GOGOL BORDELLO ::

GOGOL BORDELLO / THROW RAG
szene wien / vienna, austria
16th december 2005

i've seen some of the best concert of 2005 at the szene wien. time and time again the venue proves itself as innovative, daring and quality oriented. and they even manage to make a buck just when you'd think that they are hanging in the ropes and it seems to look really dreary. no, really, i hope the szene is going to be around much, much longer and continues to host as many wonderful concerts as it did and does.

GOGOL BORDELLO was no exception, but actually a perfect example of the phenomenon that is szene wien. supported by u.s.-american street punk outfit THROW RAG - not bad, really, but i am not too much into street punk and while i can recommend THROW RAG as one of the few better acts in that particular genre, it still didn't do much for me personally - GOGOL BORDELLO played in front of a full house. while selling next to no records in austrian record stores. while being virtually invisible for austrian media. while generally having a tough time. now, that is saying two things to me: 1.) GOGOL BORDELLO are obviously good enough to gather a large fan crowd by word of mouth only and 2.) szene wien knows what's going on out there and isn't scared at all to book an act that is seemingly a fatal investment. bravo! more of that!

how to describe the concert best? well, i really can't. i guess, this is one of the things that you really have to experience yourself, that can't be put into words. their brand of gypsy punk theater is only a few inches short of a tornado. usually they do more of a stage show, with a real story and all that, but this time i believe they wanted to celebrate a big, fat party. and what a party that was! more than 500 people sweating and dancing and shouting and just having one heck of a time. great stuff.