Although Lawrence has this great reputation as being a center of indie music culture, the audiences can be less than welcoming and rather apathetic. It takes a rare breed of band to get the crowds moving and singing, so you know you’re at a special show when there is an interaction between the artist and crowd. Gogol Bordello was one such show.
Apostle of Hustle opened up with what sounded like space age salsa music. The touring duo used a pre-recorded voice to give song introductions and what I dubbed their “space age” vibe before jumping into the latin-laced tunes, which was unique considering the bands ties to the States’ northern neighbors, not southern.
The drumming definitely dominated as Dean Stone alternated from mallets to beating with his bare hands. Singer Andrew Whiteman played guitar, but it was his vocals that really resonated with the crowd. The band had a few moments that left the audience divided. It was pretty 50/50 on who cheered after a big presentation of several flags and a sign that said, “Who else is high?” and who was simply left scratching heads. At another point during the show, the singer made a bring presentation, and told a little anecdote: “We bring you this song all the way from Canada. It is about the great poet who ever lived…in California.” As they played what became my favorite song of the set, “Eazy Speaks,” I couldn’t help, but chuckle if Apostle of Hustle was implying that Eazy was the greatest poet ever and just happened to live in California or if Eazy was only a great poet as far as Californians go. This band’s live show holds up better than their recordings, so catch a performance if you can.
Gypsy punk rockers Gogol Bordello made Lawrence wait about 40 minutes for their performance, but it was worth it when one by one they ran out: drums then fiddle then accordion and the rest of the crew. Once they started, it was a raucous party. Whether people knew the words or not, nobody had trouble joining in on shouts and dancing. Oh boy was there dancing. Gogol Bordello even has members whose sole purpose is to dance (although they also add some backing vocals).
My friend told me I didn’t properly prepare him for what this show was, but really the only way to be ready for Gogol show is to watch Gogol. It really is like no other performance you’ve ever seen. The closest would be seeing some of the Irish punk bands like Dropkick Murphys or Flogging Molly, yet Gogol is even wilder than either of those. Gogol is just as much about the music as they are the show and within the first song, the band was dripping from sweat from pouring tons of energy into their performance. You can listen to this band’s recordings, you can watch them on YouTube, and all that is fine and dandy, but do yourself a favor and get yourself to one of their shows.
Apostle of Hustle: website | myspace
Gogol Bordello: website | myspace | @ popped! | @ lollapalooza | @ virgin mobile
