NOTE: All photos are copyright of Dean Keim 2025
Agnostic Front guitarist/vocalist and revered Godfather of Hardcore Vinnie Stigma played a wild and countrified show at Brooklyn Bowl with lots of special guests that included guitarist and frontman Eugene Hutz and violinist Sergey Ryabtsev from the band Gogol Bordello. This was the first show to celebrate the release of his newest solo record Outlaw Vinnie Stigma, a Spaghetti Western-inspired party album that is being performed at four special shows in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.. Vinnie’s life growing up in Little Italy and then traveling the world with Agnostic Front is documented in a new book called “Vinnie Stigma: The Most Interesting Man in the World”, released just last year, and you could find everything from his own signature hot sauce to the new album at the merch closet.
Opening the show was the New York band ZOPA, fronted by actor Michael Imperioli, who you might remember from his memorable roles in The Sopranos and White Lotus. The power trio consists of Imperioli on guitar, Elijah Amitin on bass, and drummer Olmo Tighe (also in a film called “Postcards From America” with Michael back in the early 90’s). The band’s name means “patience” in Tibetan, and they recently released their second album Diamond Vehicle, which they played a lot of, as well as some from their first disc called La Dolce Vita, which was the band’s originally name. Joining the band for a few songs mid-set was a brilliant young cellist by the name of Jenna Pascale and she helped give their set a little class as much of the set had a raw 90’s garage rock feel with some spacier interludes. A highlight of the set was their cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Ocean” and the closer “Heroin” which really brought the house down.
Click on photos to enlarge
Vinnie came out dressed in a big beautiful black cowboy outfit and was really captivating as he strutted around with a real country swagger. He had a big band called Stigma accompanying him, including guitarist and backing vocalist Leo Joseph, drummer Chippy Hanna, bassist Roy Valencia, and Jesse Wagner of The Aggrolites, but it was the burning energy of Gogol Bordello members Eugene Hutz and Sergey Ryabtsev that clearly drove the show with that spaghetti western sound for which Bordello is well known. This provided a perfectly fitting country hoedown schtick to the night’s festivities. They did country-fried covers of everything from The Elegants’ “Little Star” to Rancid’s “Already Dead,”, every song making you want to get up a do some square dancing. They did play most of the new album ending with Vinnie getting down in the audience and hugging many members of the crowd. Just when we thought the show was over, Eugene Hutz got back out on stage and brought out Quicksand and Gorilla Biscuits singer Walter Schreifels to kick out an Agnostic Front classic “Society Suckers.” Then to close out the show, he brought out Danny Diablo of the hardcore band Crown of Thornz to play another AF epic “Victim In Pain.” It was a wild party that was pure fun and it really helped make you forget all the pain in the world for just one night.
Click on photos to enlarge
