I had wanted to see Gogol Bordello for years. And that is always slightly dangerous. When you have carried a band around in your head for that long, the reality has a lot to live up to. Sometimes the concert arrives and you’re utterly disappointed. It was definitely not the case this time.
Standing in B90 on Monday night, watching Gogol Bordello tear through their set, I felt something I don’t get from every concert. Happiness. Not the polite kind where you think, “That was a good show”. This was physical. I could feel it running through my body. I was simply happy to be there.
Before them, Leniwiec had the job of warming up a crowd that had come specifically for a band with a formidable reputation for live performances. The Jelenia Góra group, active since the mid 1990s, brought their mixture of punk, reggae and ska to the stage and proved to be an enjoyable support act.
Then, when Gogol Bordello arrived, everything changed. The word “energetic” almost feels inadequate. The whole performance seemed to operate at a different voltage. The whole band was constantly moving, and the stage felt like a small musical explosion. I have rarely seen that.
There was something wonderfully unrestrained about it. Nothing felt carefully controlled. It was wild, physical and sometimes gloriously chaotic, but never without a purpose. The band knew exactly how to turn that chaos into a celebration. And the audience was right there with them.
Gogol Bordello pulled people into their world. Dancing, shouting, jumping, smiles everywhere. The atmosphere was intense, wild, and very friendly. That combination is probably one of the reasons I enjoyed the concert so much.
There was also a political edge to the evening. Gogol Bordello have never been a band afraid of putting their beliefs and experiences into their music, and in Gdańsk that took on a particularly meaningful dimension. At one point, they dedicated a song to the city and its history of resistance, bringing Solidarność into the evening.
It was a reminder that beneath all the dancing, noise and sheer exuberance, there is something serious running through this band. Their music may be joyful, but it is not empty. There is history, migration, identity, resistance and politics in there too.
And yet, for me, the lasting memory of the night is surprisingly simple. I had waited years to see Gogol Bordello. Finally, I was standing there, watching them, giving everything they had on stage, surrounded by people who were just as caught up in the moment as I was. And I was ridiculously happy.
