Tuesday 31/10/06 The Gossip @ Oran Mór, Glasgow

All sorts are out to see The Gossip - Elvis is here, a roman goddess, Beetlejuice, Poison Ivy, a blow up sheep, selected zombies and pirates and even a giant bumblebee. Singer Beth Ditto is clearly pleased that everyone's in the Halloween spirit. She celebrates by telling a scary story about her Grandma - and really, any story in which a Grandmother is talking about her "snatch" is pretty terrifying. Warming up the stage are Panther - who's from The Gossip's base of Portland, Oregon, and sings a bit like Prince while dancing madly and generally having a great time - and Comonechi, a guitar-and-drums combo who are fantastically noisy.

It's clear, though, that the crowd are just buzzing about seeing the main attraction, who have built up a formidable reputation as a live act. The three piece - Ditto, guitarist Brace and drummer Heather Blilie - crank out a blend of bluesy punk rock over which Ditto's gospel tinged vocals soar. Her voice is an absolute belter - the focus of the group and the hook that reels in the attention of the audience. As she struts back and forth across the stage, she oozes stage presence and sexuality, and her every move is studied and admired. Ditto is clearly a massive part of the band's appeal, and her comfortable rapport with the audience shows she's very happy with that. Even when filling minutes of dead time as Brace's guitar has problems, she chats easily and keeps the atmosphere at a steady high.

The crowd gets dancing through the set, but the last song before the encore, title track from this year's album ‘Standing In The Way of Control’ - Ditto's anthem against the US government's decision against legalising gay marriage - has the whole room stomping and yelling along. The song is a great way of rounding off their set, encompassing both the Gossip's urge to send out a message to, as Ditto lovingly calls them, "the queers and the freaks" but to keep dancing at the same time. From everyone’s reactions tonight, it seems that good reputation won't be going away any time soon.