How Good is Gogol Bordello?

Image by Daniel Tchetchik

By Ben Shalev March 2, 2011

Crossposted from Haaretz

Before you read any further: If you weren’t at Gogol Bordello’s first two performances this week and you don’t have tickets for tonight — get them now. This is the sort of event for which the words “don’t miss” were invented.

Image by Daniel Tchetchik

The question with regard to Gogol Bordello, as opposed to most bands, is not whether its show was good, but rather just how good it was. Or more precisely, just how amazing it was. This is because less than “amazing” is apparently not an option for Eugene Hutz and his explosive multinational gang.

The band’s previous appearance in Israel, about a year ago, was tremendous. It was nearly a religious experience, in the aesthetic sense of the term: A celebration of liberation and humanism. The performance on Monday, which (for me, at least) lacked the element of surprise, in the nature of things did not replicate that experience. The first time is always the best. But even the second time was excellent.

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