F. Ukraine Meets L.E. Esther

"Combining elements of punk, gypsy music, and Brecht-ian cabaret, Gogol Bordello tells the story of New York's immigrant diaspora through debauchery, humor, and surreal costumes."

I'm late to the "Gypsy Punks" party thrown by Gogol Bordello but no matter, there's still room for everyone to be double-fisting vodka rim-shots. Really infectious stuff that reminds me of when I first heard Operation Ivy and how they put the "core" in ska. (I'll spare you the obvious socio-economic parallels of Eastern European gypsy music and Jamaican ska roots.) Maybe it's the 16 year old in me who wishes that GB would grind it a little raw sometimes like OPIV, but keep in mind these guys started out playing Russian weddings, not all-ages warehouse shows.

Gogol Bordello - "Oh No" and "Bulla Bulla"