Ukranian Punks Return, Rock
Брати Гадюкіни (pronounced “Brati Hadyoukini”), a punk-rock outfit and Ukrainian rock legend with a 30-something fan base and a penchant for faux-Jamaican ska riffs, had its first concert since 1995 at the Palats Ykraina on January 20. The shivering masses pushed their way into this oversized high-school gymnasium (used earlier that day to host the Ukraine vs. Belarus hockey match -- fans stood on boards that slid along the melting ice on the floor) to welcome back what can only be described as the Guns N’ Roses of Ukraine. Брати Гадюкіни boasts a smidge more legitimacy than the Jaegermeister-fueled antics of Axel and Slash, however; in the late 1980s when they first rose to fame, a Ukrainian-language band from the fiercely nationalist city of Lviv was slightly more controversial than the (admittedly life-altering) release of Appetite for Destruction. The enthusiasm, though, for a band that represents youth, freedom, and throwing it back in authority’s face bears close resemblance to a GN’R reunion tour -- that is, a reunion tour with an Axel that isn’t 30 pounds overweight and sporting a head of hip-length orange cornrows. Lead singer Sergei (“Kuz”) Kuzmincki is a top DJ in Moscow these days, an unlikely and somewhat unpopular move in the pre-independence era for one of the few Ukrainians making it at home. But songs like "КАРПАТИ" ПРОГРАЛИ ФУТБОЛ (Carpati Prograli Football), which bemoans their hometown soccer team’s failures on the field, still conjured up some nationalistic revelry.
Braty Gadiukiny [UMKA]
Previously: Orangerea Supper Club, The Barrel, Chomp On, Tomato Jaws, Survivors & Victims Photo Exhibits, Hotel Turf Wars
