Keeping It Real: Gogol Bordello

By Emily C.

The Ritz, Ybor City (Tampa) FL
July 27, 2009

I trekked out to Ybor City on July 27th to see the Ukrainian “gypsy punk” band Gogol Bordello. Ybor City has a certain reputation among people who live in central Florida. It has always been a hotbed for young hipsters, and it has a fairly high crime rate (seriously, people have been shot at clubs there). As a comparatively elderly person to most of the crowd there, I was quite curious as to how the show would turn out. I hadn’t been down to Ybor City in years, and my interest was piqued.

After parking at a new-ish parking garage (which is certainly safer than parking in spots where your car will get totally jacked), I headed down to The Ritz. It used to be a club called Masquerade back in the day, one where I spent many a time dancing and smoking cigarettes. Even the outside concrete of The Ritz still bears the legend “Masquerade.” So I waited in the ticket queue and struck up some conversations with nearby fans. Around 5:30 the doormen let us in, and the night began. . .

Photo © 2009 Liza Avramenko

The opening band—whose name I can’t even remember—did this very atonal “experimental” music in line with Spinal Tap’s jazz fusion phase (“Derek Smalls. . . on the bass. . . he wrote this”). This cacophony lasted about ten songs long and I spent most of that time sipping on a Red Bull and glaring at the band. The keyboardist clearly fulfilled the Linda McCartney role in the group, plinking out single notes on a small electronic keyboard. Occasionally she would clap her hands and sing off key. She was my favorite part of the band, festooned in a cheesy outfit complete with fingerless, leather gloves.

After that “experience,” we waited about 45 minutes for Gogol Bordello to arrive on stage. The audience seemed to be comprised of elderly Eastern European people and 12-year-old kids. It was an all-ages show, the kind of performance I usually don’t partake in thanks to the Nada Surf Battle of 1996.

Let me explain. When I saw Nada Surf in 1996, my friends and me were the oldest people there, and we actually owned the entire Nada Surf album High/Low. The experience consisted mainly of us being pummeled by pre-teen wannabe hipsters raging against the machine through undertaking some poorly-advised crowd surfing and moshing. The kids really went nuts when Nada Surf played their one radio hit “Popular.” I arrived home bruised from sternum to foot. But I digress.

Gogol Bordello came on stage around 8:00. Eugene Hütz, gypsy punk superstar and frontman of the band, made his entrance wearing an open-necked shirt and some athletic shorts. I was rather impressed by him not giving a shit about his looks. He had a silver tooth and seemed to be bathed in sweat the second he arrived on stage.

Gogol Bordello rocked the theater, utilizing dancers and interacting with the audience rather impressively. And then the crowd surfing by the 12-year-olds began. I had at least five preteens fall on me, especially during Gogol’s hit “Start Wearing Purple.” It was like a repeat of the Nada Surf show. I thoroughly expected it, but was nonplussed about being kicked in the head twice, because I really didn’t want to develop Natasha Richardson disease.

The band did several encores and I stealthily got my hands on their set list. I had already treated myself to their awesome merchandise, which included some booty shorts with the words “Immigrant Punk Revolution” emblazoned on the buttocks. After the show was over some super-fangirls and I went around the back to meet the band. The backstage area was littered with plump young girls squeezed into micro-minis claiming, “I’M GONNA FUCK EUGENE!” to anyone who would listen. At long last Mr. Hütz came out of the backstage area. I gave him a hug and he rather politely signed my set list, and chatted amiably in his Ukrainian accent. Good guys, Gogol Bordello. . . too bad the show was besmirched by the efforts of kiddies trying to “keep it real” in ways which went horribly wrong. Once again, I arrived home bruised from sternum to foot.

Setlist: Illumination, Ultimate, Sally, Not a Crime, Wonderlust King, Mishto, Immigrant Punk, Immigraniada, 60 Revs, Tribal, Uma Menina, Lela Palatute, Start Wearing Purple, Think Locally, Alcohol, Sulukule, Baro Foro

Gogol Bordello will be touring the US and Canada through the beginning of November. After that, it’s off to Central and South America, Russia, Europe, and Israel. Whew! To see when the band will be in a town near you, please check the tour dates on their Official Site or their MySpace page.