By: Lauren Garbutt (@LaurenGarbutt1) –
Gogol Bordello. (Photo: Stephen McGill/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Gypsy folk punk rockers Gogol Bordello took over Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall last night for the first of two shows at the venue. The group is touring in support of their latest album, Pura Vida Conspiracy.
Opening the show was Toronto’s own Brendan Canning, one of the founding members of Broken Social Scene. Canning performed a solo DJ set, spinning vinyl singles from a table at the front of the stage. With almost no crowd interaction, Canning sampled from different genres and influences which was complimentary to headliners Gogol Bordello’s multicultural layers. This included a Bollywood inspired section and plenty of chill reggae jams to play for the crowd as they patiently waited for Gogol Bordello to start. It was by no means an engaging set, but it did provide a nice background as people chatted and began to fill up the venue. Canning will release his new solo album, You Gots 2 Chill, on October 1st.
After a short wait between the acts, the lights died down and the crowd began to push forward excitedly. The eight members of Gogol Bordello filtered onto the stage to kick off the nearly two hour-long set with the first track from their new album, “We Rise Again”. The rallying song had wine toting Ukraine-born frontman Eugene Hutz singing alongsidethe enchanting dancer/percussionist/vocalist, Elizabeth Sun while the staple accordion and fiddle filled the venue.
With the stage adorned with a huge backdrop and a lighthouse with the words “Rio Luz” on it, Gogol Bordello entertained the eager crowd with a solid mix of old and recent material. Fans recognized songs from the new album as was evident by how many people were singing along to tracks such as “The Other Side of the Rainbow”, “Malandrino” and “Lost Innocent World”.
Other crowd favourites included classic tracks like “Wanderlust King”, “Ultimate”, “Not A Crime”, “Break The Spell” which included a breakdown that had the crowd banging their heads, and of course “Start Wearing Purple” which caused the crowd to go crazy as virtually the entire room sang along and danced.
The group ended their set with “Sacred Darling” before coming back for a chaotic encore which featured: “Lost Innocent World”, “Mishto”, “I Just Realized”, and finally, “Undestructable”.
In light of the recent lawsuit in which former guitarist Oren Kaplan is suing singer Hutz on embezzlement charges, fans were curious to see whether these events might be reflected between the remaining members during the live performance. The answer was no. Gogol Bordello were just as high energy and non-stop excitement as usual. Band members were constantly coming up to the edge of the stage and Hutz was practically on top of the crowd. Sun was also a delight, constantly encouraging the crowd to sing and clap along and pulling out a huge drum which she strapped to her chest and paraded around the stage with.
Watching Gogol Bordello live is truly the best way to experience this band. They are in perpetual motion, constantly interacting with the audience and inviting the crowd to be actively involved, feeding off of their energy and delivering it back to them. They are in simplest terms, a great time. Where else are you going to find a band whose members hail from five different continents and incorporate such diverse cultural influences from Eastern Europe to South America in one big, crazy, fast-paced punk rock pirate-like band? While Gogol Bordello may seem gimmicky, their dynamic has consistently worked for them and always delivers a great live show. The band will be performing again tonight at the Danforth Music Hall for the second of two nights.
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