The Gossip Irving Plaza

The Gossip Irving Plaza
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

I have never seen a bad Gossip show and I've been seeing them since their first tour with Sleater-Kinney in 1999 (my office mate LM and I just realized we were both at that show in Boston, which made us laugh). Though I felt their show at the Knitting Factory this spring where everyone was packed in and dancing so hard the floor shook captured a little more of this band's spirit, they sounded great and looked great. The best part of the show for me was the girls in front of me, pressed against the stage. They were probably about 20 years old, all young women of color, screaming their lungs out for Beth and jumping up and down the entire show. As jaded as I might be, this, for me, is what makes going to shows like this worth it. To know other young ladies can feel inspired, alive, excited by this music. It certainly did that for me. It's funny to think that the kids in the Gossip are my age and I know they might have made the conscious choice to be rockers and it makes me think about how once I might have wanted to be a "rock star", but when I think about the late nights and hauling heavy shit around, I feel happy about the choices I've made.