The floor in front of the main stage at Cleveland’s House of Blues was in danger of caving in on Sunday night. A thousand revelers, jumping up and down to the beats of Punk rockers Gogol Bordello, registered at least a 2.6 on the Richter Scale. The Manhattan-based outfit, more specifically the Lower East Side — which implies a whole subculture of Yiddish fiddle and exotic sounds — led an incredibly energetic crowd of Clevelanders in a mixture of Ukrainian folk music, Klezmer, and Romani-inspired Punk.
Frontman Eugene Hutz, a Ukrainian transplant, led his band, a very busy stage of dancing, twirling, and riser-jumping musicians, through a two-hour set. Many of the band members hail from both South America and Europe, offering a bouillabaisse of sounds and experiences, which culminated in a wall of sound and technicolor stage lighting.
Openers Puzzled Panther, also hailing from the Big Apple, played a half-hour set of power punk. Led by frontwoman Victoria Espinoza, the quintet held their own against the headliners, providing a sound reminiscent of classic ’80s punk.
