GOGOL BORDELLO & AMIGO THE DEVIL

On May 5th, College Street Music Hall welcomed the Gogol Bordello “Solidaritine” tour with Amigo The Devil in support. Both bands were on my bucket list to catch live. I have been an Amigo The Devil fan for years. Amp has devoted several pieces to Amigo. Gogol Bordello has been one group that I always seem to miss when they are in town. Here was the perfect scenario. Both bands and only 15 minutes from the house.

Amigo The Devil is the brainchild of songwriter extraordinaire Danny Kiranos. His music is best categorized as Americana/folk meets a B-horror movie. His compositions are extraordinary in the fact they are simple in nature yet capture the listener’s attention with deliciously macabre lyrics. Danny’s sense of ghoulish humor sets him apart from most Americana artists. His fascination with the dark side of the human spirit is quite breathtaking. Not only does his music resonate with me but his words place an eerie smile on my face. Amigo The Devil’s last album was the intriguing Born Against which we reviewed last June.

I was pleasantly surprised when I learned the Danny was playing with a full band. Most instances, it’s only him, a guitar/banjo and a mic. I actually meet his guitar player in line to pick up my tickets. College Street was already packed which is remarkable for an opening act. As soon as Amigo and his cohorts hit the stage, a loud cheer erupted. Danny is well loved and his fans are diehearts. He opened the show with one of my favorites, “Dahmer Does Hollywood” which delves into the psyche of the famous serial killer. Throughout his short set, Danny mesmerized the crowd with awesome music and witty conversation.

Amigo played all his bigs hits including “Murder at the Bingo Hall”. The song is a tale about a mass murderer’s recount of his deadly exploits at grandma’s favorite pastime. Amigo’s on stage demeaner was emotive. He was full of gratitude for the audience’s adoring responses. The only thing I missed was the intimacy. As I said, it’s usually Amigo playing alone. The band was fantastic but I lost some of that closeness I feel when I listen to Danny. His solo performance of his sublime hit “Hell and You” totally made my night.

Next up was headliner Gogol Bordello. By this time the room swelled even larger. Gogol is a punk rock band originally formed in 1999 based out of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Their sound is a pulverizing stew of rock, punk, ska and gypsy music. Headed by lead singer and terrific front man Eugene Hütz, the group is one of the wildest acts I’ve ever witnessed. Their music is bold but the excitement Gogol exudes from the audience is nothing less than striking. From song one, College Street was a huge mass of bouncing souls entranced by the flowing rhythms.

Not only was Hütz a madman on stage but the whole band performed like a bolt of lightning. Violinist, Sergey Ryabtsev was stupendous. His playing was exciting and his on-stage antics were full of memorable mischief. Back-up singer, Vanessa Walters was just as relentless. Her campy moves energized the room. Pedro Erazo (Keyboards/M.C) was another crazed maniac who threw the throng into a glorious frenzy. Gogol is plainly an incredible live band

Gogol‘s 19 song set featured all their dynamic hits. They opened with “Sacred Darling” and went directly into “I Would Never Wanna Be Young Again”. College Street was rocking. “Not A Crime” and the audacious “Wonderlust King” had the audience swirly with delight. Song after song Gogol Bordello attacked their fans’ aural sensibilities. This is punk taken to the next level. Every song was an adventure. Other well received tunes were “Mishto!”, “Through the Roof ‘n’ Underground” and the divine “Start Wearing Purple”. They encored with “Victim in Pain”, “Dance Around the Fire” and a brazen version of “Baro Foro/Undestructable”.

If you have never seen Gogol live, you definitely missed a musical circus of rampaging hysteria. This was an exalted night of spellbinding music. Amigo and Gogol Bordello forever.

As a footnote, Gogol Bordello played in honor of a free Ukraine.

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To learn more about Gogol Bordello, check out his Website

Follow on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / YouTube

Stream music:  Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud

Purchase:  Bandcamp / Amazon 

To learn more about Amigo The Devil, check out his Website

Follow on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / YouTube

Stream music:  Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud

Purchase:  Bandcamp / Amazon 

 

 

 

 

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