Gogol Bordello - Brixton Academy - 2nd April 2008

On this chilly Wednesday evening in London, each and every pub will be packed to the brim with boozed up football fans causing a ruckus as they cheer on their respective teams as the quarter finals of the Champions League unfold, but not so far away in one of the nation's most popular venues another different type of crowd is gathering, and this one is even louder than the football fans.

Tonight the New York based Ukraine/Russian/Israeli/Ethiopian/Thai/Chinese/Scottish/American self-proclaimed "gypsy punk" outfit Gogol Bordello are in town once again and they've pulled their biggest British crowd yet down to Brixton Academy for an evening of ear-drum splitting entertainment.

Ever since appearing on stage with Madonna at last summer's Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium, Gogol Bordello have attracted quite a following and judging from tonight's audience they are not restricted to just one age group or type. People from their early teens up to the middle-ages have come down for the show tonight and amongst them punks, rockers, hipsters and of course gypsies. But here, unlike in the pubs, there is no rivalry between the different groups, everyone here, band included, is of the same mind: let's have some fun.

As soon as Eugene Hutz steps on to the stage there is a storm brewing, and that storm is in full swing when the band kicks into 'Ultimate', the opener of their most recent album 'Super Taranta!'

The crowd is quickly warmed up and in the mood to dance for the first few songs, with Hutz entertaining the crowd by donning a long blonde wig and prancing about the stage during 'Zina-Marina'. As soon as the first bars of recent single 'Wonderlust King' are played the crowd is heated to boiling point. Jumping around like a man possessed Eugene Hutz leads the crowd, who are absorbing his energy and sending it right back to the band a thousand times stronger, not one member of the crowd can resist the urge to jump and sing. From here on in the band are in party mode. Hutz is not the only one enjoying the enthusiasm of the crowd, Rybatsev, Lemeshev and Gobena often come forwards to the front of the stage to play up to the crowd and soak in the atmosphere. For some of the louder songs the band are joined on stage by their two additional female members who add extra backing vocals and percussion as well as adding to the excitement of the crowd

The set spans their entire discography and the different genres of music within it, from the neo-metal '60 Revolutions' which encourages some members of the audience to express their appreciation by opening up a circle pit as vicious as any one might find at a Korn or Metallica gig to the slower songs such as the African influenced 'Tribal Connection' for which Benji Webbe, lead singer of support act Skindred joins them on stage.

Where Gogol Bordello really triumphed on this night was in their more upbeat songs that the crowd could sing along to, particularly 'American Wedding' and breakthrough hit 'Start Wearing Purple'. The latter gets the whole crowd pogoing up and down higher than at any other point in the night, particularly the ones who have worn something purple specifically for this moment. This is followed by 'Think Locally, Fuck Globally' which sees all eight members on stage again and Hutz playing on his signature bucket hung over his microphone which brings a raucous ending to the main set.

The crowd didn't get any quieter from the moment that the band left the stage until the point when Hutz takes to the stage once more to do "something special", a brand new acoustic song, at which point the crowd is quiet and attentive once more. This quickly subsides into another quiet slow burner; 'Alcohol' and fellow members of the band gradually rejoin their leader on stage to build up to the climax of the song.

From there Gogol Bordello see out the rest of the night with what they do best, more favourites including 'Harem in Tuscany' and to finish off a ten minute epic 'Baro Foro'. By the end Gogol Bordello are just a couple of elephants short of a carnival, but rarely do people return home from a carnival this tired, sweaty and overall enthralled.

Rating: 8.8/10
Best Moment: The First Chorus of 'Start Wearing Purple', the whole crowd jumping wildly.