There are some rock 'n' roll bands around that are hard to categorize. Their sound is just so odd, or such a strange hybrid of styles that it is hard to describe their sound and funnel them into the genre. Gogol Bordello is one such band, and I finally got to see them in concert and finally got to see a show at the venue known as Brooklyn Bowl. 

Wikipedia describes them as "an American punk band" but they don't sound like other American punk bands such as The Ramones, Black Flag, Social Distortion, or any other group in that genre-- except to say that like many punk outfits, Gogol Bordello plays many fast, loud songs. I've seen a few hundred punk and indie rock shows, and Gogol Bordello was definitely different than the vast majority of such bands.

But let me go back in time. Once in the mid-late 2000s, my father told me that he went to Manhattan's Central Park and saw a free concert featuring a band called Gogol Bordello. I'd heard about them but didn't know much. My father, in his mid-70s at the time, eagerly told me about this wild band, with a hodgepodge sound. He was thoroughly entertained by their performance. I envied him.

Dad is gone, and I'd long wanted to see this band and see them for myself. Recently Cheryl, a friend I've known since high school, asked another friend and me if we wanted to see Gogol Bordello at Brooklyn Bowl, and I decided to go. One reason I was interested was that I'd finally see a concert at Brooklyn Bowl, and I'd read the book "The Music Never Stops" by Peter Shapiro, the club's owner. (The venue is located in Williamsburg, and while I also live in Brooklyn, it's a lengthy drive for me. Brooklyn is big!)

I missed the opening acts but walked inside the club and stood near a large flag attached to a brick wall. The flag had the yellow-blue colors of Ukraine; I figured it would be easy for Cheryl to find me there. (It was.)

The show was a tuneful fury of sound, a mix of typical rock band (guitar, bass, drums) as well as less obvious instruments (violin most importantly), and the style was hard-hitting punk rock (yeah) with world music influences. They did sound to me like a bizarre polka band on speed. But it was lots of fun.

Lead singer Eugene Hutz is not the typical frontman, although, with his droopy, sweat-drippy long hair and mustache, he soon resembled guitarist Dickie Betts of the Allman Brothers Band. The songs were mostly fast, some slower and more pensive, and it was a really good show. Band members dashed around the stage, as did fans on the floor (mostly standing-room only), and the frenetic pace was impressive. 

Gogol Bordello may be seen as a "niche act," but they have a following, and they're a lot of fun to watch!