Who
Gogol Bordello
Support
Mariachi El Bronx
Where
Birmingham O2 Academy
When
11th December 2014
Price
£19.50
Who with
No-one
Position
In the middle
Comments
The last time I saw Gogol Bordello I was so bitterly disappointed by the absence of Baro Faro I thought I was unlikely to return for more. However, 2014 had been a very quiet year for live music for me and since they were playing Birmingham and I had the opportunity to go I thought I should give them another chance. I decided that even if they didn't play Baro Faro again that it would be a good night out, and I half-hoped I could get someone to join me, but to no avail. This made this the first gig I attended by myself since seeing The Bordello almost exactly twelve months earlier, but it couldn't be helped. Beforehand I built a week and a half of holiday around a weekend in London to see the Statoil Masters tennis tournament at the Royal Albert Hall, tacking on four nights in Luxembourg beforehand and being surprised to discover that this small country had more than enough to offer, then agreeing to three nights in Gdańsk afterwards after seeing how insanely cheap it was to get there and get around. In fact it was £70 for an apartment for three nights, and I was able to share with two other people too! Nevertheless, I could only stay there for three nights as I had to be back to attend this gig, somehow finding the time to go to a work Christmas party in between the holiday and the show too. Life was pleasantly busy and the gap left by a relative lack of gigs wasn't proving too painful!

Nevertheless, with all of this going on I had next to no time to listen to much music beforehand, and I also arrived at the show fairly late so I could spend the day unpacking and recovering from my trip. It was raining but I was able to travel into town for free, and arrived at 7:30pm to the pleasant surprise of the room still being fairly quiet and to find no-one was onstage yet. My tardiness had not done me any harm! The time in Birmingham between this was a little more frustrating though, as McDonald's was the busiest I'd ever seen it and they seemed to have gone KFC on us, with the queue moving at a snails pace. Then some bright spark had the idea of closing off the upstairs area where 90% of the seats were so I just walked away in disgust, thinking I needed to take my business elsewhere. Equally insanely the Bullring doesn't have a McDonalds and I struggled to find Burger King, KFC or Subway, but it was all for the best as Boots had one "diet" wrap left that hadn't yet been snapped up, resulting in a healthier and cheaper meal than I'd have otherwise had. I certainly didn't want to have chip shop breath, and in another lesson learned I smuggled a bottle of water into the venue. I wasn't sure yet whether I'd mosh or not - I guessed I would a bit, as standing there like a muppet during a kinetic show seems very wrong - but I didn't want to be gasping for a drink again. One thing however that couldn't be helped was that I was wearing my thick coat. It was absolutely freezing outside, so anyone who did otherwise must have been insane, regardless of how much of a pain looking after a coat is once you're inside!

I knew I'd seen the support band Mariachi El Bronx before, but I had next to no memory except that I was reasonably impressed and that the band covered all gender bases. I had to go back to my 2010 Gogol Bordello review to learn that I'd been a bit frustrated by the over-hysterical crowd reaction to them, and also that I'd been a bit drunk, hence my lack of recall! Their backdrop was already set up onstage and I used my proper camera to take the first of a good few photos tonight. The band appeared in uniforms - similar to the last time - of black and red, wearing medallions almost like priests would. They looked nothing like what I'd remembered, especially the frontman, as I'd mainly remembered the one lady in the group. They had eight members and she was playing accordion and violin, but not simultaneously! Much like in 2010, they went down ridiculously well for a support act but this time around I certainly enjoyed it and was happy to embrace the fun. Some of the banter was amusing, although I do wonder if the singer was taking the piss when he referenced Birmingham as being the steel city. The last I checked that would be Sheffield?! They played a lively and tuneful set, with the drummer using his full range of equipment, even at some points hitting the side of his kit! One of the guitarists may be a little shy as he spent the entire set standing completely behind one of his band mates, and the room filled up fast as the band again pushed for maximum crowd participation and cheering. There was a great song about a girl and also they introduced the annoying shouty guy from the main act onstage to play a miniature guitar at one point.

Since they'd had yesterday off they'd visited the Christmas market so were still hungover, and claimed to have been mightily impressed with the city, declaring that it was not a shit hole. The banter moved up several notches when in gratitude for the positive reception the singer ended up begging to be buried here should they die after tonight's show. Steady on old boy, but it made us all laugh! I kept checking my watch as they remained onstage until 8:45pm, much later than a support band really should do, and even did a full segment of introducing us to all the members. They just about warranted it as they were really rather good, but I certainly didn't want Gogol Bordello to finish late or curtail their set for any support band in the world! Mariachi El Bronx finished to much applause, and the venue was quite swiftly set up for Gogol Bordello, who were onstage before 9:15pm. The time went by quite fast and I was impressed to see that the Gogol band t-shirts glew in the dark, then less so as the guy to my right seemed to be a high level twat, but thankfully he moved away before they took to the stage! The new Gogol Bordello backdrop proclaimed the album Pura Vida Conspiracy and it looked a little rude, and I'm pleased to report that it looked like the members of the band were unchanged and that they'd had no further group turnover since the last time, where I was shocked by all the new faces. Ultimately though it's the Eugene and Sergey show, and as long as they remain that's all that really matters! The band arrived onstage as expected to We Rise Again, and I was very happy that I'd strategically positioned myself on Sergey's side and far enough back that I could enter or leave the moshpit as the mood took me.

As hoped for, the set then reached an early peak thanks to Not A Crime, and I went for the moshing at full pelt as this absolute classic deserves, before taking a few steps back for Wonderlust King, which is a good song but can only come across as anticlimactic after Crime. I'm pleased to report that some of the new songs were starting to sink in, although I really should have tried harder to listen to the Vida album more times beforehand! I enjoyed Dig Deep Enough to the extent that I was compelled to film a video, but the sound was hopelessly muffled due to the volume the band were playing at! Elizabeth produced some cymbals for its ending and the change of pace as the song hit its stride was something to behold! Member-wise they were a perfect match for Mariachi El Bronx, with eight in the band, one of whom was a lady. I suspect that the show wasn't sold out as the room didn't feel as rammed as it often does at the Academy, but a bit of extra space was greatly appreciated thanks to one fan who was farting seemingly non-stop throughout the show! It took me a while to spot Trans-Continental Hustle as it initially mixed in with all the other new songs, but one number I sadly can't ignore is the awful Immigraniada (We Comin' Rougher), which again featured the annoying shouting guy and an unjustified positive reception, but we had the last laugh as someone threw some beer at him. He childishly responded with the finger, but here's to contemplating that a like-minded fan was hoping he'd storm off and thereby raise the quality of the gig! Eugene's shirt stayed on longer than usual, possibly to the halfway point of the show, and another number I struggled to recognise at first was Illumination, which is a fabulous slow burner, and indeed all older songs were greatly appreciated!

Malandrino remains my favourite track from Pura Vida Conspiracy but the change of pace when it was played made it technically impossible to mosh to. It was impressive but just too fast, as at least one of the guys from The Bronx reappeared to help them out. I was then delighted to hear Mishto! and had no fears in moshing heartily to the song as it deserved, even if it will never compare with Baro Faro. One unusual one is Start Wearing Purple, which used to bore me but it seems to just get better every time they play it. I surprised myself by carrying on moshing - the fact that the band had built up some momentum rather than ramming new songs down our throats was great - and Sergey's amazing shout towards the end of the song in fact was the highlight of the whole set! I shot my second and final video of the night during this tune but I stopped filming before this point, wanting to join in the amazing moment. By this point of course Eugene's shirt was long gone, but watching Sergey teasing the crowd with snippets of the violin during Purple was just magical. He will always be the centrepiece of the band and anyone who can't see that just doesn't understand them! Pala Tute then appeared out of nowhere thanks to another unusual take on the introduction, and if I recall correctly this drew the main set to a close. I was feeling quite easy-going by my standards about what they'd play, shaking my head only slightly when they returned with Lost Innocent World. I guess I can understand it being played, but Gogol Bordello are one band who struggle to ever play a perfect encore.

I mean someone seriously needs to take them to one side and tell them to STOP FUCKING PLAYING ALCOHOL - IT'S SHIT!! I was inwardly screaming this as I heard its tedious introduction, knowing that it meant a huge waste of space that could have been taken up with two short, sharp and brilliant classics, and I sensed that no-one in the crowd would have given a hooting fuck if it had been left from the set. Awful song, and worst of all it meant that again there'd be no time for Baro Faro, but thankfully the band at least finished with three stone cold masterpieces in a row. I'll always regard Sally as an absolute classic, and when it was followed with my first live experience of Think Locally, Fuck Globally since Nottingham way back in 2008 I can only be delighted. It wasn't quite as drawn-out as it used to be but time was getting on and I was really starting to worry about missing my last train! Clearly Gogol Bordello were either going to ignore the curfew or push it to its limits, and sadly this meant that I was walking to the exit shortly after Ultimate began, before dashing out as soon as they'd done the great fast bit in the middle. As annoyingly I can't find the setlist online I may never know if this was indeed the ending, but time ran away with me and I eventually had to sprint onto the train, barely making it in time. All the works around New Street meant it took a few minutes longer to get to the platforms than it used to! But the main thing is that I did make it, although bands should show more consideration for their fans in finishing a little earlier. Rocking out is great and everything, but if you want to maximise your time onstage then just start a little bit earlier? Unless they're getting backhanders from taxi companies I don't see why bands finish so late sometimes, there's nothing rock 'n' roll about making your fans miss their transport home, it's just thoughtless!

I really don't know what I'd had done if I had missed the train as I loathe wasting money on taxi drivers, and the fact that my ears were whistling and I had a bit of drink spilled on me were signs that Gogol Bordello still knew how to attract carnage. In a year for me consisting of three seated gigs and just two standing ones, it's some comfort to know that Gogol Bordello and The Libertines had meant that the two standing shows I had attended had been as insane as they come! I'd been half expecting the absence of Baro Faro, When The Trickster Starts A-Poking (Bordello Kind Of Guy) and American Wedding so I won't get too upset about that, except to warn Gogol Bordello that they'll never ever hope to attain their previous heights if they keep omitting these classics! One shocker was that Break The Spell hadn't been played, which is tragic as it always goes down a storm. I may have attended few shows in 2014 and struggle to imagine the situation changing as I really don't like going out for the sake of it, I need a strong motivation and feel I have a very high standard to maintain. Gogol Bordello tour regularly and are always good fun, so although I'll be much happier when they start to play Baro Faro again I guess I'll keep coming back for more!
Setlist
We Rise Again
Not A Crime
Wonderlust King
Dig Deep Enough
The Other Side Of Rainbow
When Universes Collide
My Companjera
Last One Goes The Hope
Trans-Continental Hustle
Immigraniada (We Comin' Rougher)
Illumination
Malandrino
Mishto!
Start Wearing Purple
Pala Tute
Lost Innocent World
Alcohol
Sally
Think Locally, Fuck Globally
Ultimate
n.b. This setlist was from another gig, but it's either correct or similar

Mark: 8.0/10