Nashville and Gogol Bordello screams: Slava Ukrayini!
This tour is Gogol Bordellos’ way of expressing solidarity with the Ukrainian people and to spread a message of freedom around the USA and Europe. The tour kicked off in Boston, Massachusetts on 05/04 and will continue around European cities with a final date of July 16th in London.
Early Summer in Tennessee means yard work, rain and baseball. All of those events took place the night of Gogos Bordello’s show. I was exhausted after a full day of painting a fence but was excited and ready to dance to Gogo’s music. Everyone I know in the music scene had told me that this show was one I would never forget. They described the music as Gypsy-Rock, and I have always been a fervent lover of Romani-influenced music, so this was perfect for me.
When we arrived at the venue in Germantown, the sky was dark, the rain was pouring, a nearby university was having a party and there was a baseball game at the ballpark. Needless to say, it was almost impossible to find a place to park.
Once we found a spot and made our way to the venue the skies were starting to clear and happy punk rockers stood in line to enter the venue. Their shirts were wet and their spiky hair-dos were losing their strength.
Once inside we were welcomed by the voice of Amigo the Devil. I arrived too late to photograph the first 3 songs, but his set was breathtaking. The lyrics are dark and full of poetry, the band was energetic and the voice of the frontman is magnetic. One of his songs has a chorus that says: “Cause I’d rot in hell with you. If you’d just ask me to, I love the shitty things we do together, Live with me in this sin forever.” The way he sang those words was captivating and I haven’t stopped singing that since Saturday. The frontman said that he was having issues with his voice but I couldn’t tell. I loved how raspy and deep it was. He introduced his band, told us how thankful he was for this tour, made fun of his lyrics and connected with all of us easily. I will support this band if they come to Nashville again. If anyone from the band is reading this, please make more t-shirts like the one with the tiger on the back. Your artwork is beautiful! Women sizes!!!
This was my first time hearing and seeing Amigo the Devil and Gogol Bordello. I know I must live in a hole since Gogol Bordello has been active and touring around the globe for 2 decades.
After Amigo the Devil left the stage, Brooklyn Bowl was playing an awesome playlist of reggae, ska and Romani music. I had secured a hard-to-get spot on the second floor with access to a seat and a prime view of the stage and the people in the pit. A rainbow of heads swayed from one side to the other. I could hear laughter from every corner of the venue, and rising clouds of smoke made the scene look like a mirage
Gogol Bordello took the stage precisely on time. The crowd erupted in a euphoric frenzy. It was so contagious that I stopped taking pictures to rejoice and enjoyed my privileged view of the crowd for a few more seconds.
Everything was happening so fast, and I felt as if I had to run from one side of the stage to the other to be able to capture the band. The other photographers also seemed to be caught in the exhilaration of the crowd and we pushed our way to every shot.
The band looked fantastic, exactly like I thought they would. A mix of pirates and cowboys with a splash of “hippy.” Frontman Eugene switched from acoustic guitar to electric seamlessly while drinking wine out of the bottle, dancing and singing. The lighting was moody but not too dark and at one point security asked us to leave the pit. I’m not sure if we overstayed our allotted time, if we got cut sooner. I completely lost sense of time and, judging by the surprised faces of my fellow photographers, they were just as lost.
I went to the merch booth and was delighted with the options of t-shirts and purchased my favorite one. I saw a few Ukrainian flags waving in the air and a mosh pit was starting to form. I went upstairs excited to enjoy the show from my perfectly awesome spot just to find out that my husband had given it away. I sandwiched myself between my husband and the fortunate new owner of the prime spot. Now the mosh pit was fully formed and roaring. It was not like a mosh pit at a metal concert. It was airy and a bit more relaxed. Eugene kept it alive, like a conductor of an orchestra. He told us about their journey on this tour and on how important the situation in Ukraine is. He spoke of the bravery of everyday Ukrainian citizens. Nashville roared every time he said Putin should “fuck himself.” They played a little taste of Ukrainian music and the crowd loved it. As a grand finale, GB invited the opening act onstage to sing a campfire song decrying facism a-la Woody Guthrie. “You Fascists are bound to looooose!”
The band gave us so much of themselves that night that it did not feel like they were on their last show of a tour. They seemed refreshed and happy to be sharing with us. The night ended on an emotional note as Eugene invited the crew to join him and the rest of the band onstage to say thank you. I left feeling like I had been part of something very special that night.
Gogol Bordello is an example of how bands should use their platform to speak up for those who can’t.
GOGOL BORDELLO
http://www.gogolbordello.comhttps://www.facebook.com/gogolbordello
https://instagram.com/gogolbordello
https://www.youtube.com/user/GogolBordello
AMIGO THE DEVIL
https://www.amigothedevil.comhttps://www.facebook.com/amigothedevil
https://www.instagram.com/amigothedevil
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU6ZUkK4T75BCWbnr9m0xFA
BROOKLYN BOWL NASHVILLE
https://www.brooklynbowl.com/nashville
https://www.facebook.com/BrooklynBowlNashville/
http://instagram.com/bbowlnashville
