I have always had this notion that Eastern Europe is populated by fashionably saturate, socially abstract, and somewhat fantastical hordes of people who train bears and do jumping, flip dances in the snow. Gogol Bordello didn’t have bears or snow . . . but everything else confirmed my beliefs that, were Seattle an area that had bears and snow, they would have been incorporated into this show. From the minute the crowd laid eyes on Gogol Bordello, the band commanded the sustained, unified roar of the crowd. Clad in everything from athletic warm-up pants, short-short/knee-high sock combos, leather vests, berets, woven bird-like masks, to… shit what weren’t they wearing? Visually, this band is one of the most interesting things I have had the privilege of witnessing.
Musically . . . I wish I could just mad-lib the previous paragraph to describe the sound. It was a freaking circus from start to finish. Post-punk, Gypsy, Western thrash… as tight as any group of musicians could hope to play it. Eugene Hütz led the mystical odyssey with his sergeant-at-arms, the most hardcore violinist I have yet to meet, Sergey Ryabtsev. The dynamic between these two was certainly the most interesting of night, though I would say the marching percussionist/go-go dancers’ interaction with the audience came in a very close second. As Eugene would rile the audience to the point of late 1990’s-esque moshing, Sergey would heroically sweep in to . . . make matters worse. Yeah, his intimate eye contact and fiddle soloing only got an already riotous crowd more enticed to riot. That’s the sort of shit that this concert-goer likes to see; complete and utter disregard for venue law.
I recognized songs from East Infection, Voi-La Intruder, Super Taranta!, and even a Wailers cover? I think it was the Wailers, I am not very reggae–savvy. Unfortunately for the band, I assume, the song that got the most reaction was the . . . gasp! . . . hit single of the most recent album, Wonderlust King. That’s got to be somewhat frustrating, but I am not a traveling musician so perhaps I am totally wrong.
Conclusion: If you liked going to the circus as a kid to see things go horribly wrong, or if you enjoy spending time in drinking establishments with friendly, multi-national hordes, OR if you like Post-punk, Gypsy, Western thrash I can guarantee that you will thoroughly enjoy a Gogol Bordello show.
