On Friday night, the hubby and I went to see Gogol Bordello. For like, the millionth time. And, like very time before that, they never disappoint.

I’ve written about them many times before, and posted more videos than I know what to do with. So I was wondering if there was even going to be anything new to write about this time. Guess what? There is!

But first, the fun stuff.

What an amazing show.

When the husband and I showed up to the show, we saw lines of people, but then off to the side was Yuri, the accordion player. He was sort of sitting outside the venue on a little stoop, pink frisbee in hand. We stopped to say hello, and he kind of made this motion with the frisbee, so we thought “Aw, what the heck.” We threw it back and forth with him a bit until finally it flew out into the street and got run over by a car. It was fine though (that’s one heckuva frisbee!), and I retrieved it and came back to find a security guy kind of hinting at Yuri to not play frisbee with the fans (my guess is because we run into the street to retrieve the frisbee). Yuri held his frisbee and said “But look, it is pink and so nice, no?”

Gogol Bordello has this MC named Pedro. I like him a lot. Before each show, he comes out and DJs for a bit. This time, he was wearing a lucha libre mask, and had this really cute dancer with him. I snagged a clip so you can see what I’m talking about.

She is cute, no?

Then the band came on.

Woohoo! It’s always a party. A big, sweaty, packed-like-sardines party. I have yet to attend a live show that packs a punch quite like this. What I like about Gogol Bordello shows is that you have fans from all walks of life, and usually none of them are annoying. I think the fan base kind of reflects the band.

If you read their profiles on their newly remodeled web site, you will come to learn that the band members come from many different countries, perhaps one from every continent? If you’ve never listened to them, I’ll just go ahead and tell you that they classify themselves as “Gypsy Punk.”

The great thing about their diverse backgrounds (Russia, Ukraine, Ecuador, Ethiopia, etc.) is that you get this great diverse sound. And when you see them play, you see it come out. You can tell who has a background in Dub, Rock, etc. When you’re a mutt like me, you can appreciate this even more.

I am half Kansan / half Palestinian. It’s no secret the troubles that go on in Palestine. I didn’t get to grow up there, but DID get to grow up elsewhere in the Middle East. And Kansas. So you can understand the difficulty I have grasping onto a real sense of cultural identity. Some can make the most of their melting pot background, I have trouble getting them all to blend.

But when I’m at Gogol Bordello shows, I get it. I grasp how to get all these backgrounds to come together. So when this music starts up and I pump my Palestinian-bracelet-clad fist into the air, I finally feel at peace. I feel proud.

And then I feel a shoe to my head. Or two. Because let’s face it, you get your butt kicked at this show. I wasn’t kidding about being packed like sardines.

This year their newer tracks seemed a bit more political. And the lead singer gave a speech about how disgusted he was when they went to visit Turkey. He expressed a (let’s say) distaste over what he expressed was a lack of preserving culture (i.e. building fancy hotels over what used to be culturally significant areas). It’s no secret that they’ve been political, but I think that stronger political messages will be coming from Gogol Bordello.

But don’t expect the party to die down anytime soon.
Here’s the lead singer, Eugene, and what I can only describe as his sparkly pope hat.

After the show we got to talk to one of the dancers, Elizabeth. My goodness, we love Elizabeth. She takes time after every single show to talk to us. About whatever. She even let me interview her the last time they came through. What a sweetheart. She knows just how to make us silly fans happy.

We went to a show in Omaha once, where about 6 people showed up. I am not even kidding. And Elizabeth was there, handing out free t-shirts to anyone who stayed to talk. It made me think about all their hard work, and how they went from playing for crowds of 6 people, to sold out (and bigger, and bigger) venues. I don’t like The Beaumont, would rather they played Liberty Hall again. But it doesn’t matter, they still put on a fantastic show, and find a way to connect with the fans. And in my case, make me feel like I finally belong somewhere.

Okay, enough with the cheezy stuff. Here’s an awesome clip from the show, when they played “Start Wearing Purple.”

If you’ve never seen them perform this song before, watch what the fiddler does at about 2:32 in. Yeah!

Enjoy!