In the late 1980s, a Russian band named after Moscow’s most famous entertainment park headed to the land of liberty. They took to various stages in cities across the United States and sang in English to protest against the “official Soviet pop” that dominated the rock scene in their homeland. The hard rockers met Frank Zappa and Jon Bon Jovi, who helped them arrange concerts and, down the road, ink a contract with major American label Mercury Records.
The contract led to two super-successful albums, Park Gorkogo and Moscow Calling, released in 1989 and 1983 respectively. The albums received praise from MTV and great reviews from music magazine Billboard. Gorky Park had suddenly come to personify the dream of many ex-Soviet citizens in the wake of the Soviet collapse.
Last weekend, more than seven years removed from the release of Moscow Calling, Gorky Park played at Kyiv nightclub Red and Black, a venue that in many ways typifies what has become of the ex-Soviet entertainment scene since the collapse of the USSR. Red and Black draws a predominantly New Ukrainian crowd and its prices reflect that trend. Tickets for Gorky Park cost Hr 150 to Hr 335, twice as much as the monthly minimal wage in Ukraine.
Red and Black has been high on Gorky Park of late. A few weeks back the band’s ex-vocalist, Nikolai Noskov, played there, and the club will soon host a performance by the band’s ex-guitarist, Aleksander Marshall.
Perhaps because of club’s upscale nature, the show Oct. 6 was a relatively tame one: no raving crowds, no ovation and certainly no fan hysteria. The crowd consisted mainly of men in suits with their high-heeled girlfriends, dining, talking and smoking cigars. When Gorky Park came up to the stage with their unshaven faces, Gap outfits and a balalaika-shaped guitar, they looked like they somehow had ended up in the wrong club. It sure wasn’t Los Angeles, where the band has been based for the last several years.
Despite the tame reception, Gorky Park acted like professionals and performed impeccably for an hour and a half. The sound was surprisingly good considering Gorky Park plays hard rock, which is more appropriate for stadiums than small clubs. The band played all their old hits: “Bang,” “Tell Me Why,” “Try to Find.”
Buoyed by such classic anthems, the audience warmed to the music toward the middle of the show, actively showing more vigor and interest. During a few ballads people even approached the stage to dance; when Gorky Park later started playing faster music, they stayed there. An hour into the concert it finally seemed like a real rock event.
Actually, it turned out that there were a few devoted Gorky Park fans in the crowd, since some individuals could be seen mouthing the lyrics.
Toward the end of the show, Gorky Park played their most classic hit, Moscow Calling, a true legend in the annals of Soviet hard rock.
Band lead singer Aleksei Belov summed up his feelings at the end of the show by expressing hope that some day there would be no borders between “our countries,” as in the good old days. However, it was unclear which countries he was talking about.
