Gogol Bordello

Review: Gogol Bordello's long awaited Metro show was an all-ages occasion. And when I say all-ages, I really mean it. Within 20 minutes of being hustled towards the stage sans-alcohol (thanks all-ages licence restrictions!), I caught sight of a boy that couldn't have been more than 15 and a man that couldn't have been younger than 65. They both seemed ready for a party.

The gig kicked of to a roaring start with ‘Ultimate', and solo lines of melody were given to vocals, fiddle, piano accordian, percussion, guitar and bass in turn as a means of introducing the band's seven members, who hail from countries as far flung from one another as Ukraine, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Israel and Russia.  

Crowd favourite ‘Start Wearing Purple' provoked the audience into a rapturous jig, that, had punters been permitted to drink in the auditorium, would have caused many an audience member to slop said booze down their fronts. I think this mental image goes someway to expressing the sentiment of the song. If I were partial to a little from-the-bottle wine swigging while I danced about, like Gogol frontman Eugene Hütz, I would most certainly start wearing purple.

‘Wonderlust King' was another highlight and the whole crowd chanted along as the musicians darted about the stage, only to stop and join the crowd at various mike stands. It's a shame that the vocal mikes were a little low, because many of the lyrics were drowned in the glorious sea of gypsy jam, which meant the crowd missed out on gems like, "Homemade sex toys and whatnot/Yeah, and why not?/Well at least it's something different/From what they got in every other airport." It would have been easy for us to enjoy the simpler and more audible lyric, "Party party party party party party, now after party," but alas, their track ‘Supertheory of Supereverything' was omitted from the set list.  

Near the close of the set the band launched into a sombre Eastern European ode to alcohol (ironic given the circumstances), but the mood did not remain depressive for long, with the members quickly jumping back into another lively track from new album, Super Taranta! before the riff that opened the show returned to close it.

Despite playing loose and relaxed gypsy folk blended with punk rock, the band plays an incredibly tight set, changing styles, tempos and time signatures with the greatest of ease. They're incredible musicians and even more phenomenal performers. At which other gig could you witness a percussionist crowd surf atop his bass drum during a half hour encore? And it must be said; he looked pretty damn poised while doing it. The riff from ‘Ultimate' returned once again with percussionist mid-dismount and with that, the epic near two-hour set was complete. Erin Moy