Author: Davor Bijelic
What do you do if you want to see your favorite band live? You can wait for their Euro tour and hope to catch them nearby, or you can speed things up and organize their concert in your hometown. Or … you can ask the CBGB crew to do this for you.
For the first time in Zagreb, the CBGB Style brings you Russian punk legends Purgen as a part of their Euro tour. Purgen (Пурген) is a hardcore punk group from Moscow formed in 1989 by their frontman Ruslan as “Lenin-Samoutik” which literally means Lenin Dildo. The band changed their name to Purgen in 1991, when all members were united by their love of punk. The band’s lineup has seen constant changes throughout their career, with Ruslan being the only long lasting member. It was not until 1999 the band managed to stabilize enough to record their first album “Toksidermisty Gorodskogo Bezumija”. After this release, Purgen heavily toured across Russia building a loyal support in their hometown. Further lineup changes followed, and after four years, in 2003, the band finally released another record, their second album ”Razrusenie Dlja Sozidanija”.
In 2004, their full-length album “Protest Detalej Mehanizma” was released, followed by an extensive tour. Purgen regularly toured during the next decade, but mostly across Russia due to insufficient funds to travel Europe. In 2005, they released two albums, “Reinkarnacija” and “15 years of Pure Generation”. These records helped build the band’s popularity, which enabled them to play outside Russia and share the stage with other “important” European punk bands.
With their gig in Zagreb on 21st of February, the band will celebrate 25 years of existence and present their latest material. The club opens at 8 pm and the concert is expected to start around 9 pm with the support of Croatian bands Bamovi and Gajba. Tickets are available only at the club entrance on the concert day for 40 HRK, and organizers advise all interested to arrive a bit earlier and gett their tickets on time.
