Gogol Bordello Are Great And All, But...

Every once in a while, you get in to a show that not only defies expectations, it turns into one of those where you tell everyone about it, knowing that your friends are both spitefully jealous and reluctantly in awe. For some, it's Arcade Fire's "flashlight" show at a tiny basement during Canadian Music Week in 2005. For others, it's The Strokes' free Horseshoe show in 2001.

For another lucky 150, it was Gogol Bordello's Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike tour stop at the Drake in February 2006. Between the bass drum surfing, the boundless energy and a non-stop collection of perfect punk rock gems it was a memorable night. And it was at the fucking Drake.

As strange as it was to see lead singer Eugene Hutz and violinist Sergey Ryabtsev onstage with Madonna during the Live Earth finale at Wembley Stadium, it was also completely predictable. Anyone who was at that way-too-small show in 2006 knew they would be big stars in practically no time.

And so this recent visit to Toronto's Kool Haus represented an infinitely more spacious venue for the band. While at first it seemed like they would have trouble filling it, shortly after the lights went down the heat went up. It didn't take long for Hutz to take control of the rabid audience, given the fortunate similarities between the group's new Super Taranta! album and the city they were playing, "super" Toronto.

But witty sound-alike words were quickly overshadowed by the likes of Gypsy Punks ' "Not A Crime" and a barrage of tracks from the latest LP. The biggest surprise early in the set was that Underdog World Strike closer "Mishto!" proved to be the real party starter. Every time the song's instrumental refrain came around, the centre of the audience bounced like it was on a trampoline.

The next song to pull the trick was "American Wedding," with its boisterous and repetitive refrain. During that track, a bald guy got onstage and danced around like an idiot and didn't even properly jump into the crowd like he should have when the moment was absolutely perfect. If you're gonna chance the prowess of the overweight security guys, at least do the audience the favour of jumping into the crowd.

The intricate Super Taranta! tracks, on the whole, held up very well in the live setting. This is no doubt thanks, in part, to the fact that the band adamantly record everything live off the floor, making it generally easier to translate live. "Tribal Connection" and encore opener "Alcohol" both made easy leaps from disc to large club, and Hutz's voice is holding up much better these days than it has in the past.

Of course, when it comes to Gogol, the Gypsy Punks tracks are the ones the people pay to hear, and the extended version of "Start Wearing Purple" and "60 Revolutions" made the trip to the waterfront worth every penny, as did show closer "Bard Ford" (which, sadly, didn't morph into "Undestructable" as it has in the past).

So what was the hang-up? Well, it's hard to beat a legendary show. The good thing is that, if you're Gogol Bordello, you can at least make the kind of effort that will keep everyone coming back for more.