And I said: ‘Oh that I had wings like a dove! then would I fly away, and be at rest. ✡

On Monday night, Ashley and I went to Carnegie Hall to see Nomad SoundSystem. The band is an interesting combination of DJ, music coder, Arab chanting, North African drumming, and guitar. One description I found:

With hard-hitting Western dance grooves and soulful North African raï melodies, Berlin-based Nomad SoundSystem mixes ethnic, electric, and eclectic sounds, appealing to club and world music audiences alike. Hailing from Tunisia, Algeria, Japan, and Berlin, the group’s members reflect the multicultural melting pot that is Berlin today.

They performed as part of a Berlin festival running for about a month, which includes mostly classical music. These guys were a pretty amazing time! As I listened to the haunting signing, I was thinking they sound a lot like a techno-influenced Sheva. At times the DJ was scratching and mixing along with intense drumming and at one point a rather tall lady got up on the stage and belly danced along with the drumming. I have included a clip of one of there most popular videos below.

I would say that is you like world music, especially Arab influenced, you will love these guys.

Another fun Dor Chadash event. Idan and I went to Symphony Space to see and hear them perform. Now I admit I have almost no cultural context to properly place these people within. However, I am guessing from Idan’s comments and from the reaction of the audience that they represent cultural or musical superstars in Israel. I am struggling to think of an American equivalent. Maybe the Beatles or ??? Either way, there was one song where the singer started to sing and the audience knew all the words. For several verses the band played on while the audience sang the song.

I have a feeling I was one of 15 non-Hebrew/non-Israeli people there because most of the time I was struggling to get a word here or there. I figured out they were making a joke about the weather and that one song was about a dog and some pants and boots.

It was a fun evening and Idan seemed to enjoying 2 hours of feeling like he was
home in Israel.

I get the feeling I am out of the prime target audience for Dor Chadash, but their events are nonetheless enjoyable. I think this makes 4 I have been to in the last year.

Idan and I went to see Ivri Lider at Avalon. The concert was pretty amazing. He is a very entertaining performer. But the funniest person on stage is truly the drummer!

The nearly all acoustic performance of Ivri Lider was amazing! He has a lot of energy as he plays the piano.

Yeah, not a fan of concerts, the $$, the lines, the people, icky, all of it. But I am kind of a fan of Ivri Lider. I first heard his work in the move Yossi & Jagger about 5 years ago. Y&J is a young artist’s film. Walk on Water, a more recent and refined film, also features Ivri Lider’s work. It is also an amazing film that anyone thinking of going to Israel should watch. Plus Lior Ashkenazi is just hot, no question.As some can attest, I like to buy CD’s when I travel in other countries. I pick 5 from the top sellers. It gives me a slice of life at that moment. When I was in Israel I ended up with Adi Ran (a religious singer, used in Ushpizin), Ivri Lider, Asaf Amdursky, Barry Sakharof, and Subliminal (Zionist rap artist).

I am going to see Ivri Lider twice when he is in NYC in November. You can check out the shows at Safra Hall where he will perform an acoustic only set. He then returns to the city to perform at Avalon NYC (the dump that used to be Limelight). Both seem to be sponsored by Israel At Heart.

I will post photos and thoughts when I attend. And yea, I am excited, it should be pretty cool.