I Heart Local Music
Gogol Bordello
Posted Friday, November 2, 2007 - 2 comments
Liberty Hall was a sea of people on Halloween night. Makeup melting, wigs torn apart, and costumes tossed throughout the crowd. This was Gogol Bordello.
I don’t have to tell you how amazing this band is. If you’re a fan, you already know. They’ve grown in massive popularity over the past couple of years. If you’re not a fan, well you should be. But right now all you need to know is two words: Gypsy Punks.
I first heard them when the husband and I had just started dating. On a cold and overcast winter afternoon, we watched hippies pick up cans for recycling in the street, and I envisioned an older, heavy set man with a curly mustache singing.
It wasn’t until about a year later that they finally decided to play the Midwest. The night they played in Lawrence we were at another concert in Kansas City. We stopped by the Bottleneck to let them know we would be traveling up to Omaha the next night to catch them. We talked to a woman named Elizabeth.
The next night, I’m not kidding you: 6 people. 6 people at that damn show in Omaha. It was almost like we had them all to ourselves, because the 6 people that were there were clearly there for the metal band that played before Gogol Bordello (although by the end of the show they came to the Gogol Bordello side).
To my surprise, the singer was not an older, heavy set man with a curly mustache. He was a tall, scrawny, lanky, hilarious and shirtless man with a mustache. Couldn’t have been too much older than us.
From the very first song, we were hooked. They turned a six-person venue into a party. During one song, the husband and I felt a strong push and were shoved nearly to the ground. Two women in crazy tights and makeup then ran ahead of us. “Did that gypsy just push us?!” The women are in the band, this is how they psyched you up on their way to the stage. One of them was Elizabeth.
I don’t have to explain to you how amazing their show was. You can find videos-a-plenty on the internet.
Afterwards, they were very polite, talked to us, gave us more info about their shows, records, etc. We drove all the way back to Lawrence (we both had work/school the next morning) with a high-pitched ring in our ears, happily squealing our thoughts about the show.
Since then, we’ve seen them every single time they’ve played in Lawrence. Each time recruiting more and more friends, family members, classmates. But they always played a small venue that couldn’t quite handle their audio. So imagine our delight when they announced they were coming to Liberty Hall on Halloween. Halloween!!.
First of all, everyone’s in costume. I didn’t want to wear my specially-tailored costume to the show, so I was a bee instead. Imagine the horror of finding all the other bees that showed up, there were several! I also noticed that the people who sat in the balcony weren’t necessarily people who wanted to sit down during the show, but rather people who had really fancy costumes. Ball gowns, their mother’s dresses from the ‘60s, etc. I can understand wanting to preserve the costumes up in the balcony, it was a good idea considering I got a can of beer down the back of my sweater the moment the show started.
Second of all, the audio was amazing. Amazing! Gogol Bordello in their full glory. Thanks Liberty Hall!
Here’s some crummy video I shot on the husband’s digital camera (the video glitches whenever someone hit me):
Third, Liberty Hall’s security was just wonderful. They were so respectful, and let the kids rock out. They only had to throw one guy out (the one who poured beer down my back, evidently he did it on purpose to a lot of people, then decided to start punching random concert-goers). And they did it all with a calm look on their face. There’s nothing I hate more than concert security who look like they don’t want to be there, but do want to kill you.
So the concert was a wonderful success. Wonderful success I say! By now they are selling out MUCH larger venues in the Midwest. And the costumes were awesome. Mario, Wario and Luigi perched themselves squarely in front of the speakers, and got a great view of the show. Bees buzzed everywhere. Marilyn Monroes cheered from the balcony. And the husband and I had one of the best seats in the house.
We didn’t go to the afterparty because doggonnit, we’re old, have jobs, are in grad school, etc. But we did, as always, get to talk to Elizabeth after the show.
(yes, that’s the same lame jacket I’ve been wearing to all their shows, as you can see in the earlier picture)
The girls got some fancy new outfits this tour, and they’re doing well. Seeing them play and talking to them afterwards is always a gas. I always feel guilty when they ask us what’s new, and I have nothing exciting to tell them (except for the one time we saw them the week before our wedding, that was something new we could tell them: “Hey, we’re getting married next week! Wanna come to an Arabic wedding?”).
We thanked Elizabeth and said we’ll see them next year. She headed off to the afterparty, we went home, showered the beer off, and happily crawled into bed with another high-pitched ringing in our ears.
Comments
Nov. 2, 2007 at 3:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)fruzik (Fally Afani Ruzik)
also, note the mustache influence on the husband between the first picture (from the first time we saw them) to the last picture (the last time we saw them).
Nov. 2, 2007 at 8:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)Joel (Joel Mathis)
Heck of a show, indeed.
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