Liverpool’s magical mystery tour comes to Tel Aviv

April 6, 2009 - 1:16 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Music, Pop Culture 

Two admirers 'meet the Beatles' in Tel Aviv/

Two admirers 'meet the Beatles' in Tel Aviv/

Liverpool conquered Tel Aviv yesterday when the Imagine Liverpool photo exhibit opened in Dizengoff Center.

Devoted to the mythological symbols of Liverpool -The Beatles and the Liverpool Football Cub – the exhibit, sponsored by Liverpool’s tourism association and on display until the end of the month, is aiming to encourage Israeli tourism in Liverpool.

According the organizers of Imagine Liverpool, Tel Aviv was chosen because there aren’t many cities in the world with such a large concentration of both Beatles and Liverpool soccer fans. One of Israel’s sons – Yossi Benayoun – is a star on the team, and of course, who isn’t a Beatles fan, as demonstrated by the Beatlemaniac reception Paul McCartney received here last year.

While the incredible photographs of the Fab Four shot in 1968 in Rishikesh, India by a young Canadian photographer Paul Saltzman are the real star of the exhibit, yesterday’s gala opening featured another star – Julia Baird, the half sister of John Lennon.

Baird runs the Cavern Club Tours, devoted to the location where The Beatles played regularly and were discovered by Brian Epstein. Amid the tiny quiche hors doeuvres and complimentary wine and Heineken beer, Baird talked about growing up in Liverpool nearby Lennon, and touted the attractions the city holds today.

Musical entertainment was provided by the always excellent Beatles cover band Magical Mystery Tour, and a ‘splendid time for all’ was had. “Not bad at all,’ was Baird’s assessment of the band performing her late brother’s tunes.

The exhibition is at Dizengoff Center, 3rd floor of the
southern building (entry via gate 1, 3, 5 or 7). Open from 10:00 am to 9 pm. daily.

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Better than Paul?

August 31, 2008 - 9:27 AM by · 2 Comments
Filed under: General, Music, Pop Culture 

With Beatlemania belatedly in full swing in these parts, ahead of the September 25 appearance in Tel Aviv of Paul McCartney, the $130 tickets are being gobbled up at a rapid pace.

I’ve been underwhelmed at the prospects of seeing Sir Paul with 69,999 other aging Beatles fans. Sure, if I was presented a ticket on a silver platter, I’d be there without a moment’s hesitation. But aside from hearing maybe 8 or 10 Beatles classics, one of them probably being “Michelle”, the only clunker on Rubber Soul, the rest of the show is going to be… well, Paul’s solo career.

Let’s face it, the legends that claim an imposter took over after Paul was killed in that 1966 car crash, may not be too far from accurate. Sure the fake Paul mustered on with stellar work through the White Album and Let It Be, but by the time his solo career was launched, he was plumb out of ideas. There have been occasional moments of that old Beatles magic in “Band on The Run”, and, uh… er.., well, some of those songs with Elvis Costello in the late 80s like “My Brave Face” were pretty punchy. But is anyone going to be happy listening to his latest offerings off Memory Almost Full, albeit his critically lauded latest album?

Pondering these issues, I took the wife and younger kids to see a Beatles tribute band on Thursday night in Jerusalem’s Safra Square at an end of summer free show for the city’s residents.

The Magical Mystery Tour Band has been together for seven years, and man, are they good! Not only do they sound as close to The Beatles classic sound as is humanly possible, they also play with the enthusiasm of the Fab Four on The Ed Sullivan Show.

It was one classic after another non-stop, from “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and “All My Loving” to “And Your Bird Can Sing” and “Back in the USSR”. Even though these guys are native Hebrew speakers, their vocals are dead on, and their harmonies were fantastic.

As much as seeing Paul McCartney up on stage, even if he looked like a postage stamp in size, would be a once-in-a-lifetime thrill, for reliving the magic and wonder that was The Beatles, the Magical Mystery Tour did just fine.

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