REVIEW BY ABBIE STUTZER
If you ever attend a Gogol Bordello show, expect to see wiry, unshaven front man, Eugene Hütz, sport everything from canvas zipper clad pants and sneakers to bright striped belts and high heels.
Hütz and his fellow rocking vagabonds will typically down drinks, bend barricades to interact with the crowd, and dance with the band's beautiful face-painted percussionists. Gogol's quick-paced songs and driving beat demand the band put all their energy into their performance.
On Friday night, Gogol Bordello used every ounce of energy, sweat, and emotion they had to put on a hell of powerful show.
The Beaumont was packed when I arrived. A large chunk of the crowd had already flocked around the stage and was waiting in anticipation of the first act, Man Man.
I'd never heard of the Philadelphia band before I came to the show, and I won't soon forget them. They sounded like a circus cabaret act. Many of the group's songs swung -- some slow and drunken, others fast and chaotic. Man Man incorporated a saxophone, a piano, a xylophone, a trumpet, kazoos, metal pans, and a myriad of other noisemakers to create their unique sound.
The energy Man Man brought to the stage was intense. Each member danced, screamed, jumped and convulsed in jerky coordination, like the Rock-afire animals run amok. They finished with a raucous tune that inspired one of the band's members to jump on a speaker and halfway hang from the ceiling. The crowd was totally amped for the gypsy-punk show to follow.
After a 20-minute break, during which a tall, thin, redheaded woman wearing an army green jump suit and silver three-inch boots danced while winking at the audience from behind her stylish hat, Hütz appeared, followed by the rest of the band: Yury Lemeshev (accordion), Sergey Ryabtsev (violin), Eliot Ferguson (drums), Oren Kaplan (guitar) and Thomas Gobena (bass). Hütz took a swig from the wine bottle he brought on stage and began playing "Illumination," a song from 2005's Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike.
When Gogol launched into their second song, "Ultimate," from the album Super Taranta!, the crowd burst into a frenzied romp. The Eastern European-via-New York punks played each of their songs with vivid intensity. I've seen Gogol perform three times, and they haven't dulled a bit. Gogol successfully integrates booming bass and drums, with harmonious violin and accordion to create their eclectic bar band sound.
Pamela Racine and Elizabeth Sun (dancers, percussion) came on stage during the inspiring sing-along anthem "Wonderlust King."
Hütz addressed the crowd throughout the show. He asked us how we were doing and told stories of how a gypsy colony he knew was impacted by hotel development.
Then came the Clash-inspired "Tribal Connection," followed by "Lela Pala Tute" and one of their most popular songs from Voi-La Intruder, "Start Wearing Purple." As soon as "Purple's" chords were struck, the crowd screamed madly. Fists went in the air, bodies thrashed, and all of Gogol Bordello's members had gigantic smiles strewn across their faces. The song went on for a riotous five minutes.
Gogol closed its set with "Think Locally, Fuck Globally," which asks, I come to New York to start gypsy punk revolt/Now that it's rockin' so why don't I just go home?
After a five-minute break, Hütz strutted back on stage wearing a silver-sequin hat embellished with a sparkly rainbow, yellow star, and red cross. The rest of Gogol soon joined Hütz. Once reassembled, they began their long, three-song encore with "Alcohol."
My only complaint about Gogol's set was that the encore dragged a bit. I love when bands improvise and play different live versions of their songs, but I get a bit bored when a melody is looped for five minutes.
During "Baro Faro," one of the band members climbed a speaker and dove into the crowd. After several improvised wind-ups and downs, the band shifted from stage left to right, thanking the audience profusely.
Gogol's set was magnificent. Each band member expended every ounce of energy they could muster. All of the band members seemed thankful and happy the crowd received them well. Heck, they even looked a bit surprised.
I walked away from the show filled with sheer joy -- and smelling like a barnyard animal.
Set list
Illumination
Ultimate
Sally
Wonderlust King
Uma Menina
Mishto
Imigraniada
Sulukule
Tribal Connection
Lela Pala Tute
Start Wearing Purple
Think Locally, Fuck Globally
Encore
Alcohol
Immy Punk
Baro Foro
Comments (0)