Gogol Bordello, Patti Smith, Other Musicians Come Together for Ukraine Benefit in NYC
variety.comChris Willman Music WriterAs bombs continue to pummel Ukraine, musicians gathered in New York Thursday night to protest Russia’s war against the nation and raise funds for its defense.
The Benefit for Ukraine at New York’s City Winery assembled a lineup of mostly local rock legends who “stand with Ukraine in the battle for its democracy and freedom.”The show was put together by headliner Gogol Bordello, New York’s beloved Slavic punk rock band, fronted by charismatic singer/guitarist Eugene Hütz.
The benefit was also livestreamed.It’s personal for Hütz, who was born in Boyaka, a town southwest of Kyiv, to a Russian father and half-Ukrainian/half-Roma mother.
They emigrated to the U.S. in 1992 after traveling around Europe like gypsies, and he founded the band in 1999. Prior to the concert, in a press statement, Hütz called Russia “Ukraine’s criminally insane neighbor” and a “psychotic totalitarian nation,” adding: “Please help us to win this battle; help us to end this catastrophe immediately and bring the intruder to justice.”After an acoustic version of Gogol Bordello opened the show, Patti Smith, wearing a red knitted hat, provided the evening’s first highlight as she belted out 1988’s “People Have the Power.” On 2004’s “Peaceable Kingdom,” Smith sang, “Maybe one day we’ll be strong enough to build it back again / Build the peaceable kingdom back again.” Her band included Tony Shanahan on bass and keyboards and daughter Jessie Paris Smith.
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