Gogol Bordello vs. M. Ward

Lately my life has been all about contrasts. I'm not sure why, but I'm finding myself looking for contrasts, happening upon contrasts, and discovering contrasts. I think with all that has been taking place lately, it is necessary. And important.

Last week, I attended the Gogol Bordello show at the Exit/In.















Prior to this show, I had always maintained that the band, Prabir and the Substitutes were the hardest working band in rock n' roll....I'm sorry boys, you've been replaced. Gogol Bordello is. Upon arrival to the Exit/In, we all discovered the air conditioning was broken. I wonder if the gypsy punks arrived early, cut the A/C cords- just to create the mood for the evening. With no air conditioning, you'd think this might discourage people- or that people might leave early, not a chance. I had been told that Gogol Bordello has been known to run circles around the audience. I finally understand- it isn't often that you attend a show where the band maintains more energy than the audience for the duration.. By the time of encore, many of us were soaking wet with sore throats- perhaps hoping it was coming to an end, but the band played on showing no signs of exhaustion or letting up.
















The picture above is of two of my favorite Gogol Bordello fans. These two fellas danced and sang out every lyric all night long. Fans of GB seem to come from all across the spectrum, though one thing rings true- all of them really engage in the sublime experience of the show. Well, almost all of them- except this fella below.



















This poor fella had his hipster outfit planned out weeks before the show. And you could tell that he was suffering through a minor heat stroke. While sweating and straining to maintain his cool (albeit, rigid) poses, he did not dance, move, cheer, or smile- not once. And I thought, how horribly boring. It was this contrast between the dancing sprites above with this dead-to-the-world hipster that I realized- give me the dancing sprites any day. At least they have a sense of community, lightness, and fun.


In contrast to the Gogol Bordello show, last night I attended the M. Ward show at Cannery Ballroom. I had suspected that the show might be in direct contrast to my experiences with Eugene and folks. And it was. Don't get me wrong, the show itself was fantastic. Matt Ward has an incredible ability to soothe my soul, as I think he does for most people. Endearing and hilarious was the fact that I think a majority of the audience thought Jim James was on stage because they happened to see a fella with a beard. "Look! It's him. It's Jim James or Yim Yames." Not too surprisingly, I'm thinking alot of the folks there came because of the She&Him project- and perhaps were expecting Zooey Deschanel to make an appearance. She didn't. And you shouldn't have thought she would.

Whatever the issue was- there was no sense of community at this show. There was a strong disconnect between the performers and the audience. The folks at the show were not talking with one another, well, wait, let me retract that. Tons of folks were standing around talking to the folks they came with, while the performance took place. And from where I was standing- no one was dancing or seemingly enjoying themselves.

Where, oh where, were my dancing sprites? Where were the people who would give themselves up to the experience of the show and the music? That's right folks, the jaded and disinterested attitude ends here. Leave it at home.


And here is a short video I took. I recognize you can't see anything, but I wanted to give you the simulated experience I have in clubs.