Gogol Bordello At Nokia Theatre, Wednesday, October 13th, 2010: The Party Incarnate -by Iman Lababedi

Yesterday was the third time I was seeing Gogol Bordello live, and the perpetual energy they create on stage never stops to strike me. Of course the first time leaves the biggest impression, but the infectious rhythm of any of their shows always spreads on the crowd like a contagious happy virus, that nobody can escape.

I had already seen them last June, so I did not want to spend another $40 or so on another concert, having already been very busy with music events lately, but when I won a ticket in a web contest, the idea of seeing them again just made me happy. The contest asked to write 2 or 5 lines about the band, and I thought, write? I do that all the time lately, so let’s give it a try, and I got to see my favorite Russians once again.

In June they were playing at the Mayan, and the crowd was young and disheveled, wild and so impulsive I had to give up my spot in the front rows just to save my ass. The Nokia club crowd was relatively less wild, although I saw a lot of crowd-surfing people, but the spot I had on the side of the stage, at the entrance of the photo pit was relatively safe. The Gogol Bordello crowd is always fascinating, a mixed of Black Flag tee-shirt wearing punks, aging Russian women, and young girls whose outfits fantasize about Ukraine and Jean Paul Gaultier.

But Gogol Bordello is not about fashion, they are the real thing, angry, revolution exalting and knowledge raising, with an attitude of debauchery, and last night was no exception. Of course they played all their songs celebrating immigration and nomadic existence, like ‘Wonderlust king’, ‘Immigraniada’, and ‘Immigrant punk’, Eugene inevitably evoking the Arizona’s anti immigration law between the songs, and ambiguously declaring ‘Let’s stick to Lalaland, it’s so much better’.
Before the show The Pogues, and the Clash were played in the club, and there is undeniably some kind of connection there, some tribal connection, similarly using ethnic music of different places (the gypsy part is now well complemented by many Brazilian, Hispanic influences) and producing their own chaotic bastard sound of flurry of violins, guitars and accordion.

The stage was in constant fire, like an incessant stormy rampage, moving in waves front stage and back, Eugene bending a million times over the crowd, his guitar upside down in his back as if he was gone on some road trip, keeping the crowd in constant frenzy, security guards receiving crowd surfers every minute. He came fully dressed, and as usual removed his jacket then tee-shirt after a few songs, becoming little by little the naked torso hero of all Gogol Bordello’s pictures. There is something a little romantic about his way of leaning over the crowd at the risk of falling from the edge of the stage, haranguing the audience like a crazy ringmaster. His recent life in Rio de Janeiro has even increased this circus aspect of the show, with more bouncing, cumbia and Brazilian rhythms on ‘Last one goes the hope’, ‘Raise the knowledge’, or ‘Pala tute’.

I don’t think they will ever perform without the fantastic and unbridled ‘Start wearing purple’ during which Eugene always hold a wine bottle, sprinkling the front rows with the purple liquid.

There was an encore which lasted for many songs, the band wanting to extend the ‘after-party’ till exhaustion, a word nevertheless unknown in Gogol Bordello’s world, and the acoustic renditions of ‘When universes collide’, ‘Sun is on my side’, and especially ‘Alcohol’ so desired by the crowd, slowly installed an intimate Russian-gypsy ambiance, closing the long night, and somewhat calming the audience still high on adrenaline.

Setlist
Tribal connection
Not a crime
Wonderlust king
Companjera
Last one goes the hope
Trans-continental Hustle
Immigraniada
Break the spell
Immigrant punk
Raise the knowledge
Pala tute
Start wearing purple