Kiss me one more time

June 12 was just a dream. After spending considerable time figuring out how much bling was blingy enough (decided on gold bambi and grandma's charm bracelet) and applying coat after coat of red lipstick (the permanent kind, which I have found to be both a blessing and a curse), Nick & I drove to the Cabooze for our interview with Eugene Hütz. I had the advert for the Gogol Bordello concert on my bulletin board for over a month, and with a combination of anxiety and excitement, was really really looking forward to sharing the same space with my favorite band from the East.

Greeted by their tour manager, he escorted us through the outdoor stage and put us on their bus. One foot in and we were transported into what I can only describe is as if Wes Anderson wrote and directed Zoolander. Row upon row of traditional instruments and neon clothing layered the seats of the bus, with a handful of beautiful, international musicians warming up for the evening's festivities. They pointed us to a closed door at the back of the bus.

Sergey Ryabtsev, Yuri Lemeshev & Eugene were tucked in the back nook, playing guitar, violin and accordion, when Nick & I unknowingly interrupted them. After a brief hello, Eugene said, "Let's do this." Nick then opened his camera case and suddenly opened a cacophony of "fucks," "motherfuckers" and what I can only imagine to be more colorful curses in Russian. (It was explained to me once that there are much more satisfying words in Slavic languages.) Eugene believed we were doing a print interview, and was upset at the extra time and energy it would take to record it. Bless violinist Sergey, who put out the fire and left Nick & I alone, as Eugene splashed water on his face and put on a fabulous purple jacket and headband. As you can imagine, I was freaking out.

Eugene came back fresh as a daisy and gave us one hell of an interview. Without giving too much away- we talked Brazilian markets, Mehanata, and his appropriated porno business in Kiev. He sang “Soul Warrior,” and making me the happiest girl on the West Bank, kissed me on both cheeks. His mustache tickles. He also apologized profusely for getting upset in the beginning – Gogol Bordello was playing a Tom Waits set with Les Claypool the following day at Bonnaroo – they hadn’t learned any of the songs and we had crashed their first practice! Oops.

Les Claypool & Gogol Bordello at Bonnaroo:

Stay tuned for the interview and concert footage...