Gogol Bordello & Debauche, Riviera Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

I first saw Gogol Bordello at a festival in 2008, then a second time a few months later at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC. Despite loving both performances and to this day considering them to be one of the best live acts touring today, I had not seen them in over seven years and still didn’t get tickets in advance. I don’t know what I was thinking. I always planned to but was hoping to find someone interested in going with me. I didn’t push anyone too hard because it was on a Wednesday night, and not having to wake up early the morning following their show would definitely be preferable. I didn’t end up getting a ticket and the show ended up selling out in the days preceding.

So upon arriving, I migrated up and down the long line of guests waiting to enter the venue. Towards the back of the line, I found a guy with an extra ticket that he was willing to part with for face value. Like lead singer Eugene Hütz, he and his friends were Ukranian. Actually, he claimed to be from the same area as Hütz, and spoke of Gogol Bordello song lyrics that reference places in his old neighborhood.

I split off as I entered the venue and headed to my usual Metro spot on the far left, finding a group of short people to stand behind. I arrived around 9:30 while Debauche was still opening up the show. On their website, they describe themselves as “a Russian Mafia Band that plays great Punk Rock Hooligan Russian Street Songs.” They were the perfect pair for Gogol Bordello, maintaining a similar gypsy punk vibe. They was also a bit of a circus aspect to their performance, including a belly dancer with a tambourine and an upright bassist that played while standing on his instrument. And he wasn’t a slight man. I’m not sure where the rest of the band called home, but the lead singer was the squirrely, but tough looking guy who spoke with a Slavic accent. I certainly wouldn’t have been surprised if he was indeed part of the Russian Mafia. They were quite good, though not nearly as rambunctious as Gogol Bordello.

Between sets, a bouncer and guest came crashing to the floor in front of where I was standing, as the bouncer attempted to wrestle the guest to the ground and the incredulous guest demanded an explanation. I never found out what he was accused of but after a minute or two, the pair headed towards the back. Their shenanigans opened up a large hole and I found myself only a couple rows from the stage, though off to the far side still.

Gogol Bordello plays punk rock with traditional Romani (the actual name for “gypsy,” which refers to a traditionally nomadic ethnic group, living mostly in Europe and the Americas and originating from the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent) sounds and instruments. In accordance with the band’s target demographic, there was an unusually large number of punks and Eastern Europeans in attendance (including many instance in which both categories applied to the same person). There were many people speaking what sounded like Slavic languages around me. A group of such girls tried to wedge themselves in front of the guy standing next to me. His comment, “I’m not sure they know that it’s a punk show. When they figure it out, I doubt they’ll keep standing there.”

It was almost 10:30 by the time Gogol Bordello took the stage. Their performance soon proved to be just as I remembered it, a massive amount of energy and a grand time. Shortly after it began, the mosh pit started. I was on the outside of it, but it wasn’t too long before I threw myself into the mix, then headed more or less front and center. Through much of the show I was dead center and only a few bodies from the front. The only people in front of me were clinging onto the railing or the person in front of them for dear life. The pit was a blast, and as I hoped everyone was friendly and respectful – stopping to find lost shoes, elbows down, immediately helping anyone who fell to their feet. Everyone around me had broad smiles spread across their sweaty faces. As close as I was, with all the moving, it was a bit hard to get decent, unshaky pictures. At some point, the acrobatic bassist from the previous band joined us in the pit.

Hütz and his band were working just as hard on stage. He started with a jacket but soon started stripping layers. It wasn’t looking before he was shirtless. From my vantage point, it was easy to see the sweat pouring down his face the same as with the crowd. The band hails from all of the world – Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, China/Scotland, Ethiopia, Ecuador, and the US. The many members play a variety of modern and traditional instruments. Often the entire band except the drummer would come to the front of the stage to play, sing, and dance.

It wasn’t long until people started crowd surfing, which I never really mind. However, what really did get under my skin was that the bouncers didn’t “catch” people, and allow them to come over the railing in a controlled and safe fashion. Instead, the bouncers would literally push or shove the people back into the crowd when they came towards them, yelling that we should put the person down. There are a few problems with this. First, crowd surfing is fine when done in a controlled way. However, pushing surfers back to the crowd is dangerous. It creates an abrupt change in the surfer’s direction, not only forcing the people holding them to do so longer than they planned but also throwing them off balance. The only people that I saw fall did so after a bouncer pushed them back into the crowd. Next, those of us underneath the person don’t have specific individual control where they’re going. All we can really do is hope to keep the person up, thus keeping them safe. Yelling at us to put them down or send them another direction isn’t really effective. Last, don’t invite Gogol Bordello to play your club, then act surprised when people start crowd surfacing.

The show had advertised that the band would be playing their seminal album, Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike (2005). From what I could find of the setlist, it looks like they might have played it out of order. They also made no mention of it during the show, though as lively as the performance was, Hütz didn’t really talk to the audience much. It was a bit before midnight when they finished their main set, with Hütz sitting on a drum held up by those in the front couple rows. At that point, I broke for the door. A staffer mentioned on my way out that that the band would have another 4 songs or so to play. Dripping with sweat and exhausted, I replied something like “look at me, you don’t think I got my money’s worth.” It was awesome, but I was spent and it was a weeknight.

Setlist:
Sally
Never Young
Not a Crime
Immigrant Punk
Avenue B
Oh No
Dogs Were Barking
Mishto!
60 Revolutions
Illumination
Think Locally, Fuck Globally
Underdog World Strike
Santa Marinella
Start Wearing Purple
Wonderlust King
Undestructable
Pala Tute
Ultimate
Alcohol
Baro Foro