Gypsy punks, unite! It was time for the Romani to invade Montreal’s loudest music venue and make it even louder. In true gypsy form, the crowd arrived early and were crowded around the bars.
The honours of starting the festivities belonged to Boris and the Joy. Longtime Gogol Bordello fans would recognize Boris from his years in the band but might not be as familiar with his indie synth-wave sound. It is a much more sombre tone, Yours Is a Face From a Dream sounds like something you might call Death Cab for Simon and Garfunkel. The crowd swayed and cheered in appreciation.
Next up was New York’s Puzzled Panther, who brought an 80s punk vibe filled with female energy to the stage. They look and sound like they walked off the CBGB’s stage in 1986 and were somehow transported directly to Mtelus in 2026. They got the crowd dancing with great stage presence and some funky bass riffs.
The second Gogol Bordello started filling the stage with gypsies, the crowd started tensing, awaiting release. Vocalist Eugene Hutz walked out and the band kicked into Ignition and ignited the mosh; this show, this night, definitely weren’t going to turn into an American Wedding situation.
Before laying into the heavily political Not a Crime and Immigrant Punk, Hutz draped himself in the flag of his native Ukraine and spoke about the struggles of being an immigrant as a child and having to adapt to the strange land of Vermont, a quiet place for a man with a gypsy heart. But he found a city and place that helped him unleash his wild side, he talked about trips to Montreal and nights at Foufounes Electriques, where he would just show up, not knowing what band was playing, but knew he could lose himself in the music. It’s where he fell in love with the punk side of gypsy punk.
Wonderlust King had the whole crowd chanting the chorus and the “da-da-da-da’s” while a circle pit engulfed the floor. They followed straight in My Companjera, giving the mosh no time to rest.
The band then brought Puzzled Panther back on stage for their collab song From Boyarka to Boyaca, which they explained links the passion of people from all over the world, that the differences between a small town in Ukraine and a town in Colombia are minor. We are all brothers and sisters and they metaphorically hugged everyone, regardless of colour, origin, or creed.
For the 3 people on the floor who weren’t yet sweaty messes, Immigraniada got them there. This band has incredible energy that grabs the crowd and gets them to release their inhibitions. I hadn’t seen that much crowd surfing since the 90s. The crowd literally looked like a stormy sea swelling from east to west and spitting up random sailors on the crest.
The main set entered its closing phase with the iconic Start Wearing Purple, which had pockets of the crowd breaking into a trepak, kicking their feet up. Sing-along Pala Tute brought us home for those who still had some voice remaining.
The encore sent us home with the very appropriate ballad Alcohol. We all thanked the liquid spiritual lubricant for allowing us to dance like mad fools, but really, we needed to thank Gogol Bordello. There are very few bands touring today who can whip up a crowd as they do. Even walking out back into the cold, the crowd was full of smiles and singing “da-da-da’s”.
Review – Richard Brunette
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