The British duo Zero7 performed in Israel. I’m a big fan of the band. Their show in Tel Aviv had many interesting versions to old hits, but too many new songs which are in a totally different style.

Zero7 put a nice show. The lighting was excellent, and they enjoyed good sound. Good sound isn’t so common in live performances in Israel.

They made acoustic versions to many of their big hits, from “Simple Things”, their first album, and from the second one “When It Falls”. I liked these versions. All the singers have good voices, and they didn’t need too much noise in the background.

Their hit “Destiny” was well accepted by the audience. Also “In the Waiting Line” which was accompanied by an acoustic guitar and a cello was great. I recognized one song from the third album, “The Garden”, which had a slightly different style.

The downside was the new and fourth album, Yeah Ghost, featured in their website. I understand that they came to support its release, but there was too much of it. The style is totally different: it’s electronic non-vocal music from outer space. It was fun to dance with such a track for a song or two, but there were way too many tracks like this.

I don’t expect a band with 4 albums to stick to old hits, but they should have taken their audience’s preferences in consideration.

The evening began with the Israeli band Coolooosh, which was a great warmup. The guys from Jerusalem play funk music with some interesting jazzy beats.

Here’s one song that was missing from Zero7′s show, called Salt Water Sound. It’s also missing from most of the first album’s releases, but appears as a bonus track:

Pearl Jam, one of my favorite bands, is coming to Europe this summer. I’m going to Werchter Rock festival in Belgium at the beginning of July. They won’t be there, but rather in mid-August in other cities in the old continent. Details here.

But I might make an extra effort, and if I’m lucky, I might make a quick jump to London or Berlin and see Eddie Vedder and the gang. 

I grew up in the 90s, when Seattle grunge music was at its peak. Here’s one of my favorite songs, Rearviewmirror:

Pearl Jam – Rearviewmirror. – Click here for the funniest movie of the week

The German band And One performed a great show in Tel Aviv. I had little expectations from an electronic band from the 80s, but their style and their engagement with the the audience was wonderful, and I’m truly waiting for their next promised visit in 2009.

Picture credit: Jasmine.

The 80s were a dark period in music. The “dark 80s” style is even darker! It always amazes me that 80s song are still written nowadays. Morrissey, which will perform in Israel this summer, is one of the only great artists that emerged from the 80s.

But last Friday, Jasmine took me to And One’s concert in the Barby club. Three hours late of schedule (which is late also for a middle eastern country), they guys were on stage, and I enjoyed every minute, despite the lack of guitars on stage.

The only musical instruments that were used were two synthesizers, played by Chris Ruiz and Gio van Oli. They were responsible for all the sound. For someone who plays the guitar occasionally, and likes the sound of live music, this was weird, but that’s part of the genre, and they sure know how to make the people dance.

You can see here their hit “Sometimes”:

And One – Sometimes in TA, Israel – Funny bloopers are a click away

Steve Naghavi, the lead singer, sure has style. Dressed in a 3-part suit, and running all over the stage, he gave a great performance. I knew only a small portion of their repertoire, but enjoyed the act very much.

Apart from the band’s hits, they made cover versions of Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, The Cure and a few more hits (from the 80s, naturally). Most of the songs were in English, whilst some were in German. The singer made his homework, and spoke various words in Hebrew with the enthusiastic crowd. He also promised to come back next year…

Show coverage on Blond Mobile.
More Pictures.
Opening act: Beyond Cause.
Band Website

Idan Rabinovici recently released his debut album named Bedroom Folk. He celebrated the release in a big performance, with lots of musicians:

His style is usually minimalistic. He accompanies himself with an acoustic guitar, and sometimes another person plays along or sings along. At this special show there were lots of musicians with various musical instruments.

The show was great. Apart from the full album’s songs, we had the chance to hear songs that didn’t make it into the album. The place, Levontin 7, was packed, and Idan’s excitement was felt all over.

Since it took me too long to write about this performance, it’s hard for me to elaborate about the show, but I can conclude that it was great. I’ve purchased the album and I listen to it again and again.

So, if you’re living in Israel and interested in good original folk music in English, you can see his next shows through his MySpace site or you can buy the album here (Hebrew site).
I usually prefer buying albums at live shows – more money goes to the artists and less money goes to the middle men.

So, I enjoyed his music, and you also will.
His next show is on April 17th, at “Zusammen”, Lilenblum 25, Tel Aviv.
More pictures from Idan Rabinovici’s special show.