Live Review: Gogol Bordello, Horns Of Leroy

The Metro was in full swing on a Monday night with the hot sounds of Horns Of Leroy heating up the night. The Melbourne seven-piece kicked Metro Theatre with brass majety and fired up the punters, most of whom moved and toe-tapped for the entire duration of their opening set.

One jackass thought it would be funny to throw a cup of beer on the stage, but was thrown out and so would probably have spent the rest of the night listening to the show from the alleyway outside.

A testament to their two favourite things, Drunk Phunk was a swinging, rambling affair and a horny cover of Africa by Toto had everyone up and dancing (or videoing). They then finished up with one final hoot and a friendly word of warning, "Don't throw shit on stage. Thank you".

After an intermission, the lights dimmed and a cheer rose though the darkness. The band were still minutes from taking the stage, but the crowd hollered with every moving shadow.

Finally, the collective known as Gogol Bordello graced the stage, frontman Eugene Hutz resplendent in black jacket and unbuttoned white silk top, carrying a guitar and roses. The gypsy punks launched straight into the foot-stomping Break Into Your Higher Self and we've never before seen so much energy explode from a Monday night crowd. The band then bounced right into Not A Crime and the crowd screamed the chorus right back at them. Ultimate and Wonderlust King kept that energy surging, Sergey Ryabtsev demontarting his prowess on violin, wide-eyed stare and cheeky grin included.

Things slowed down a bit with the sexy flamenco style of My Companjera, a few couples entwining themselves in tango dancing. Walking On The Burning Coal and Saboteur Blues, cuts from their latest album Seekers And Finders, garnered a huge response from the packed house, Metro Theatre getting all hot and steamy. Their amalgamation of punk and Eastern European world music, all with added New York flair, flowed into the crowd as spiky-haired punks, hipsters, backpackers and world-music aficionados all united.

The diverse set harked back to the early days of Gogol Bordello with Passport, which was fast-paced, infectious and loud.

Keeping things weird, enigmatic frontman Hutz opened up a book from which to read us a story during Hieroglyph, later tearing pages out as he screamed at those in the front row with multi-lingual, multi-instrumentalist Pedro Erazo working the crowd by his side.

Gogol Bordello closed out the already-90-minutes-long set with Undestructable and the rowdy-as-fuck Start Wearing Purple, the crowd exploding as the sweaty and shirtless Hutz clambered into the crowd, singing from on top of a bass drum. 

When the band returned for a four-song encore, which included the punk anthem I Would Never Wanna Be Young Again and the rhythmic Pala Tute, the weary crowd mustered enough energy to jump and scream along.

The band exuded pure energy, the inclusiveness among the crowd was a delight and Hutz was the showman we've come to expect.