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Marathon of Music & Madness at Gogol Bordello

Gogol bordello is one of my favorite bands. They stand somewhere in the middle of an eclectic mix of rock, punk, gypsy jazz, and folk genres. I love everything about them- from Eugene Hutz’s eastern European-accented lyrics, to the mad 50-year-old violinist, known as Sergey Ryabtsev, who

rolling stone - hutz

shreds better with his violin than most guitarists can with their guitars. So, needless to say the three hour trek I took to NYC’s Webster Theater last week to see them live was more than worth it in my eyes.

I had seen Gogol once prior in Boston and it was quite possibly the best show I had ever attended. They played for over two hours with such ferocious intensity, and I was curious to see if they would reach the bar they set so high the last time. The band did indeed reach the bar, and even raised it when they played an encore so climactic that I am still recovering today.

Buntology’s 2009 Year in Music–Thanks for the Memories!

Wow! We can’t believe 2009 has come to an end. This year saw a lot in music, and so did the staff at Buntology. Between Phish, festies, and a smattering of new and classic rock concerts, it’s going to be hard to top all of the awesome performances 2009 had to offer.

But, before we look at the music, let’s take a second to remember the great musicians that passed away this year: Ron Asheton (The Stooges), Jay Bennet (Wilco), Bob Bogle (The Ventures), Ean Evans (Lynyrd Skynyrd), Adam Goldstein (“DJ AM”), Kelly Groucutt (Electric Light Orchestra), and Michael Jackson (Jackson 5). Rest in peace!

But with death comes rebirth, and this year the stork brought us many new “super-groups” like Them Crooked Vultures, The Deadweather, Further and Tinted Windows. This past year we have seen the rise of young artists like Passion Pit,  Asher Roth, Matt & Kim and Gogol Bordello. We have also seen some older bands dust off their Fenders and start playing again, like The Flaming Lips, Weezer and Blink 182.

Blink 182 reunited this year, not only to record, but also to tour and play shows through the US last summer. Though Blink has not released any new music yet, they have are currently working on a new album. Another band that reunited after a break for a few years was Phish. They released a new album “Joy” and have went on an extensive summer and fall tour. Of course one of the highlights of Buntology staffer Ivan’s summer was the performance by Sir Paul McCartney, who played a show at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass.

How about some other musical highlights of the year? In no particular order…

Gogol Bordello, ManMan at the House of Blues [by Ivan]

[Editor’s note: Sorry for the delay of this post. Alicia and I were supposed to go to this show but technology failed us (damn GPS. OK hand-written directions failed us, too) and we missed it. It was too painful to read this review after Ivan wrote it, but now I’m seeing ManMan in July so it’s all good. – Angela]

gogol set list

BOSTON – The final show of the Gogol Bordello and ManMan tour finished off Friday night in Boston, Mass. at the House of Blues.

ManMan opened up the show and played songs mostly from Rabbit Habbits, the band’s third album. While the crowd was just chilling and standing around, I began to mark my course through the mass of people in an effort to get everyone rowdy before the band finished. I recognized the sound of the next song and realized Black Mission Goggles was going to start, and my presence was not about to stay stuck in the back. I made it up front and got some people going. I wasn’t going to leave ManMan disappointed without a raging crowd… Success!

Gogol Bordello took the stage next.