When Gogol Bordello bandleader Eugene Hutz took the stage at the 9:30 Club Sunday night, he noted, “The sense of community in Washington for Gogol Bordello is priceless.” The dedication of that community was evidenced by the weekend’s two consecutive sold-out shows. Over the past couple of years, sold-out Gogol Bordello shows near the end of the year have become something of a tradition. It’s appropriate: Experiencing an intense gypsy punk explosion complete with wild dancing is a far better celebration of the changing year than clinking champagne glasses or watching a ball drop.
The appeal of the New York-based (but primarily Eastern European-bred) band is unique; they take all of the non-stop celebratory spunk of gypsy music and the urgency of 1980s punk rock, and somehow seamlessly blend the two. Their closest cousin would probably be the Pogues, another punk band that includes a strong folk connection, complete with accordion and violin. However, Gogol Bordello’s mustachioed punk troubadour is far more charismatic and seems less bent on senseless drunken destruction than he does on starting a really, really good party.
The merry travelers certainly had no problem in that regard. When he wasn’t pouring red wine out into the crowd or standing on the monitors, Hutz swung his guitar around freely, working the crowd into a frenzy. If he wasn’t at the forefront of the controlled mayhem, then at least one of five other band members would take the lead, marching around with their instrument of choice or just yelling forcefully and joyously into the crowd. It was quite effective. Although it must have been around 90 degrees Fahrenheit near the front of the stage, the audience responded in kind by either finding a dance partner or crowdsurfing.
Last year, the band released Pura Vida Conspiracy, and the large backdrop highlighted the importance of this album in the set. As such, some of the previous staples of their live show culled from 2005’s
Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike like “Immigrant Punk”, “Dogs Were Barking” and “Think Globally, Fuck Locally” have been cut from the setlist. But even though older songs like “Not a Crime” may have garnered the most hearty shout-alongs, like all good parties, it didn’t necessarily matter which song was playing as the band put their all into every song.
One of the songs that people come ready to see is the anthemic “Start Wearing Purple.” Hutz and company played it well before the first set ended, but not before teasing the crowd a bit first. After what sounded like the telltale opening chords on his acoustic guitar, Hutz told a prematurely enthusiastic audience member, “It is not that song. It’s at least as good as the song you thought it was,” before launching into a spirited cover of Fugazi’s “Blueprint.” As far as Fugazi covers go, this was one of the more interesting ones as it did not remain sonically faithful to the original (which was certainly never imagined with an accordion and violin). Still, it felt like a successful rendition. The riotous shouts of Gogol Bordello may be a far cry from Guy Piccioto’s righteous and immovable growl, but as they’ve also been known to veer toward socio-political themes, hearing the six shouts of “Never mind what’s been selling/It’s what you’re buying” from the stage seemed appropriate. Eventually, “Start Wearing Purple” made its appearance after a few bars of “Another Brick in the Wall”.
Yet the most interesting and bizarre success of the night was their performance of Super Taranta! standout “American Wedding.” After receiving a request for that song during the encore, Hutz responded, “I guarantee that we have forgotten how to play that song but we’re going to do it, because you’re going to do it.” Sure enough, no melodies were played from the stage during that song. Hutz sang the lyrics, assisted by the crowd as the rest of the band engaged in a wildly dissonant display of stomping and percussion. It was somehow perfect and a true testament to the feeling of community and celebration encompassed by the band.
