Gogol Bordello, Roundhouse

Gypsy-punk-folk? Anarcho-dub-balladry? There’s no shortage of hyphenated amalgams that apply to Balkan rockers Gogol Bordello, though thankfully one word describes their live shows: riotous.
Formed in New York in 1999, the band currently has 8 members (with a list of 11 previous ones) led by impossibly charismatic Ukrainian frontman Eugene Hütz.
Hutz’ wild-haired rabble blend punk chaos with gypsy allure; their music is a cacophony of accordions, fiddles, jaunty punk guitar and distinctively accented vocals. The resulting mania is both beguiling and seemingly irrepressible, as evidenced by the band’s prolific output.
Their eighth album Pura Vida Conspiracy was released last year. The opener is a revolutionary call to arms, We Rise Again. The initial violins add a sheen of grandeur before the song opens out into classic Gogol Bordello: quiet-loud with a rousing chorus ‘With a fistful of heart and a radical future/We will rise again’.
Slightly less political is It Is The Way You Name Your Ship: a raucous three and a half minutes of madness as Hütz sings and sings about how naming your ship affects how it will row.
Their live shows are famous for the band’s energy. Careering across the stage, often in a state of semi-undress, Hütz leads both the choir and his disciples (such is the crowd after just a few minutes) on an adrenaline-driven pilgrimage to gypsy punk paradise.