If you listen to Gogol Bordello's latest album Super Taranta!, especially if you've never heard the band before, it might be easy to dismiss the act as just another product of hype. Though I love the album, Gogol Bordello is just one of those bands that has to be experienced live. On Friday night at McCarren Pool, every one of their songs was delivered with a manic, joyful energy that sound technology may simply never be sophisticated enough to capture.

Punk is generally better live than recorded (though if you prefer moshing alone in your apartment, that's cool, too), and Gogol Bordello are definitely a brand of punk. To this category, however, feel free to add any of the following slashes: /gypsy/Eastern European rock/spectacle-performance art/world music/reggae. Born out of the Lower East Side and comprised of anywhere between 6 to god-knows-how-many members since forming in the late-90s, there's nothing quite like this act. Salient points: most band members are of Eastern European descent; they play fire drums on stage; accordion and fiddle factor prominently; lead singer Eugene Hütz can plays the guitar really, really HARD; outlandish backdrops and outifts are the rule.

And yes, in my mind, all of that = awesome show. Getting to the Pool just in time to see Gogol, the crowd was already completely pumped, jumping up and down to the band's opener, "Ultimate" (the first track on Super Taranta!). And from that moment, it was on: the band nearly succeeded in making each song better than the last. The setlist included "Wanderlust King", "Zina-Marina", and an amazing, seemingly never-ending version of "Tribal Connection". From its punk-rock opening, the song veered into reggae and then into a shout-along ballad, with the inspiring battle-cry: "I wanna walk this Earth like it is mine." A little foreign-language rap was thrown in for good measure (possibly Spanish, though Eugene speaks so many languages it's hard to keep up).

After 13 songs, the band left the stage, only to return for an encore that ended up lasting another 6-8 songs at least, the crowd cheering well into the night. The first encore song adequately summarizes this act: "Immigrant Punk". Like the band, the crowd seemed truly international (though they sound mostly nothing alike, I kept thinking of Manu Chao during the show). A beautiful version of "Alcohol" dedicated to a dead gypsy musician highlighted Eugene's classical guitar abilities, still more songs were played and at the very end a full-piece marching band and opening act Manhattan Samba joined Gogol onstage. As if he hadn't given enough to the fans, Eugene invited the crowd to come and join the band in an afterparty at Mehanata, the Bulgarian Bar in the Lower East Side. Even at venues as big as the Pool, Gogol will always be an all-inclusive wild ride; a true family affair.

A marching band and people wearing silver foil masks? It's Gogol Bordello: why not?

Manhattan Samba join the band onstage