Gogol Bordello Broke My Ears
The bells are still ringing...It's monday afternoon, nearly 2 days since the carnage that was Gogol Bordello's last live uk date in Manchester, and i can't hear properly! If i hadn't enjoyed it so much i'd sue!
The whole experience was extra special having got on a mission after trying to get into the Astoria show in London the night before only to be scuppered by touts wanting 40 quid a ticket. It was midday in Stoke Newington and after a few weeks of trying to get to see the original gypsy punks before they head back to the US it had come down to this. Leave town now and you might just get in. Trains, cars, buses, boats, everything except the planes; must be needing some kind of quest to follow at the moment.
And aye carumba did it pay off! Everything you could ask for - 2 hours of pogo mosh in a ukranian new york style! At one stage having dragged two ageing punks off the floor one turned to say 'I'm getting too old for this'. That's how much energy they put out.
It's great to see a shit kicking band with a blatantly political agenda coming out of the states. You can't help wondering whether it confirms the old 'art from extremes' theory. Such an extreme state america has found itself in there can only be more cultural backlashes like this. Not that they're directly commenting about America - the issues Gogol Bordello talk about are universal. But my god they know how to party. Hopa! Look them up at http://www.gogolbordello.com