Forces of Victory

Gogol Bordello charged up the Electric Factory crowd in Philadelphia on the first night of the band's Forces of Victory Tour 2008. The opening band Skindred had already hyped the crowd with their charismatic mash up of energetic reggae, rock, dancehall, punk, ska, and metal. DJ/MC Pedro Erazo got the energy of the crowd up to an even higher pitch as he introduced the band to the soundtrack of his mix.

The band came out with a full frontal attack as the crowd cheered the first strains of "Ultimate", the lead track off their new CD Super Taranta. The multi kontra culti band makes the most of its tribal connections as it includes drummer Eliot Ferguson (American), Tommy Gobena (Ethiopian) on bass, Oren Kaplin (Israeli) on guitar, Sergey Rjabtzev and Yuri Lemeshev (Russians) on violin and accordian, percussionists/vocalists Pamela Racine (Thai-American) and Elizabeth Sun (Chinese-Scot), MC Pedro Erazo (Ecuadorian) as hype-man, and lastly the Ukranian frontman and budding superstar Eugene Hutz.

Long the focal point of the band, Hutz has become known for his acting as much as his music (first stealing away the spotlight from star Elijah Wood in Everything is Illuminated and then starring in Madonna's directorial debut Filth and Wisdom).

As a reference to this acting career and role as a cross-dressing musician in Filth and Wisdom, Hutz donned a long red wig and candy apple red heels during the song "Zina Marina". He sang, shouted, strummed, and danced his way through the ode to Ukranian girls lost to the white slave trade under the lure of a modeling career. He completed the set with the wig tucked in the front of his red striped trousers reminiscent of a furry loincloth.

By the end of the hour long set it was obvious that the crowd was rabid for more. They screamed, chanted, stomped, whistled, and sang the band back out on stage for an encore, which was almost another full set in length.

Giving faithful Philly fans a treat of songs not usually performed live, the encore started with "Through the Roof 'N' Underground" a song used in the motion picture "Wristcutters: A Love Story". This movie had a lead character loosely based on Hutz. The encore also included the band's traditional finale and crowd pleasers "Baro Foro" and "Undestructable".

Just as one song seemed to end, the band launched into another refrain more energetic than the last. Wave after wave of songs crashing together, melodies and riffs would lead from one song to another and back to the first. The crowd was ecstatic each time a song contiued and screamed for more afterwards.

Although it was obvious the crowd wanted more despite the length of the show, they were left jubilant and spent. Dancing, moshing, sweating, laughing and living. Truly Forces of Victory.

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