gogol night

having just returned from experiencing my first gogol bordello show, i am feeling a combination of elated and enraged. elated because the energy that group of people puts out is so alive and makes me have no problem jumping up and down continuously for 90 minutes in joy, but enraged because for some reason, the boston metro area is possessed by puritanical demons from hell that dump ice water on everyone all the time just when things get hot. to avoid dwelling on such things, i will not go into gory detail, but let's just say i may never patronize the middle east again (though i probably will due to the fact that it is one of the few very intimate venues in the area that hosts such fun and joy). their staff is uptight and unprepared to deal with anything: they can't deal with a tiny woman riding on a bass drum above the audience, but they are fine with someone taking a steel grinder to her guitar and shooting sparks everywhere, conjuring images of west warwick for a split second (i prefer not to think about that when i am in the fire trap that is the middle east). anyone glimpse any logic there? ANYWAY, it was an amazing show, and i am so ready to see them in new york, and elsewhere. again. my favorites i think are the ukranian peasant percussionistas, with their plethora of washboards, cymbals, and the aforementioned bass drum. and the brazen (can i call a man that) fiddler gnome, and hutz, of course... the music was fabulous, and reminded me of why eastern european and western russian music is so dear to my heart.