Pete's Log: Gogol Bordello!

Entry #1707, (Music)
(posted when I was 32 years old.)

I don't know if I will ever again have two consecutive days of such musical awesomeness. After Monday's concert, the agenda for last night was Gogol Bordello! I saw them two years ago on December 2 and last year on December 11, so it's almost a tradition now to see them this time of year.

Before the show we grabbed a quick dinner at Ganesha. My partners in crime were Tim, Robin, my colleague Marc and his wife. The venue was the Tonhalle, in the Kultfabrik. I had never been there before, and was not terribly impressed. It took forever to get in, because they had only one small door into the place. The coat check was also a disaster, so we opted to not check anything. And service at the bars was pretty slow as well.

We lost Marc and his wife right when we entered. Tim, Robin and I managed to stick together for the opening act, whose name I have forgotten. They had a good sound but were a bit too melancholic for my tastes. Then while Gogol Bordello was setting up, Tim went to try to check his coat again and we didn't see him again until after the show.

Then Gogol Bordello started and the crowd was immediately pretty into it. Even as far back as we were standing, there was a lot of bumping. So I figured if I'm going to be bumped around, I might as well do it proper. So I gradually made my way forward until I was only about four to six people back from the stage. How far I was from the stage constantly changed with all the jumping and bumping around. It was a lot of fun though. Great high energy show.

By the time they left the stage for the first time, though, I was completely exhausted. So I made my way to the side and watched the encore from there. After the show I found Tim and Robin, but not Marc and his wife. Tim and I decided to stop by Molly's for a nightcap. The walk there was ridiculous. I was so sore. I was worried I wouldn't be able to walk when I woke up today, but that turned out not to be the case.

Anyway. Great show. Hopefully I can see them again next year.