Pirates, Gypsies, Whatever.

Remember that part in Peter Pan where Captain Hook and his crew sing and dance around in a loud and unruly fashion while accordion music plays in the background? Gogol Bordello brings this exact image to mind every time their aptly classified “gypsy punk” music blasts through my headphones.



Currently, the group stands with about nine members hailing from all kinds of different places — Russia, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Scotland, Israel, Ecuador and the U.S. — and this enormous collective gets as rowdy on stage as any other punk band. The real difference, however, is that gypsy punk is an entirely different breed of music. For starters, most of the instruments are acoustic — à la Violent Femmes, perhaps — and many more elements are incorporated into the music: Cajun influences with accordion and fiddle, a thick background of percussion that takes drumming beyond the “doo-ka” rhythms of traditional punk, and heavy inclusion of dance all blend together to create an entity quite unlike anything else under the punk umbrella.

Fans of DeVotchKa and Motherhead Bug will certainly feel at home in the crowd at a Gogol Bordello show, and while many of the lyrics are difficult to make out, it’s really not hard to find yourself humming along with the catchy melodies that often shine through the chaos. So whether Gogol Bordello reminds you of Captain Hook having a good time with his crew or just a bunch of crazy Europeans putting on a freaking awesome show, this is sure to be a sweaty night. Gogol Bordello and Forro in the Dark play at 8 pm Sunday, Oct. 17, at the McDonald Theatre; $22.50 adv., $25 door.

EW 10/14