Swing your hips
Loose your head, and let it spin
Swing your hips
Loose you head, and let it spin
And we will look together
For the pan within
I was standing in line to buy tickets for the Scouts 90 years reunion (55 Shekel ). It was a long line as the same ticket office is also selling 2500 shekel tickets for the Madonna concert on September 1st.
While I’ll probably miss the Madonna show, it reminded me of some of the concerts I enjoyed most.Here we go, not according to any specific order.
1. The Pogues in Brixton academy . London, UK, 2001
I flew to London especially for the Pogues reunion with my brother.
There were 4921 Drunk Irish and pseudo Irish in the very suitable surrounding of Brixton. Shane MacGowan looked like he is going to die any second, but still has not to this day.
People were singing before the show, during the show and all the way back on the Tube.
2. The Waterboys in Irving Plaza, New York, USA , 2001
It was a few weeks after 911 and the smoke was still rising over ground zero.Nick Cave has canceled his show due to the events,but Mike Scott kept his.
He played all the Classics with a great band and rock attitude. It seemed he is as nice and talented in person as his persona is.
Waterboys in Israel Ticket - The one I didn't go to
The pan within is one the greatest Waterboys songs.Not as famous as “Fisherman blues” or “Whole of the Moon”, but it stands for everything great about the band. Watch the Violin solo.
3. Eran Zur – The Pilegesh Club , Rehovot, Israel, 1995
Eran Zur had only two “Carmela Gross Vagner” albums at this time, but the crowd was so excited that he played both albums two times ! Best chemistry I have ever seen. In the end he just said : “I have no more songs for you”.
Strangely, the the venue , a Rock club in Rehovot was a great fit for the show.
4. Red Hot Chilly Peppers – Baltimore Arena, Maryland , 2000
Coolest band in the world, at the time. Definitely the best live band I’ve seen.
No videos at that time yet . But this clip is pretty similair.
And another one , since the “Otherside” is the best song form the album.
Radiohead were the cover band, just after “The bends” was rleased .What a great start.
Only 20,000 people came and some critics complained ,but seeing “Fall on Me” ,”So Central Rain”,”Country Feedback” and “Let me in” live in Israel can not match anything else.
And here is a very nice interview ( Dave Letterman ?)
6. Barry Saharof and Rea Mochiach 11Aleph – Jerusalem, June, 2006
It was four days before the wedding and we had to do something “different” before all the ceremonies.
An mazing album that conatins the (almost) only instrumental bit that I like.
7. The White Stripes – Primervare Sound Festival – Barcelona, 2003
I actually came to see Belle and Sebastian and Sonic Youth, both gave a nice show.
However, the White Stripes’ energy , at 2AM in the morning came out fresh, massive and made everyone else seem “old”.
I had to fight to get a ride back to my hotel, to make it on time to my 6AM flight back to Israel. No time to shower at all ….
8. Nick Cave -Haifa Blues Festival , 1995
There is no such thing as a bad Nick Cave concert.This specific one was set in Haifa’s port and the rugged atmosphere felt right.
P.J Harvey was a great intro and it seems Mr Cave felt at home in the middle of a blues festival.
On my very short daily drives to work I usually listen to the local 102fm radio station.
When I lived in the suburbs I used to read Haaretz daily news on the long way to work, but had to stop after I got a 500Nis fine for reading-while-driving. It seemed the cops were bothered that I did not install a head-up-display.
I recently noticed that some of the commercials are quite good. Most radio commercials used to be cheesy, low budget, explicit descriptions with horrible music rip-offs.
“Joe and Son Belgian Style Welding is the Best Belgian Welding in Israel. You will not be able to find a cheaper Belgian Welding firm in Israel”
In the last few weeks , I heard some really cool ones, which are fast, catchy and very cheap to make. My favourite is :
“Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Jimmy Hendrix. There are some things that you have to see on time. TravelTours – we arrange trips to oversee concerts”
IMO, it is a great example of an effective ad . On 2004 I flew to London just to see Shane MacGowan leading the Pogues, before his drinking habits would send him to other side. I did the same with Pixies ,RHCP and the Water Boys, but will probably never get to see Nirvana in concert ( I’m Still waiting for The Smiths reunion ).
The spot is targeted to the relevant audience, it is very short, but the message gets through very sharply. It uses humor , but also touches a deeper notion and makes you remember the value proposition.
Since top performers rarely show up in Israel , coordinating the travel and ticket purchasing can be quite a hassle. This company identified the need and found an excellent way to distribute the message to the right audience.
Copyright – Top picture is taken from amazon through Adam Hersh Posters. Added a link so you can buy it, since I didn’t find copyright information. Assuming they are OK with it.
. But this clip is pretty similair.
