Gogol Bordello – at The Mayan Theater – Los Angeles, CA

There are times when you see a band perform live and you instantly want everyone you know to share the experience. Not just your friends but your older relatives who tell you that music meant something in years past. Not just them but your younger cousins who think that a live show needs to involve a bunch of hired dancers and headset microphones. You even want your co-workers there so they can see there is more to life on weeknights than reality television.

Gogol Bordello is such a band.  Ever since the first time I had heard them, I knew they had to be a stunning live experience. Then several of my friends and relatives started to report back to me.  They told me I simply had to witness the power of Gogol Bordello.  The problem was the last few times that Gogol Bordello had played Los Angeles, it had been for various festivals.  If I was going to see this band, I wanted to see them in a smaller setting.  Luckily, this time around, they were playing the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles. This was my chance.

The show began when singer and guitarist, Eugene Hütz, bounced onto the stage completely alone. He started strumming his guitar and as he played and sang, the rest of the band slowly joined him on stage.  At this point the whole crowd jumped in unison and didn't stop until it was over. (Three songs in, my camera broke)  Hütz has my vote for one of the greatest frontmen of today. He hardly stopped moving.

There is a certain style of playing live that I am in love with. I love when bands play relentlessly. I love when there are very few stops. When the first song ends, the next song begins instantaneously. The Ramones invented it and called it, "Blitzkrieg Bop."  The Dwarves subscribe to this method. Gogol Bordello does it too.

The difference is that there is a lot more going on with Gogol Bordello than just guitar and drums. There is a percussionist who also sort of acts as a hype man and sometimes a dub style MC. There is a second female percussionist who sometimes offers backing vocals.  There is the ever present sound of a violin and an accordion.  It is the most punk rock I have ever heard either instrument sound.

At times, the whole spectacle reminded me of the end of rousing drunken wedding reception. It may have been the fact that violinist, Sergey Ryabtsev, sort of looks like the uncle of any of my childhood friends.  He often stole the show whether he was playing "Tribal Connection", plucking the strings along to a slow quiet number or doing the mighty wail at the peak of the hit song, "Start Wearing Purple"

The band ended their set with a medley that constantly came back to the song, "Undestructible," The crowd would not leave until they were given more.  Gogol Bordello made us all wait a while but no one was moving.  Finally, Hütz took the stage. Once again, he was completely alone.  He played a beautiful melody on his acoustic guitar and led the audience into a sing-a-long tribute to "Alcohol".

The encore was just as insane as the rest of the set. During the last song, Hütz, would entertain one side of the stage while the other six members (everyone but the drummer) of Gogol Bordello ran to the other side. Then they'd switch sides back and forth.

When they finished their encore, everyone wanted more but no one could move. No one had a voice to scream, "One more." Everyone at the Mayan was totally spent.  Two hours of Gogol Bordello is an intense cardio workout.

I'll end this review by saying what everyone has been saying to me for the past few years, you HAVE to see this band live.

-Joe Dana-
 

 
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