Gogol Bordello @ Irving 6/9: Gypsyficatzia

Do you remember that scene in Along Came Polly where Ben Stiller plays basketball with that big, fat, hairy, sweaty, guy and ends up with his face rubbing up against the guy's stomach? That was me Friday night at Gogol Bordello.

If you have ever been to a club in a former Soviet bloc country, you might recognise the types of girls at this show. I don't know whether they were dressing that way ironically or not, but I thought it was brilliant. I can describe the style as, um, makeshift, slightly depressing looking slut. The crowd consisted of the Eastern European club girls, slightly sketchy guys, the shirtless moshing gents up front and a smattering of hipsters. A combination which makes for total chaos and an all out riotous party.


I meant to see Gogol last month at Warsaw, but I dragged my heels buying a ticket and was shut out. This was my redemption show and it ended up being one of the top concerts I've ever seen. I've got to pause for a moment and give huge props to my mate Gretchen for telling me about this group. CHEERS!


Gogol is basically me in a nut shell: anti-globalization, anarchtic, punk with an ethnic flair. If you have ever seen the film Everything Is Illuminated, Liev Schreiber uses their music throughout. In fact, Schreiber first approached Gogol founder Eugene Hutz to do the music for the film but then liked him so much he just cast him as the lead.

For most of the show, my crew and I stood in the middle back, away from the chaos up front. We were dancing, sweating, getting beer spilt all over us and having an all out fantastic time so it was decided that for the encore we would get right in the thick of things and mosh. I can't recall ever moshing before at a show, so it was an experience- this is where the sweaty guys with no shirts come in.

Before the encore began, my two friends and I made our way up to the front and settled in but once the music started, we were quick shoved to the side. Our moshing skills were evidently not up to par. (And here's my second shout out) thank goodness for my 6 foot tall, gentlemanly friend JP. He saved Gretchen and I more than once from being tossed to the floor. After he would get through making sure we were alright, he would help a group of guys throw someone in the air to crowd surf. He wanted Gretchen to go but for girls the experience can be a bit too friendly, if you know what I mean. I did however see a kid no more than 10 or 11 and wearing a Gogol shirt get bounced around in the air twice. It was awesome.



You can listen to an interview with Eugene and some live music from the band on Here and Now (Boston's NPR). You can also download the infectious 'Start wearing purple' from the Gogol site here.