The crowd went wild on Friday night as mustache-clad vocalist Eugene Hütz and Gogol Bordello, his motley band of performers and musicians, strutted their way onto the Rialto stage. Bare-chested with gypsy jewelry jangling, Hütz joined his friends in sending the crowd into a hedonistic frenzy, a worldly celebration hard to find in the United States.

Hütz, who moved out of Ukraine after the Chernobyl incident and lived as a refugee until age 15, has traveled the world bringing a musical message of celebration and ageless wisdom.

Gogol Bordello integrates aspects of traditional gypsy music, such as accordions and violins, and also throws in the hard, raucous attitude of bands like the Clash and the Sex Pistols. The mix creates a sound that makes you want to laugh, dance and thrash all at the same time. Gogol Bordello’s unique style of traditional yet hard-hitting music has labeled them with the accurate term “”gypsy punk.””

Not only is the band’s music intriguing; the members’ appearances make you feel like you have left the country for a night of wild, foreign fun. The entire band looks like a collection of European misfits. Russian violinist Sergey Ryabtsev wore what looked like a bulletproof vest and had his gray hair pulled back in a ponytail. The band also had the help of two Asian women who would occasionally come out and sing and slam on symbols, as well as a hype man who hopped all over the stage.

Gogol Bordello’s performance was nothing short of amazing. The loud and festive music seemed to take away inhibitions, as the crowd became one massive, sweaty, dancing family. While the band did not directly address the audience very often, the musicians seemed to say it all in the wild and joyful way in which they played and sang. Go Gogol!