Ditto absorbed some of that determination from her mother, whom she salutes on "(Take Back) the Revolution." "My mother worked every day of her life for a man who don't care," she sings over a burning churn from her bandmates. She then connects the indifference her mom suffered with the treatment she's had to endure: "All you do is criticize my body, my hair, or the clothes I wear."
The singer has a sharp awareness of the commonalities that cut across various borders, especially age. Onstage, she tweaks the line in "(Take Back) the Revolution" that goes, "Let me tell you, when it's all through, you're gonna get what's coming to you!" to "You got yours, well, you need mine, too!" You might well expect her to say, "I'm getting mine, too,"—a predictable sentiment from a horny 21-year-old. Regardless, it's these powerful shifting perspectives that make the Gossip's music work so well.
TAE WON YU
The Gossip: Beth Ditto, Nathan Howdeschell, and Kathy Mendonca (standing).
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During the gig in Little Rock, Ditto brought her mother onstage—clad proudly in a Gossip T— to sing the song with her.
"It was intense; I almost cried," Ditto says. "It was really cool, because Mom sings really well and she deserves a lot of attention. She wanted to be a singer. She had a fucked-up life and she still does, so it meant a lot for me and for her."
The Gossip are evolving rapidly, the way young bands often do. If Howdeschell really does play in as many side groups as he claims—among them Boy Pussy U.S.A., Fractions, Female Health, and White County—it might help explain his ever-growing confidence with the guitar. "Old noise guys love Nathan," Ditto says, and the two minutes of guitar drone that open "(Take Back) the Revolution" attest that the feeling's mutual.
The band's only problem right now is that they've got so many ideas that they morph from one song to the next faster than they can keep track of them. "Doesn't that sound like the last song?" Howdeschell asks of one tune during a practice in Olympia. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. We just won't play them next to each other."
It's a common complaint from each band member that they've released too much work, particularly on That's Not What I Heard, which shimmies through 14 songs in a scant 24 minutes. Their second full-length is slated for early 2003, but Ditto says they'd like to slow the pace to record an album they're comfortable with, start to finish.
Later that night at the Bottom of the Hill, the Gossip seem concerned about everyone but themselves. This is a band that typically keeps their sets to a hard and fast half-hour, regularly eschewing encores. But on this night, the last of their tour, they oblige a demanding crowd by returning with tourmates the Chromatics for a blast through the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog."
As the song begins its joyful disintegration, it becomes clear just what an incredibly generous display it is. Howdeschell dismantles Mendonca's drums and hands her floor tom to a group of fans dancing stage left. He blows on the mike and, assured it's on, tosses it out to the first few rows in front. His guitar follows.
And then the band leaves the stage. It's not that they don't worry about their gear; they just trust the crowd.
It's as if, having taken back the revolution for themselves, the Gossip are now ready to give it away to everyone else.
The Gossip play the Capitol Hill Block Party main stage (11th and Pine) at 2:45 p.m. Sat., July 13.
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