a bit punk: DIY, no-nonsense, little concern about the polish. There were no surprises, nor any letdowns: Beth delivered the fun and attitude, which was what we all expected.