Fully Loaded: Gogol Bordello

United Kingdom | by Kai Jones | 12 August 2008

Alongside headliner Iggy Pop And The Stooges on the main stage will be gypsy punks Gogol Bordello, whose frenzied live shows make them a major favourite at any festival. We talked to bassist Tommy Gobena about what we should expect from their performance.

Virtual Festivals: Get Loaded in the Park is known for its raucous party atmosphere. It seems perfect for Gogol Bordello then?!
Tommy Gobena: "Wow, I'm glad to hear that! Yeah it does - we're looking forward to coming over and destroying the masses!"

VF: What should people who haven't seen you before expect at Get Loaded in the Park?
TG: "They should expect great music, great performers and massive energy. Lives will definitely be changed at the show."

VF: You're playing with Iggy Pop again at Get Loaded in the Park, which seems fitting - the Stooges and Gogol Bordello have the same firebrand approach to infectious rock and roll.
TG: "Yeah, we've played a few festivals with him now. We're really looking forward to seeing him again. He's a proper no holds-barred performer."

VF: You've just played Lollapalooza in Chicago, How did it go?
TG: "Oh yeah, Lollapalooza was great. It was the first time we played the festival. The weather was so hot though, very humid. We did what we had to do and left them dumbfounded!"

VF: How does playing festivals differ from the usual Gogol Bordello gig?
TG: "More than the fact that there are more new people than our fans, the festivals are so much bigger and the connection between the audience and the performer is very different than if we are playing a club where we are stuck in your face every second.  It's very intimate playing clubs, even in a big place like Brixton Academy. Whereas at a  festival between the audience and you there's like a fifty yard gap, for security and everything.  But it's great that a lot of people who have never seen us get a chance to get to know the band."

VF: Gogol Bordello gigs usually end with Eugene standing on a drum being held aloft by the crowd. Does that giant gap affect the interaction with the audience in any way?
TG: "Well we just do what we do! It doesn't matter what stage we're on, whether it's a small stage, a big stage or in a club. Really, the music carries on, and it's not stopped by one individual matter or person. Location really doesn't matter, we still get in people's faces!"

VF: I know exactly what you mean. You played the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury last year during one of the worst downpours of the weekend, yet everyone completely ignored the weather as soon as you went on.
TG: "Yeah, that's what music is all about, sharing the energy between the performer and audience. Once you've achieved that connection you're not bound by any gap or any fence."

VF: Gogol Bordello always ensure a raucous, memorable experience at festivals, but you also bring a distinct level of intelligence with you, in the issues you advocate and include in your music. What artists do you always make sure you see at festivals?
TG: "It would always be someone like Manu Chao. They're a great band. We played with them at EXIT in Serbia a few weeks back and we will be playing again with them in September in the US. They have great ideas, a great conscious which is important behind the whole musical movement. So I would always go and see a band like Manu Chao play at any festival on any day. "

VF: Manu Chao is an absolute legend. I can't believe the man is forty-seven - he has so much energy!
TG: "Hahahaha! It's the music - once you've got that energy there's no stopping!"

VF: Of all the festivals that you've played what are the one which you're hanging out to get back to?
TG: "Well, Glastonbury was very special, except for the rain! But we just recently played Japan, at Fuji Rock. And we're all dying to get back there and do the same thing again. It was a new thing for us and we love Japan so we'd love to get back as soon as possible."

VF: While you were at Bonnaroo Festival in the States, some of the members of Gogol Bordello took part in Les Claypool's jam stage, which involved a set of Tom Waits covers and included Kirk Hammett from Metallica. How did that come about?
TG: "Well, I personally don't know much of Tom Waits' music but there's a few band members who know and love his music. And we're good friends with Les Claypool so when Les was asked to curate this jam stage he chose part of the band to join him on stage. Unfortunately I'm also a bass player and so is Les so I didn't get the opportunity. But I caught most of it on You Tube!"

Gogol Bordello play the Main Stage at Get Loaded in the Park, Clapham Common, on Sunday 24 August.