Bonnaroo (June 9-12 in Manchester Tennessee) has announced the 2011 lineup (slightly early), and like the rumored Lollapalooza lineup, Eminem is among the headliners. Bonnaroo also has Grammy winners Arcade Fire and the Black Keys, in addition to Lil Wayne, Mumford & Sons, the Strokes, The Decemberists, Florence & the Machine, Girl Talk, Beirut (haven't seen them in a while), and many more. Full list below...

Continue reading "Bonnaroo 2011 lineup is here"

photos by Vincent Cornelli

Eugene Hutz on stage w/ Forro in the Dark

Rick Rubin, Madonna, world tours - it's a long way from Eugene arriving in New York City as a refugee with no money and very few contacts, apart from his kinfolk who had always made him part of a micro community in every town in the world he visited.

Just being in New York was enough after a tangled upbringing in the Ukraine and several years schlepping around East Europe as a refugee: "It would be pretty funny to imagine that a punk rock kid in the Ukraine would listen to folk music at that time. When you discover punk rock you go to the most far away thing possible. You get a musical wanderlust. I was listening to the Clash, Joy Division, Mano Negra, The Fall. It was right around glasnost. Music was cassette driven, word of mouth, hand to hand driven. It was so under the radar that if you would see somebody on the subway in Kiev who had a remotely funny kind of funky haircut you would walk up and start talking to them - 'Yeah man wanna go to my house and listen to the Sex Pistols?', 'Fuck yeah! Let's go!'. There were a couple of places where sub cultural kids would hang out. It was so tight in a city of 3 million - we would have a couple of hundred of us punks - then there would be a couple of thousand of kids who would specialise in beating us up! We were outnumbered by everybody." [The Quietus interview w/ Eugene Hutz, 11/09]

Gogol Bordello played their second of three shows at Webster Hall in NYC last night (12/28). The third and final show is tonight (12/29) with Dillinger Escape Plan. Marianni opened the first night (pics). Forro in the Dark opened the second. More pictures from it, below...

Continue reading "Gogol Bordello & Forro in the Dark @ Webster Hall in NYC (night 2) - pics "

photos by Paul Birman, words by Elina Miller

Eugene Hutz & Gibby Haynes

Brazilian songstress Marianni readied Gogol fans - an eclectic mix of hipsters, aspiring gypsy punks and gritty Russians clad in all black - for the sold-out spectacle at Webster Hall on Sunday (12/27). The crowd erupted in elation as she announced a "Russian-Brazilian" song and a buttoned down, almost clean-cut Eugene Hutz emerged to perform a duet.

Later in the night, despite having taken several generous swigs of red wine, Hutz still mustered up the quick-witted coordination to dodge a bra and a roll of toilet paper hastily hurled at him from the depths of the audience. Think Bush Iraqi shoe style if Bush had a handlebar mustache, an acoustic guitar and boasted 1% body fat. In a nod to his motherland, Hutz did accept a Ukrainian flag that had been waving wildly in the crowd and draped it over his shoulders. He also managed to stick his head through the t-shirt of Gibby Haynes from Butthole Surfers who unexpectedly emerged from backstage to perform "I Don't Give a Fuck" alongside Hutz.

If Gogol Bordello is the circus then Hutz is the fearless ringmaster. Building off his raw energy and emotion, the band always manages to whip the expectant crowd into a frenzy. I've never left a show without tapping my foot wildly and wanting to punch up my wardrobe with purple. This time was no exception.

Gogol Bordello continue their three-night run at Webster Hall tonight/Monday (12/28) and Tuesday (12/29). More pictures from Sunday night, including one of the setlist, below...

Continue reading "Gogol Bordello (and Gibby Haynes) & Marianni (and Eugene Hutz) played Webster Hall in NYC (night 1) - pics & setlist"

photos by Ryan Muir

Coachella holds many, many thousand. Well imagine Gogol Bordello's normally explosive energy amplified by hundreds. Stifling heat, a relatively meager Sunday turnout, daylight and what seemed like about 10 intrusive video cameras did not slow down Eugene Hutz and crew. He shook, shimmied, high-kicked, guzzled wine, shouted and belted while his fellow lithe female cheerleader/percussionists also demanded the audience's attention. And they got it. Couples danced, thick-necked dudes who had never heard of the band jumped and screamed at the tops of their lungs and every spectator that wasn't bouncing held up a digital camera to capture the moment.

They came, they saw, the conquered. Would we expect anything less? [Arizona Daily Star]

Tickets are still on sale for Gogol Bordello's upcoming show at McCarren Pool.

USELESS FACT: Gogol Bordello's song "Wonderlust King" 'was featured in the trailer for the Morgan Spurlock documentary Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?'.

More Coachella pictures below...

Continue reading "Gogol Bordello @ Coachella 2008, Indio, CA - pics"

Madonna poses with Ukrainian actor Eugene Hutz, left, and actress Holly Weston, right, during a photo call for the movie 'Filth And Wisdom' at the International Film Festival Berlinale in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008. The 58th International Film Festival, Berlinale, takes place from Feb. 7 to Feb. 17, 2008.

Eugene Hutz wants you to be an actor too.

Last time we saw Gogol Bordello and Madonna together was at Live Earth in 2007. That video below...

Continue reading "Eugene Hutz, Madonna & Holly Weston (Filth and Wisdom)"