Israel being rocked once again

June 9, 2008 - 7:22 PM by Harry

It’s been a good few years since Israel has been a stop for touring international acts. In its heyday Israel has been a stop on tours by such gargantuan acts as Gun’s N’ Roses, Beastie Boys, Radiohead, U2, REM and Metallica. The past few years have been quite slow with mostly nostalgia acts such as Jethro Toll making appearances.

That has changed this past year with concerts already held by Nine Inch Nails, Ian Brown (The Stone Roses), Blonde Redhead, Erkah Badu and more.

While no mega-artists are lined up for performance this summer (though there are many rumors), there are numerous smaller-medium acts booked such as Low, Gutter Twins, Sick of it All, Dinosaur Jr., Cypress Hill, Sean Kingston, Macy Gray and The Breeders. Unfortunately, a concert by Bjork, one of the world’s most highly regarded performers was canceled due to inexplicable lack of ticket sales.

This summer’s biggest draw is without a doubt the highly anticipated show by former Smith’s front man Morrissey with opening acts The New York Dolls and Siouxxie (without her Banshees). Morrissey announced his concert via YouTube, even painting “Israel” on his arm in Hebrew.

Tags: • Category: Music 

Comments

7 Comments on Israel being rocked once again

  1. David-Joe on Tue, Jun 10th 2008 4:31 AM

    2. I wonder what shifted his anti-Israel attitude, must be that he matured………

    I am still surprised that he is so popular today and in Israel. I was raised on British Alternative music and culture of the 80’s- early 90’s , when The Smiths, The Cure, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Ministry and so on were the bands of the era. And it remains my favorite music.

    I suppose I am a rather cosmopolitan Israeli.

  2. Harry on Wed, Jun 11th 2008 9:13 AM

    3. I didn’t know he had an anti-Israel attitude….

    The Smiths and The Cure were all integral parts of my preteen years as well (albeit in NY) – until I discovered punk.

    I remember hearing Hand in Glove for the first time. Never heard anything like it in my life and was hooked from the first chord.

  3. Merkava on Thu, Jun 12th 2008 2:38 PM

    4. Ian Brown is part of the ignorant anti-Israel crowd along with Spiritualized, Belle & Sebastian, Primal Scream, Nick Cabe, Massive Attack and other assorted muppets. Do not pay to see any of those bands. The latter have even done concerts for “Palestine.” The irony being of course that Israel is the only country in the Middle East where their albums are freely available and where they’d be able to play without restrictions. They themselves and their stupid fans who support this stance on Israel can’t seem to grasp those concepts.

    Here’s a lyric from Brown’s newest album, from the song called, wait for it…… ‘Illegal Attacks’:

    “Does not a day go by
    When not the Israeli Air Force
    Fail to drops it’s bombs from the sky?”

    He also converted to the Religion of Peace when he was in jail, enough said really.

    I wasn’t aware that Morrissey was in their club, haven’t heard any anti-Israel statements from him?

  4. Hayley Merritt on Thu, Jun 12th 2008 7:53 PM

    5. The Smiths rocked and Morrissey is still relevant today! Will be glad to see Siouxsie Sioux here as well – wonder if she’ll sing Israel? If not, you can view it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiTYvcms-Og

  5. Israelity » Sheffield Sends Coexistence on Fri, Jul 11th 2008 10:58 AM

    6. [...] As previously discussed on these pages, the summer of 2008 is shaping up as a respectable time for Israelis to see international rock shows. Acts like Dinosaur Jr. and Cypress Hill have already wowed us. Bjork and Leonard Cohen might have canceled their planned Israel concerts, but The Breeders, Macy Gray, Low, Air and even Snoop are reportedly on their way. [...]

  6. Israelity » Blue carpet on Mon, Nov 24th 2008 6:54 PM

    7. [...] It all stems from a nation that has been deliberately starved of international pop culture contact since its birth – that is, until globalization and cable TV made such isolationism an irrelevant impossibility. The ebb and flow of Israel’s celeb-isolationism can be tracked as a parallel story to the ebb and flow of the profile of international rock acts that perform on her shores. [...]

  7. Jazzy Jay and other esoteria | Israelity on Mon, Jan 5th 2009 11:40 PM

    8. [...] because the Israeli concert-going market can’t support more than one or two performances from A-list-ers like Paul McCartney each [...]

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