 | | Bedouin Soundclash |
With DJ Scratchy linking the acts together, there’s an evident sense of continuity and carnival early on, rather than one of cold beer stares while incongruous sounds drone over background chatter. Missing much of Disco Ensemble and what I do witness not worth wandering stage-ward for, Canadian lurve dynamo Danko Jones certainly is. Like an elk fighting for rutting rights with Zeus, he takes the zip-tussling sleazy zeal of early KISS and Bon Scott era AC/DC with the ever ready super-charged schmaltz of libidinous warblers like Marvin Gaye and Barry White and quite simply kicks out an abundance of censorship-crimping rock’n’roll that cramps your stomach.  | | Gogol Bordello |
Despite going down like an IKEA sale, Bedouin Soundclash never hit lift off. Their ‘Sandinista’ meets Dreadzone down by the pizza shop lacks dynamism and seems infuriatingly content to wallow in its own sweet smoke and dub off into the ether. Every generation needs a folk-infused fix at one time or another and while there’s no denying Gogol Bordello’s stage spectacle, big-top banzai zaniness and rare ability to rouse an entire venue into some sort of Academy ‘Acienda, how far the circus will retain its current devotion remains to be seen. What are essentially rave backbeats behind the Eastern European folk breakdowns capture the rapturous anthemic delirium of both musics that fails to truly captivate and connect beyond a Friday night knees-up. Whilst not too far removed from the crusty raves of a decade ago, their live theatrics may just be their saving grace in stopping them being this year’s Darkness. Just don’t start wearing purple. | 
