I don’t know if you noticed this or not, but on Saturday Downtown Lawrence was swarming with Gogol Bordello.

It seems that everywhere you went during the day, you’d see someone from the band (or at the very least, a roadie). I ran into a couple of them downtown.

The first person I ran into was Elizabeth Sun. She’s one of the dancers/singers. Here’s a photo of her at Saturday night’s show (my coworker Bethany Smith took the amazing photos you’ll see in today’s entry).

The husband and I have seen and talked to Elizabeth enough times over the last five years that we recognized each other from half a block away. We talked a little bit about the show, and went on our merry way.

About 20 minutes later, I ran into Pedro and had the chance to talk to him for a little bit. He told me they were looking for a good spot for an after party so they could hang out with the fans.

I think the band is making an honest effort to give something back to their dedicated fans. Here’s why.

Like I said, we’ve been seeing the band for about 5 years now. The very first time we saw them was in Omaha. I am not in the least bit exaggerating when I say there were no more than 8 people at that show. It is still one of the best show’s I’ve ever seen.

I like to think of that scene, where 8 people discovered their new favorite band that night, when they perform today. Especially when you seen scenes like this:

That’s from the show at Liberty Hall on Saturday night. A packed crowd, and look at the magic that happens at 1:00 in. Everyone’s on the same page.

It seems that for a while, their popularity was spiraling out of control. I use the word spiraling, because it went from an eight-person audience, to sold out concert halls within a year. It became increasingly hard to “mingle” with the band after each show (I know you can’t ALWAYS interact with the band, so we’re always appreciative when they take time to talk), and now everybody knew who they were.

But on Saturday the band had a mission: to reconnect with their longstanding and loyal fans. I got the suspicion when I first talked to some of them in Downtown Lawrence earlier in the day.

Then, the frontman did this:

That’s not MY clip. Somebody else recorded that. But what you’re looking at is Eugene Hutz coming out BEFORE the opening band even took the stage, and playing a private little pre-show to reward those who showed up early. Another sign that they’re giving back to their loyal and eager fans.

A few years ago, after a show they played at the Bottleneck, the band wanted an after party, so we all headed down to the Replay. Instead of mingling with the crowd, they sat in a closed off section, and didn’t talk to anyone at the Replay for the rest of the night.

Saturday was a much different story. At the end of the show, the band thanked the fans who had been attending their shows for years (also something I had never seen them do before), and told them there would be an after party at the Bottleneck.

True to their word, they showed up, and mingled, shook hands, took photos and drank with anyone who talked to them. They were just lovely. They were on their best behavior, and everybody had a good time. I didn’t see one sour face in the crowd.

I asked Eugene (the frontman) if he remembered a show 5 years ago in Omaha with 8 people attending. He said he remembered, and then sincerely thanked us for showing up.

I don’t know if he really remembered the show, or if he was just being polite, but it was that effort to really connect with their fans (especially the loyal ones) that struck me. I’ve seen him blow people off after shows before, and now it appears he’s had a change of heart.

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty psyched for the next album. I can’t wait to see where this takes their lives shows, which are arguably some of the best shows us silly little fans can go to here in little old Kansas.