Turbonegro and The Gossip Rocked it Out

It’s not often when I get to see two of my favorite bands in the same week. Though each band inhabits their own particular and unique point on the broad spectrum of the rock and roll curve, and they hail from literally opposite ends of the earth, both of these performances had me grinning ear to ear. I felt totally ecstatic, screaming approval, jumping up and down and knowing exactly where rock and roll lives in all its exalted, burning soul-stirring glory.

The first show I attended was the absolutely sold-out return of Oslo phenomenon Turbonegro, touring in support of possibly their best record to date, Party Animals. After a two-year absence from San Francisco, this band’s fan base was out in full force and seemed more concentrated than ever. There is an organized Turbonegro fan club called Turbojugend with chapters all over the world. Members of Turbojugend wear leather and/or denim jackets with a patch on the back that bears their insignia, a drawing of a traditional leatherman’s cap (think Tom of Finland or Marlon Brando in The Wild Ones) and below that the particular chapter of Turbojugend they represent.

I saw people from Tokyo, Berlin, Fresno, Seattle, Sacramento and more, many of them wearing sailor caps or leatherman caps, some with the distinctive eye make-up sported by Hank the vocalist. The members of the fan club formed a large boisterous mass in the middle of the crowd and would often sing in unison a line from “I Got Erection” with the woh-ooh-oohs in place, which really started to fire up the ready-to rock-crowd. The lights soon went down and the band members sauntered onstage to some recorded intro music, something orchestral and bombastic which reminded me how bands used to do that a lot more a long time ago—and I think it’s cool. They were all wearing uniform-like outfits, each in its own way splashed liberally with some homoerotic accessories or themes like a sailor suit, leather pants, dog collar, metallic helmet, military trench coat, bandanas, eyeshadow, lipstick and more. I really like a band that takes a bit of pride in their appearance, even if it’s gay pride. When it was time for charismatic vocalist Hank to enter in his usual caped, harnessed Viking warrior freak drag with a walking stick, out walks a midget dressed like him and takes center stage, soon to be chased off by the real Hank, walking stick ready to beat the little impostor. The band tore into “All My Friends Are Dead” and the place exploded into jubilant people-passing-over-your-head motion. I knew we were in for a show.

Hank was in rare form, introducing nearly every song in his usual antagonistic, sarcastic and geographically specific way. “So good to be here on the West Coast tonight. I’m really stoked. Are you stoked?” All delivered in his best faux American accent. It seemed there was nothing he could say or do that wouldn’t be met with overwhelming cheers and laughter. At the end of their second song their backdrop, a black curtain with the party animals logo dropped down to reveal some colorful and weird ass mural that looked like Diego Rivera meets Viking warriors in an inter-planetary video game. I love it when the backdrop of a stage is released and dramatically reveals a new background and mood.

Hank was pattering on about something he likes to do in San Francisco and said “You should all do what the great Grace Slick did here and sell your body to the night,” introducing perfectly their song of the same name and one of my favorites for its hilarious line “Everywhere, every body fix your hair and sell your body to the night.” I loved the snide desecration of a SF rock icon, as well as his comment about San Francisco opening your Golden Gate as he shook his ass at the crowd. During that song they set off some confetti cannons filled with white confetti and fake Turbonegro money with band members’ pictures on them, but it looked totally real. I love confetti cannons. I want one.

The band played a very inclusive set, hitting every single highpoint of their legendary career with pretty astonishing precision and undeniable skill and spirit. At times four of the six members would be standing in a row with guitars, and there’s much to be said for the sheer power of numbers. At the far end of the stage one member traded off guitar and key boards throughout the set and I was watching him closely during his keyboard forays and he was fucking insane, gesturing to people and making all of these strange movements and conversational body language. It wasn’t like he was responding to a voice in his head but more like a cocktail party up there. It was totally cracking me up. Hank also tried to teach the audience how to say motherfucker in Norwegian before a great version of “Don’t Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker.”

The band left the stage and returned for the encore in all new all denim outfits and did a blistering version of “Ride With Us,” which included the additional repeated line “When everybody hates you,” and the midget reappeared in all black and a party animal mask holding up a sign that read the same. It was just like the Ramones used to do with a guy in a pinhead mask and a sign reading “Gabba gabba hey.” I thought it was sweet.

They closed with “Final Warning,” then performed some little line dance to some traditional Norwegian polka sounding music and said goodnight. I love a show with a big finish.

As far as rock shows go this one really captured the excitement and feel of some of the first concerts I ever attended when I was 11. Some might call it cheap thrills, but I’ve seldom witnessed such a happy crowd exiting a show. Turbonegro fucking rule.

The other show I caught this week was The Gossip at Bottom of the Hill, which I had been patiently awaiting for some time now. I was curious to see how the band has weathered their first line-up change with a new drummer, plus I wanted to hear their new material as their next LP isn’t released until Jan. 11—which seems like a fuck of a long time from now. I arrived one song into their set to the sold-out show and dug in as far as I could. The place was packed and the crowd was very, very exuberant. Vocalist Beth Ditto looked beautiful as ever and her voice was strong and urgent, and eliciting screams of joy and approval from the crowd in that completely natural way, sometimes several times per song. I’ve always said it about her; she has one of the most compelling voices in rock. When she gets really unhinged and belts it out hard it’s fucking spiritual. Beth Ditto makes me glad to be alive. Pure talent, total soul; it just doesn’t get much better than this.

However, this show was kind of a revelation to me in a new way. Brace the guitarist really came to the fore in his performance. No doubt he’s been an appealing guitarist all along, but I’m certain I get a bit lost in my focus on Beth. For this show he was totally blowing me away. He’s got a really deep instinctual style and the new songs progress into a somewhat newer vein, flirting conspicuously with a more rhythmic or danceable feel, and he can carry that groove solidly. Of course Hannah on drums seems to provide a pretty solid framework for it all; in fact she’s quite a good drummer and seems to be happy and acclimated in the line-up. She is also a babe, no doubt setting hearts a flutter all across the nation.

Their last song was the title cut from the upcoming album Standing in the Way of Control and we are talking about a blistering, white-hot anthem just waiting to be embraced by the cool youth nation. This song rule—you’ll be hearing it for certain. They returned for an encore of “Yesterdays News,” in which Beth led the audience in a sing-along of shocking clarity—this was a place filled with committed fans.

I stopped by the merch table and couldn’t resist buying a shirt because it said “Last night the Gossip saved my life,” a fine sentiment proven many times over by a great band.