Part 2: Gogol Bordello: LIVE!
So, I have been hinting at this so-called review in a few posts now. I labelled it a concert review, but it has turned into so much more than that. It’s an ode to music, punk spirit, Purple People and community. My notes started off in Dutch, but then quickly veered into English because of all of the people who touched the experience. (I’m sorry if this is confusing, but this is just how my mind works.)
Plus there’s another part to Gogol Bordello that isn’t even about the music or the people but is highly relevant in the world right now. By this I mean their activism and support for Ukraine. (I will definitely touch on that , but will have to expand on that subject in yet another post because there is just SO much to tell). So in saying all this, English makes my little voice louder, and that can amplify their message too. So there. Another three parter. Plus a Fourth. Which will really be the Fifth. (Hey, did I just declare a triology in five parts. Speaking of kindred spirits, I mean!)
Anyway. Enjoy Part two! Read: Part Zero, Part One (-ish)
I had made it in time. The show was about to start. To contain myself, I start typing basic notes. As usually happens when seeing bands, I discover they made new music since I got to know them. (I am very lax in following up on things that are not hyperfixations. That does not mean I love something less, it just means it hasn’t seared itself into my brain yet for some reason.)
Always good to see new music! Solidaritine is the full studio album from 2022. Even better to see is that, in true punk spirit, it is not just a collection of nice sounding notes and chords to dance to. It is a rebellion to the Russo-Ukraine War, taken on tour even as far as the actual frontline. (That’s that WHOLE other blogpost I was talking about. I am not going to go in it, because by now you must be sick of me bait-and-switching you. Just be aware at this point, new music exists. I feel I have to mention this fact on my honour as a journalist, because I will not be able to be neutral when I go on.)
I quickly rush over to the bar to get hydrated before dancing my ass off, but to no avail. The line is too slow and the first tones of Gogol Bordello are sounding out. Oh well, I follow the music, skipping into the beautiful hall that is de Roma and I am instantly smiling.
The energy is purple today. Gogol Bordello radiates something unique from off of that stage. A vibrant life energy, as strong as the sun. You are drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Rhythmically moving your body to the tones, as if controlled like a puppet on a string. It takes you over. Their unique sound, their full-on enthusiasm, mixed in with what looks like absolute chaos. That’s the way I like my music! It is exhilarating. It breathes life into a whole room full of people who are transfixed in happiness. It is a sight for sore eyes.
It’s just an instant party from note one, is what I am saying. We are all the Purple People here and you can’t help but feel a part of something bigger. Unlike most Belgian crowds, this one dances and screams with joy. It’s all that purple, it bleeds out.
Meanwhile, the interval workout my Fitbit is telling me I am in, is wearing me out. These guys play no slow songs, I really have to work on my cardio for next time. But it’s all good, I have some notes to take to try and explain what is going on and why I am so ecstatic here.
A lot of my notes are about beautiful instruments again. Firstly I notice the gorgeous seafoam green archtop (not resonator) guitar that singer Eugene is handling. Then I go on to mention the electrical violin with a resolute ‘fuck yeah’ behind it. I am impressed by a solo the violinist Sergey was playing which I wrote down was a painful song that reminded me of El Tango de Roxanne from Moulin Rouge. (A huge plus in my book, I cannot tell you how much I love that movie and that soundtrack.)
I also get pretty excited about the ‘fucking accordeon lady, yeah’ further on in my notes. I also note she strapped a giant drum to herself and banged her heart out. Unfortunately, I was too far off to see who I was mentioning and my pictures are not helping. I also wrote ‘see X rocking the Banjo‘ but also have no photographic proof of banjos on stage to reference the great X. I am sorry for not being able to name these, clearly amazing, musicians. YOU ROCK so much I have no way of finding out who to shout this at!
There’s nine people on the stage dancing around the fire. The lung capacity of Eugene is impressive, how he can sing, jump and bellow out the words is an impressive feat to witness. This band has the same breaking-down-the-house energy as SONS did in this very same room. No wonder I had to be reminded of them pre-show. When the band is just as drenched in sweat as their audience you know it’s a good show. Insert teaser pic from the last post:
The best mosh pit breaks out, people are surfing across the heads like there’s no tomorrow, so I run upstairs to the balcony to get a better look. I stop to take above selfie of my happy face and head in. What an amazing aerial view of the party of bobbing heads and bodies below! I sit myself down, (mostly because a nice man asked me to get out of the aisle, but happy to grant my body a little much needed rest.) and enjoy a few more songs like this. Excuse this crappy video quality below, but it serves to just to give you an idea of the mayhem and beauty of it all.
Then I hear it. I get up and thrust my Roma Feestbier in the hands of my compatriot. (Literal HOLD MY BEER moment.) I run up the aisle and see a like minded spirit doing the same. I call her out: ‘we have the same idea, you’re doing exactly the same thing’. We smile broadly, both rush downstairs and start dancing to ‘Start wearing Purple’. I dance so fast as to blur the reds and blues of my dress into pure purple. I lose her in the crowd. Besties for life, still, nameless person. ❤
There’s a little lull in the music. Is it over? A break? Someone saw that I was unsuccessfully trying to Soundhound a song, and comes over to help me out. (Somewhere in the dancing confusion, I lost track of where I was in my notes, so I had to go full on investigative journalist on myself to find out what song I was even referencing. Turns out it was the song I compared to El Tango de Roxanne earlier and is an Angelic Upstarts cover called Solidarity.)
Alright, thanks again Joris from Ruddervoorde for helping me out. I asked him if he’d ever seen a Belgian audience go wild like that and if he had danced himself. And he agreed he hadn’t yet seen that level of enthusiasm and he’d danced himself. He is a big fan and his last time at de Roma had also been for Gogol Bordello. The encore starts up and we lose eachother in the sea of happy, sweaty people.
More hopping around ensues and I keep stepping on my dress that is really too long for this. It’s all good and well. (I notice my preferred personal space circle gets a lot smaller in a happy dancing crowd, oddly enough. I don’t even mind the people bumping into me or getting drinks poured over me (usually). It’s just what happens when we’re having fun.) Gogol Bordello keep on playing encore after encore. This band is indestructible!
So many encores already, that in another lull between encores I think they can’t possibly play anymore, so I strike up another conversation with some people near me. Turns out they can’t help me with my ‘enthusiastic dancing Belgians’ question since they’re British. They do confide in me that they were dancing like crazy because of the band and the beer.
I almost follow them out for their smoko, but decide against it when I hear some more music blasting off the stage. No way I am missing even a second of this party. Bye unknown strangers, no way I’ll ever find you in the crowd after the show to finish this story. (Spoiler for part three: I DO find them, in the most unlikely of places and they serenade me with MMMbop. Proof incoming.)
In short. Gogol Bordello is life. The music and the musicians are amazing and wild. The crowd is a joy to be a part of. It’s not just a show. You make friends here. It’s a place to just enjoy life. It’s a world of its own. Full of purple people. Full of hope.
The end of part two. Part Three will contain all after show events. Which includes:
- The lovely ladies of Puzzled Panther, the opener I sadly missed!
- A meet and greet with violinist Sergey.
- A chance encounter with three Brits, long thought lost.
- The birth of Polexia Miller.
Huge thanks (again) to de Roma for the beautiful professional shots I get to use. Featured image in this post also by Mathias, as shown in part one-ish.
Huisfotograaf Mathias Verschueren en Jef: <3!
GOGOL BORDELLO – Saturday June 3rd 2023, De Roma Antwerpen
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