Gogol Bordello
My friend Adam is visiting and managed to get tickets to last night’s Gogol Bordello concert. Holy hell those guys put on a great show — all 417 members. It was like an explosion that kept exploding for two full hours. The place was PACKED and they had everybody there bouncing, to the point that you couldn’t NOT participate; the vibration of the thousand jumping people surrounding you made your head bob anyway. I’m pretty sure they played very close to all of the material from their last three albums — expanding several songs to several times their original length — wearing the audience out way before the band showed signs of slowing, despite their extremely high level of sustained energy. Oh, they also have unbelievably hot backup dancer/singers. Highly recommended live show.
Opening for Gogol was UK-based reggae metal group Skindred. That’s right, reggae metal. They also put on a great show. When the opening band is a huge departure from the style of the headliner (for example, I saw the horrible group Cold open for Weezer and they were all but booed off the stage), they have to work quite a bit harder to win the audience’s approval, and they did just fine. Sure, they were more or less a raprock group, but somehow having a British Jamaican front man (instead of some prick jock Fred Durst clone) and very non-raprock lyrics about unity basically absolved them. I would probably never buy an album, but I dug their sound well enough.
Both bands were bracketed by the worst DJ I’ve ever heard, and that was basically the show. Despite the existence of an afterparty just a couple blocks from the show, I was zonked, and we just headed back home. Am I really that old?
March 13th, 2008 at 9:43 am
i went to see Gogol when they came here last week (i think it was) and hands down it was the best live show I had EVER seen. Great music, and just an all around fun time. Same was true with the crowd here, it was impossible not to move around. Chicago has the world’s highest Polish population (next to Poland) and a very high Ukrainian population as well…Seemed like they all were at that show. It was great
The opening band…ughck. I can’t believe you liked them Bill. They were god awful shit crap.
March 13th, 2008 at 10:39 am
I didn’t DISLIKE them is all. It was interesting anyway; raprock with reggae vocals? And the lead singer was a charismatic guy. They weren’t THAT bad.
March 13th, 2008 at 10:45 am
god awful shit crap
i like that alot strong work howard
March 13th, 2008 at 10:48 am
so did adam get pulled over last night too
March 13th, 2008 at 10:49 am
No, but he should have. He’s the worst driver on Earth. A god awful shit crap driver.
March 13th, 2008 at 10:49 am
im glad your not dead
best story ive heard in a long time
March 13th, 2008 at 10:52 am
going bowling tonite
gonna try and get some BARACK OBAMAs (strikes) tonite
March 13th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Hahaha alright
And yeah, first rule of last Monday night is we do not talk about last Monday night. Blog forthcoming.
March 13th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
WOOOO! WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS, STAYS IN VEGAS! SPRING BREAK! CANCUN ‘82!
March 13th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
jim bluhvea wooo!!! bluhvea oh yeah!!!!
March 14th, 2008 at 7:32 am
i don’t know if she called you to JOEPuD…but apparently he has a fucking daughter! she was wanting to learn more about her father, as she’s only heard stories from other family members/friends cause she’s never met the guy. I told her EVERYTHING, then gave her your phone number and said you could fill in any gaps I left out
March 14th, 2008 at 10:40 am
oh yeah i’ve talked to her if you know what i mean
March 14th, 2008 at 11:02 am
ATM
March 14th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Hahahaha