Vocally untouchable, Beth Ditto booms Bessie Smith magnetism, but rather than chitterlings, Ditto deserves a pack of lozenges and, along with her bandmates, much respect for relentless energy and sweat. Instead of seeking a hot dog for her bun, Ditto prefers, and so breathlessly declares before ‘Yr Mangled Heart,’ ‘This is for the faggots! The G-A-Y, the D-Y-K-E-S!’. Her predilection for dedication continues into a neat cover of ‘Are You That Somebody’ that’ll get darling Aaliyah shimmying in her grave. This live album may provide an aperitif for those who’ve never seen the band perform. Since Janis Joplin, no one has commanded Ditto’s revolutionary song presence. Her declaration at the end of ‘Jealous Girls’ that ‘It’s hot!’ cannot approximate the mesmerizing visual reality. Backed by guitarist Brace Paine’s and drummer Kathy Mendonca’s passionate cakewalk, the delirium tremens which encapsulated the notion of the blues over a century ago gets punked and pinched beyond the boundaries of structural formality into idiosyncratic bliss. And the band’s toppling gut-bucket cover of ‘Careless Whisper,’ popularized by none other than Sir George Michael, smashes Liverpool’s juke-joint walls to yellow splintered pieces.
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