GIG NUMBER ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN
Who
It was still fairly early after tea and I didn't want a stomach full of beer in the moshpit so despite the extreme cold I located the venue, then wandered over to McDonald's for a Kit Kat McFlurry before entering it. Rock City has a sign outside declaring itself "the UK's best live venue and club" which seemed a bit of a bold statement when Wolverhampton Civic obviously deserves that accolade! I had to climb up some stairs to enter the main room and it seemed to be a reasonable if small place which quickly filled up with people. There was a sealed off balcony and some were just hanging around the spiral staircases. A bit like Birmingham Academy, the room was wide but didn't extend particularly far back. The support act Jesse Malin was already onstage and he claimed to be performing mostly cover versions, not that I knew any. He had another guitarist with him and produced a full band for one track. He gave a few insanely obvious shout-outs to MySpace and Facebook and also covered Death Or Glory by The Clash. One of the guys out of Gogol Bordello was watching from the side and already the Bordello banner was up on the stage, as presumably the venue didn't have the logistical skills to reveal it halfway through the first song! Jesse Malin didn't make much of an impression on me but was still better than the 30-minute plus wait for the main act, as typical gypsyesque music was played and the band kept us holding on until after 9pm. I had secured myself a good position near to Sergey on the violin and was very much in the mood for some madness!
I gave them a hero's welcome as they bounded onstage with the low-key Illumination, which almost came across as a soundcheck, but served to make the following tune Ultimate even more exciting when it burst into life. I'd expected the crowd to be fairly sedate so was thrilled when they joined me by bursting into life and singing this classic back at the band! A full version of When The Trickster Starts A-Poking (Bordello Kind Of Guy) was one of the high points of the evening for all and single-handedly justified my effort in attending, as I was disappointed we'd only got a snippet of it last time. The set featured almost no gimmicks, just a new futuristic violin for Sergey, oodles of personality and amazing music! Supertheory Of Supereverything segued into Immigrant Punk and led to a totally unnecessary moshpit. Why waste your effort on mid-tempo numbers such as these when so much energy would be required for Baro Foro later on? Wonderlust King was much better but I only saw fit to demonstrate my full moshing skills for a glorious romp through Mishto! I was screaming along quite happily and, although it was a bit slow, this helped me to appreciate the sheer relentless tunefulness of it like never before! American Wedding continued the insanity, including a cool break in the middle, before Tribal Connection gave me an opportunity to rest and I was wheezing for breath before catching a second wind! Newbie Immigraniada certainly sounded OK but it was annoying being pushed around towards the centre and backwards as everyone went crazy to a song they didn't know instead of saving their energy for when it was necessary. I was extremely sweaty by now and covered in beer but my glasses hadn't been broken and I still had sufficient reserves for the desired ending!
I was surprised but still happy when they launched into Baro Foro at only five minutes past ten and had enough energy left over to mosh, sing and cheer for almost its complete duration, finally enjoying the song as much as I knew it deserved! I led the crowd, shouting myself hoarse and could almost feel my legs seizing up the day after but it was most definitely all worth it! The mash-up included a reprise of Bordello Kind Of Guy, My Strange Uncles From Abroad, the usual Undestructable, Sally and possibly Forces Of Victory yet clocked in at an extremely concise 20 minutes! Starting it off by singing Baro Foro almost acoustically was a daring ploy but worked out nicely, the only disappointment being the people who didn't seem to understand that this was the moment of the show they should all have been waiting for. Even one of the bouncers was watching the stage with sincere admiration! I was very pleased that the slow drawn out bits which had undermined parts of their Birmingham show had been eliminated - such as Alcohol - and was now left wondering how they could top off Baro Foro in their encore. I was greatly relieved that water was distributed and some fresh air was blasted into the venue and, although I knew things could only go downhill from here, was interested to see what they'd now do. Eugene reappeared wearing a silly hat for a quiet Avenue B which went all loud on us at the end. Next up was the overrated Start Wearing Purple, which included a nifty extract from Another Brick In The Wall.
By now I'd rediscovered sufficient energy to enjoy Think Locally Fuck Globally as Eugene urged everyone to join them at the after party I'd been given a flyer for, asking if the chosen venue for it was a dive or not, before finishing with the fire bucket solo and, most wonderfully, a short reprise of Ultimate! The band seemed genuinely touched by how well they'd gone down so made time at the end to come and shake some hands. Perhaps after not finishing with Baro Foro they had more energy left in reserve to thank us? I patted Eugene's shoulder and joined in the loud chorus of cheers. Sadly I didn't have the cash on me to consider a t-shirt and, after noting the draconian sign saying you could be ejected from the venue for taking drinks into the toilets, made for the exit and back to my hotel. It had been the definitive Gogol Bordello experience I'd been craving for the last eleven months, the only complaint being the surprise omission of Not A Crime, which last time had been a highlight. Suddenly... (I Miss Carpaty) was the only other omission of any note so it had definitely been a pretty great set. The only flaw in the logic of jumping around and going so mad was that although you enjoy the moment more you usually leave the show with less memories to savour, having not actually seen that much! My body was aching and ears were whistling for several days afterwards but it had definitely been worth it. Gogol Bordello had single-handedly made staying in the country rather than going off travelling again all worthwhile!
Mark: 9.0/10
Gogol Bordello
Support
Jesse Malin
Where
Nottingham Rock City
When
24th November 2008
Price
£16.00
Who with
No-one
Position
In the moshpit
Comments
I purchased tickets for this months in advance, partly as a ploy to force myself to stop travelling and get back into real life. This didn't quite work, as I'd still had travelled if a chance had come up, but I knew I'd be devastated to be in the country and not seen the Bordello in action and that, as impractical as getting to Nottingham could prove to be, that I was determined enough to find a way! Gogol Bordello totally rocked my 2008 and I haven't felt this excited about a band in many years. I heard the albums beforehand to prepare myself and booked a hotel in Nottingham and permission for a few hours off my new job both on the afternoon of the show and for the morning after to make the trip feasible. Unfortunately the only way to get to Nottingham is to travel via Birmingham but with all the snow forecast which never happened I guess I was lucky to get there at all. I got lost on the streets in the rain looking for my hotel, thanks to the ambiguity of Google Maps printouts and also the fact that my map gradually disintegrated as it got wet! I eventually found my hotel which was acceptable considering I'd gone for the cheapest one in town, I even had the luxury of a full English breakfast buffet in the morning! After freshening up I went out to grab some food and take a look around Nottingham. I have no recollection of visiting the city before and it all seemed rather nice, especially the main square and the unexpected tram system. I'll definitely have to come back sometime! I eventually found a pub which seemed sufficiently quiet and inviting and I enjoyed a couple of beers and a civilised meal, which was an interesting way of preparing for an evening of carnage! I also discovered the disadvantage of the popularity of Facebook, as I was bored and wanted to send random txts but what's the point when you can be in daily contact with all your friends anyway?
Setlist
Illumination
Ultimate
When The Trickster Starts A-Poking (Bordello Kind Of Guy)
Supertheory Of Supereverything
Immigrant Punk
Wonderlust King
Mishto!
60 Revolutions
American Wedding
Tribal Connection
Immigraniada
Baro Foro (Mash-Up)
Avenue B
Start Wearing Purple
Think Locally Fuck Globally
n.b. This might be in the correct order. Maybe.
