Jewish moshing at Linkin Park concert

November 17, 2010 - 9:53 AM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life, Music, Pop Culture 

Some of the crowd at the front of the stage.

They showed up to go wild, but even in the expanse of Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park, the thousands of Israeli teens who showed up Monday night for the concert by American hard rockers Linkin Park couldn’t escape a little bit of good old Jewish guilt.

As parents sat on the sloped hill on the peripherary of the amphitheater, the wide area in front of the stage was where most of the 15,000-strong crowd crammed and jostled, turning it into a hormone-fueled mosh pit.

According to first-hand accounts, there wasn’t even room to raise their hands down in front, and even before the show started, promoter Shuki Weiss emerged from the shadows and took center stage, and said something like:

“You have to stop all the pushing and shoving, or the security people are going to come and remove you. And then you’ll miss the show, you don’t want that, do you?”

And when that didn’t seem to work, he took out his secret weapon, saying, “This isn’t the kind of behavior we expect from you,” echoing the plaintive wail of Jewish parents throughout the ages.

I’m not sure if that did the trick, but the show went on as scheduled, with the audience swaying like a sea of humanity, raised fists thrust in the air. Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington at one point, reminded the crowd to take care of each other and “if someone falls down, what do you do? Pick them up!” (a sad commentary on contemporary society when we have to be reminded to do things like that).

He also commented that it was the “rowdiest crowd” the band had ever seen. Bennington might say that at every show, who knows? But when the 16-year-old I accompanied emerged from the bowels of the crowd, two hours later, he was so sweat-drenched that he appeared as if he’d just stepped out of the shower. And when we got home at 1:00 am, I successfully used the same Jewish guilt strategy to get him into the shower.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Rock around the clock

January 1, 2010 - 9:02 AM by · 3 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Life, Music, Pop Culture 

The Pixies - slated for a June show

The Pixies - slated for a June show

It’s unclear to me which of these are confirmed and which are just ‘in negotations’ and picked up by the most-read Israeli paper Yediot Aharonot as a done deal, but 2010 is shaping up to be another banner year for international pop artists performing here.

One confirmed show is the Pixies who are slated for a June performance in an unamned venue as part of a larger rock festival. And that’s the sure thing, right? Actually, this one sounds reasonable since a PR firm put out a press release about it, and since bassist Kim Deal was here recently with her band The Breeders, and reportedly had a great time.

But here’s the list of who else is supposedly on the way during the spring and summer of ’10 – Elton John, U2, Beyonce, Rhianna, and most recently announced, Santana. And let’s not forget the perennial Coldplay and Green Day rumors.

It will be the second appearances by Elton -who infamously fled the country in 1994 after a series of miscues upon his arrival, only to return a day alter – and U2, who performed famously in 1999 at Park Hayarkon, including The Edge leading the crowd in a singalong of an Abba song. And while I can’t put a finger on it, Santana’s been around for so long, that I’m sure they must have played here at some point.

While some on the list may be wishful thinking, two artists from the 1980s of a somewhat lesser stature are already signed up to appear in the first few months of the year – The Alan Parsons Project and Joan Armatrading. It’s good to know these oldtimers still have a place to play, and an audience eager to see them.

Tags: , , , , ,

Madonna’s love fest in Tel Aviv

September 2, 2009 - 12:43 PM by · 6 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Life, Music, Pop Culture 

YouTube Preview ImageMadonna could have come onstage Tuesday night at Hayarkon Park and lipsynched to playbacks (some say she did), tripped on her own two feet and yawned her way through her two-hour set. And still, as soon as she grabbed an Israeli flag and paraded around the stage with it draped around her neck, the audience of 50,000 fans would have gone wild.

Thankfully, for those that paid around $100 for a ticket, Madonna was in fine form, despite some complaints from audience members about the song selection which focused more on latter day material which isn’t as compelling as her career highlights.

But more significant than the show were Madonna’s words and actions – which displayed a great affinity for Israel, where she’s closing her Sweet & Sticky world tour with two shows, the second of which takes place on Wednesday night.

“It’s been 16 years since I played in Israel. I’m sorry about that, I shouldn’t have stayed away so long,” she told the crowd during a break between songs, alluding to her last show here in 1993 in the same venue. “It won’t happen again.”

“Ever since I’ve been here, I’ve been super energized,” she continued. Israel is the energy capital of the world. If we can live together in harmony in this place, we can live in peace all over the world.”

The crowd reacted by chanting her adopted Hebrew name “Esther, Esther…”

Then, during the electrifying finale, “Give It 2 Me,” Madonna jumped off the stage to the no-man’s land before the audience, and stuck her mike into fans’ faces (an interesting aside – the ear-fastened microphones that Madonna helped popularized and in Israel are actually called “Madonnas” were nowhere to be seen).

That was when she grabbed an Israeli flag out of the crowd and brought it back on stage. Kabbala based or not, I can’t think of any other major celebrity who has created such a connection with the country, and quite clearly loves being here.

On Tuesday night, Madonna embraced Israel, and Israel gave a big hug back.

Tags: , ,

 

© 2012 ISRAELITY | Sitemap