Swept Up in the Gogol Bordello Crowd
I was more than content to stay at the back of the Crystal Palace Tent last night to enjoy Gogol Bordello's late-night epic performance. Alas, it was not to be, though. As the band kicked into their opening number, fellow Express writer Don Coglione grabbed my arm and led me into the middle of the densely packed dance floor where we were soon swept up in the sea of several hundred bouncing bodies and pushed to the front of the stage. Positioned a few feet away from the band, I tried to simply stand and watch, but that was easier said than done. Going with the time-tested notion of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" I started jumping around wildly like I did at shows in my teens. I had a fantastic time and unsurprisingly literally bumped into several of my foreign and Japanese co-workers. My shirt was soaked by the time the second encore finished and stunk something fierce. Smelling myself I soon realized that the stench wasn't from me, but from all the sweaty bodies that were pressed tightly against me. Ewwwww! Oh well, it was all in good fun and luckily I had a back-up tee in my knapsack.
How the hell is the POW going to top Gogol Bordello next year? Keep an eye out for Sean Scanlan's proper review of the gig. This was a show that all need to know about!
Photo by Miyuki Samata
Reported by Shawn Despres (2008.07.27 / 14:31)