A Gogol Bordello show is one of the rowdiest, most intense event you can experience in rock n' roll. The term absolute insanity doesn't even begin to describe the atmosphere, on the stage or in the crowd, and this show was no exception, like if the Clash, Goran Bregovic, Mano Negra and Bob Marley all got hammered on red wine and started an orgy. Simply put, this was one of the best show we've seen this year, and we've seen a lot.
But this time, the gypsy circus has the added weight of the war in Ukraine, frontman Eugene Hütz' country of origin. Revolutionary, drunkard, poet, philosopher, linguist, soldier, punk, gypsy, dreamer and circus ringleader, Hütz is all that and more. More than once over the course of the evening, he reminded the crowd of the plight of his people, but their show isn't a somber affair, or a pity party: it's a show of solidarity, and as such, it's as much a part of the war effort as the F-16 fighter jets Zelensky was promised.
And on that stage, the musicians are just as culturally diverse as the music they play: hailing from Brazil, Poland, the United States, Ecuador, Ukraine and Russia, this collective makes good on their injunction to "Think Locally, Fuck Globally". Where do they find the energy to play those absolutely draining two-hour shows every night? This question is probably best left unanswered. All that matters is that Gogol Bordello on stage is everything a rock n' roll show should be: it's fun, it's loud and it's crazy, it's generous, it's a communion and a it's catharsis... the perfect place to drink and dance the world's and your problems away.
