I caught the second night of Gogol
Bordello's two night stand at First Avenue Nightclub. Missing the
opening band (DeVotchka, whom I hear lit the place up), I arrived
just in time to pick up my drink at the bar and dispose of it en
route to the dance floor as the screen started to rise. The
energy in the club was frenetic, and surprising for a Sunday night
crowd, but the energy onstage was even more astonishing. This band,
which tours enough to beg the question, “Why bother keeping a
home?” knows just what the audience wants, and gives it to them.
From the wild antics to the pounding
rhythm, from the meshing of genres to the confrontational lyrics one
thing that really comes through at a Gogol Bordello concert is the
joy of performing. Like an electromagnetic coil, Eugene Hutz and band
vibrate and generate a heat that is contagious, focused and
oddly not alienating. Looking around at the crowd gathered, I see faces
from many backgrounds and many generations. There are young, college
age, middle age and remnant hippies; punk rock attitudes,
suburbanites and cooler than thou scenesters; black, white, asian,
latino - all in the same crowd and all deeply invested in the same thing,
the music and the message.
Like a drug that leaves no hangover,
Gogol Bordello comes on with a buzz, takes you to profound
realization highs and leaves you wanting more. Next time they are in
town, and there WILL be a next time, this is a concert not to miss.
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