Friday 9/6 at The Jefferson Theater
Bear witness to Gogol Bordello as the band fills the stage with its latest incarnation of members from across the world to support the evolving vision of Ukrainian vocalist Eugene Hütz. Heavy road dogs since rocketing out of New York City’s Lower East Side in 1999, GB has speed, bravado, and grit that girds its sound, which makes regular use of the snare drum and guitar tone of what most have come to know as the foundational punk elements. But it’s the Eastern European verve—accordion and violin pumping with polka—that gives the group its singular flavor. At their worst, GB’s songs can come across like the audio equivalent of frenzied Soviet TV stereotypes fumbling their way through a neverending bar mitzvah Klezmer loop. At its best, the band reflects a global good-time cacophony and a heartfelt soul-bearing that speaks to intense struggle and honest longing—all belted out in the group’s preferred harmonic minor.—CM Gorey
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