Gogol Bordello performing at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago on June 1, 2019
Gogol Bordello superfans may have just had the time of their lives as the nomadic punk outfit all but blew the doors off Chicago’s Riveria Theatre on Saturday night (June 1). The ensuing whirlwind of musical anarchy was part of a larger 20th anniversary tour, celebrating the group’s extensive history with a high-energy collection of songs spanning the last two decades.
Nothing was off limits during Saturday night’s performance as frontman Eugene Hütz and his band of misfit punks fired off a flurry of sights and sounds, exploring the group’s discography from their 1999 debut album Voi-La Intruder to 2017’s Seekers and Finders. The setlist was more of a salute to the band’s complete discography as opposed to a greatest hits anthology — a fitting musical tribute to the ever-evolving immigrant ensemble.
“Chicago, you’ve been our friend for a long f*cking time,” said Hütz, who recorded the seminal LP Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike in the city so many years ago. Unsurprisingly, the album got a lot of love over the course of the night, particularly during the triple threat of “Not a Crime,” “Immigrant Punk” and “I Would Never Wanna Be Young Again” — the lattermost which included vocal embellishments from the band’s newest member Ashley Tobias, in the form of chord-ripping, blood-curdling screams.
Gogol Bordello performing at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago on June 1, 2019
Later, the band amped up the chaos with a number of tracks from Trans-Continental Hustle, including a wine-infused rendition of the album’s title track and an unrelenting performance of “Immigraniada (We Comin’ Rougher)” — one of countless hard hitters heard throughout the night. Earlier on, multi-instrumentalist Pedro Erazo aka “Pdrito” took up percussion alongside drummer Alfredo Ortiz on the beloved live staple “Alcohol,” prior to Hütz commanding a one-two punch of fan favorites with “Start Wearing Purple” and “Wonderlust King.”
Other highlights from the night’s performance included the guitar-driven “Saboteur Blues,” which featured some slick violin licks from Professor Sergey Ryabtsev, and a crowd-surf-inducing cover of Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel.”
Prior to Gogol Bordello taking the stage, Erazo got things started with his “love, unity and music” side-project the Nufolk Rebel Alliance. Joined by Leo Minimum Tek, the duo put a worldly spin on a handful of covers including The Clash’s “London Calling” & “Straight to Hell,” and John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero.”
Nufolk Rebel Alliance performing at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago on June 1, 2019
Gogol Bordello only has a few more U.S. stops on their 20th anniversary trek, prior to heading overseas for a slew of dates. Click here for information and a complete list of tour dates.
(Photos by Laurie Fanelli)
