Review: Gogol Bordello’s message of why immigrants matter has never been stronger

Gogol Bordello has always been a band without borders. For more than 25 years, the group’s high-spirited gypsy-punk rock has been a cultural bridge, built from the musical touchstones of Eastern Europe, Russia, Latin and South America and the Lower East Side of New York where the band first sprouted in 1999. But that message has never been stronger than right now.

“This song is about the journey of where I’m from to where she’s from,” front man Eugene Hütz said Tuesday at Concord Music Hall, introducing the new track, “From Boyarka To Boyaca.” It was co-written and performed with tour opener Puzzled Panther, the title referencing the nearly identical names of Hütz’s hometown of Boyarka, Ukraine, as well as Boyaca, Colombia, where Puzzled Panther’s Victoria Espinoza hails from, illuminating how similar we all are — even worlds away.

As the two bands crowded the stage, nearly tripping over each other as they pogoed along to the rhythm, a few fans in the crowd held up a large blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag that came in the eyesight of Hütz who nodded at the sentiment.

Manuel Martinez/WBEZ

Tuesday night marked the fourth anniversary of when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and Hütz has never forgotten it. For years, he has stood up for his people and raised money for victims and soldiers of the war via benefit concerts and secret shows, including a performance at the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg in November. Gogol Bordello also recorded a cover of Angelic Upstarts’ “Solidarity” with Joy Division/New Order’s Bernard Sumner with lyrics reframed as a tribute to the people of Ukraine. It’s included on Gogol Bordello’s latest album, “We Mean It, Man!” released Feb. 13.

Perhaps in honor of the anniversary, the band diverted from its standard tour track list on Tuesday to include “Solidarity” as the final song in the encore, with Hütz dedicating it to “our brothers and sisters of Ukraine” before unfurling powerful lyrics like, “In unity there is each other and your friend becomes your brother, and the tyrant will never have its way.”

Political messages continued throughout the night — before a defiant performance of “Immigraniada (We Comin' Rougher),” percussionist and MC Pedro Erazo had some words to share. “Every day we see police brutality and the destruction of humanity when what we need is peace, love and unity,” he said, adding, “f--- ICE and f--- Trump.” Hütz also took a moment to explain the meaning of the new song, “No Time For Idiots” in the “academic part of the night.” As he noted, the English word idiot comes from ancient Greece and was simply a name for a layperson who is not involved in any politics or public affairs. “I got no f---ing time for that!” he declared.

Manuel Martinez/WBEZ

Hütz had also brandished his own blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag during the night during the optimist chant of “Life Is Possible Again.” The song is one of the most uplifting numbers on “We Mean It, Man!” and is polished with electronic synths and a futuristic vibe that is carried throughout the new album.

Like the centuries-old music traditions it borrows from, Gogol Bordello uses music as a coping mechanism in times of strife, and the band still wants you to dance and have fun. It’s an easy ask. Decked out in sequins and leopard prints, the lively-as-ever seven-piece ensemble was ready to party and invited the sold-out room to join them for two hours as they sloshed beer cans, galloped around the stage and coaxed the “choir” on the floor to add to the vocal hooting and hollering.

Anyone who had no idea who Gogol Bordello was and happened to walk into Concord Music Hall might’ve mistaken it for a raucous wedding party with violins and accordions flailing and varied percussion creating a beat that the onlookers in the crowd took to. On fan favorites like bar song “Alcohol” and the feisty “Fire On Ice Floe,” many broke out in jigs and healthy circle pits, swaying arms and stomping their feet on the floor so forcefully that it felt like it could give way at any moment.

There’s a reason this band often plays Riot Fest — you almost need the wide outdoor space at Douglass Park to provide ample room for people to fully feel the music. In fact, the band’s “very good friend” Riot Mike (aka fest founder Mike Petryshyn) was in the crowd Tuesday.

Gogol Bordello may hail from New York (and its members from all over the world), but its heart has long been in Chicago, and the band made sure to make that fully known on this local tour stop.

“We have a great history with this city,” Hütz shared, noting that accordionist Erica Mancini is a Chicago native before shouting out Steve Albini with whom the band made the landmark album, “Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike” in 2005. That record dominated much of the set list, from the traditional gypsy style of “Mishto!” to the band’s breakaway hit “Start Wearing Purple” that riled everyone up before the encore.

As Hütz ended the show by inviting all bands out on stage and introducing the nations where each hailed from, it was a powerful message of why immigrants matter and what harmony can be made when we all come together.

Gogol Bordello set list Feb. 24 at Concord Music Hall

Ignition
I Would Never Wanna Be Young Again
Not A Crime
Immigrant Punk
Wonderlust King
My Companjera
Fire On Ice Floe (with Puzzled Panther)
From Boyarka To Boyaca (with Puzzled Panther)
Mystics
No Time For Idiots
Immigraniada (We Comin' Rougher)
We Mean It, Man!
Life Is Possible Again
Mishto!
Start Wearing Purple
Pala Tute

Encore
Alcohol
Boiling Point
Solidarity