Archive for July, 2009
Leonard Cohen confirms Tel Aviv show!
OK, so a few minutes after I mentioned that the Leonard Cohen show might be off, a new story was circulated, shedding light on what’s been going on behind the scenes. And today, you’ll be pleased to know if you’re official members of the Leonard Cohen forum, you can actually buy tickets before they’re put on sale in Israel on Saturday night.
That’s right, from 10am this morning until 8pm tonight, and then the same again tomorrow, you can get your Leonard Cohen tickets – but only if you’re a registered member of the forum! Otherwise you’ll just have to wait like everybody else for Saturday night…
And the damage expected to be inflicted on ye olde wallet? Cheapest tickets are expected to cost 450 shekels, while the more expensive seats on the grass will go for 1000-1200 shekels.
And all proceeds from the concert won’t be going to pay off my mortgage, they’ll actually be going to a foundation that benefits Israeli and Palestinian organizations working for reconciliation. So, good job Leonard!
Any guesses on the average age of the concert-goers for this one? My money’s on 52 years old…
Picture of the Week XII
With the recent news of the apparent demise of Crocs, the shoes Israelis (and the world) either love to bits or hate with a passion, there’s only one picture of the week. Oh yes, the picture might make some of you gasp in horror at perhaps the ugliest color ever created by Crocs, but I thought the picture summed up Israel rather nicely, what with the hilly, rocky scene in the distance. A great angle too.
The picture was taken by Miro42, otherwise known as Meir Ben Ari. Another great photographer with a ton of great images in his collection. Go check them out!
Leonard Cohen – coming to Israel or not?
This summer’s list of performers in Israel is impressively long and impressively impressive with some real big stars lined up. Kaballah-friendly Madonna is without doubt the biggie attraction, followed closely by Leonard Cohen.
The chances of Madonna pulling out look slim to almost zero, though this is Israel, so expect the unexpected (such as war, war, and even another war). The chances of Leonard Cohen pulling out, however, are growing daily. The fact that tickets for the Leonard Cohen concert are still not available speaks volumes, and the increasing pressure from pro-Palestinian groups on Cohen to cancel his show in Tel Aviv seems to be a growing factor.
This week Cohen performed a 3-hour gig in Belfast, and outside the stadium a group of pro-Palestinians handed out leaflets calling on him to cancel the Tel Aviv concert. These anti-Israel groups have managed to force the cancellation of Cohen’s gig in Ramallah, originally scheduled for two days after the show in Israel. I really hope they don’t convince Cohen to do the same to his gig in Tel Aviv, because despite the record number of stars performing in Israel this summer, Leonard Cohen not showing up will leave a bitter taste in many mouths…
The Tel Aviv concert is still not on Leonard Cohen’s official tour list, which is also a worrying sign. But the Israeli sponsor of the show, Bank Discount, is apparently confident the show will take place and has already filmed adverts to promote it.
We say come on over Leonard! The water’s lovely and there are some amazingly hot women over here that think you’re the man…I’ve been told it’s the voice, those romantic words…
How I ended up in the Holy Land. And Stayed…Part 7
Continuing on with my tale of woe and joy of how I ended up in Israel…tales of a non-Jewish potential Kibbutz volunteer who falls in love with Tel Aviv, dodges Scud missiles, lives and works illegally for years on end, gets besotted by one Israeli girl despite the best attempts of a legendary Jewish mother, but ends up marrying and divorcing another… and then marrying yet another to join suburbia and the hi-tech revolution, while becoming the seemingly respectable owner of an English school.
In case you missed them; Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.
Part 7: An unexpected return home!
So, there we were, huddled together on the sofa, with Azit the dog wedged between us, presumably taking up the mantle of family chaperon while Ofira’s parents were out. On the TV in front of us, Blake Carrington and Alexis were throttling each other in another rip-roaring episode of Dynasty. Oh yes, me and Ofira knew how to live.
Suddenly the phone rang. Ofira answered and, to my surprise, started speaking in her heavily-accented, but very cute, English. I soon understood the call was for me and hesitantly took the phone when she passed it over to me. It was my sister. Amidst jokes about my now accented English, she told me about our Mum, who had been diagnosed with cancer. Clearing the lump from my throat, I told her that I’d be over as soon as I could possibly get a ticket.
That phone call really came as a timely wake-up call. I’d been coasting in Israel, enjoying myself and forgetting about anything and everything. Perhaps it was time to shake things up a bit with a visit back home. My parents had been running their own business for a number of years and working their socks off and now with my Mum sidelined and my Dad doing his best to look after her and keep the business alive, it was time for me to come back and do my bit. But they really should have warned me about those 5am starts…
The very next morning I went and purchased the first ticket I could for a flight back to Blighty. Ofira and I were a little upset as we’d been seriously falling for each other, but she was right behind me. Despite the uncertainty about how long I’d be over in England (I bought a one-way ticket), I knew I’d be back and we’d be together again.
Getting a ticket wasn’t a problem, and I had a flight booked for the next day. But there was another problem looming, a problem I’d been secretly fearing – my outdated tourist visa. The original 3 month visa had long expired, by some 6-7 months. I’d had a couple of friends from the hostel days who’d been deported because of their outdated visa (and illegal moonlighting) and word had gotten back to the hard-core group left in Tel Aviv, so it was a bit of a worry, especially when you’re in love and really, really want to make it back…
I didn’t think it would be such a problem; Ofira came to the airport with me and accompanied me through the check-in and we were honest and co-operative, if a little tense. Well, what’s that saying about never showing your fear to a dog? The security guys at Israeli airports aren’t just the equivalent of German Shepherds, they are, of course, likely Mossad assassins of the future, so what little tension they could sense was seized upon – they gave me and Ofira one hell of a grilling!
We were split up, I was taken to one side and interrogated, Ofira questioned by someone else, and then this procedure was repeated again by another pair of security personnel. My expired visa seemed to be a major talking point: as a couple of security big-wigs looked on and gave us that cold, security person glare from afar. I had the willies at this point – my major worry was that they’d “blackball” me and I’d be denied re-entry to Israel. But after what seemed hours, and even providing proof of our relationship with pictures and letters to each other that I’d handily brought with me, I was free to board the plane.
After a hug and a tearful Ofira squeezing me so hard I though my eyes were going to pop out of my head, we parted. I told her I’d be back soon, and I meant it. I headed up the stairs to the departure lounge and we waved that last heart-breaking goodbye. I handed in my gas-mask to Immigration and then just about made it onto the plane.
A few hours later I was back in England.
Ah yes, sunny England! Believe it or not, the sun was actually shining when I landed and it felt somewhat reassuring to see all that greenery when coming in to land. But it was my first time back home in over a year, and I wasn’t feeling any real pangs for the place. I knew I was going to be heading back to Israel as soon as I could.
My brother was there to pick me up, and he was quick to point out that I was swearing like a motherfucker trooper. It was great chatting with him and catching up on all that had been happening, but all the time on that journey home, there was this feeling that life seemed so different for me now. The people around me hadn’t changed, I had…
Seeing my parents again was great, of course. My Mum had undergone surgery a couple of days before and was recuperating at home. But she seemed in great spirits and looked as healthy as I ever remembered her, so I was mightily relieved. And as I stepped back into my old bedroom, there was something warm and fuzzy about this blast back into my past. Seeing old posters on the wall, a map of Europe peeling away from the wall at one corner…and then I put my Etnix cassette into my stereo and listened to Keturney Masala (see the clip below) and a load of good and recent memories of my times in the Holy Land came flooding back to shout out any sentiments I might have had for England…
So, for the next few weeks I helped out in the business, opening up early, closing late, going to wholesalers and so on. I missed Ofira and Israel a lot, and it didn’t help when she would cry during our frequent phone calls or send letters (not emails!) with too many kisses to count. Guys, beware of Israeli girls, this is a trick they like to pull…they reel you in and then, KAPOWWW!
There’s not a lot to tell about my time in England. In the end I stayed around two months but didn’t really enjoy it too much. One thing I do remember enjoying is wearing my Purple House t-shirts on trips into my local town. I felt like i was showing off; Hey look, I’ve been living in the Middle East the last few months, I’ve even survived Scuds raining down all around me…look at my t-shirt, yes, it proves I was there! No question, I felt almost invincible, but in a place i didn’t really want to be. I wanted to be back in Israel.
In the end my Mum recovered well, and I was free to fly back. I packed up my things, while making sure to stock up on lots of English chocolate (Israeli chocolate just wasn’t working for me!) and off I was again, heading back to the Holy Land. It had been great seeing my family again, of course, but there was a greater force pulling me across the Mediterranean, a deadly combination of the Holy Land and Ofira…
Picture of the Week XI
This week’s picture is again a beach scene. Sorry if any of you guys are struggling in climates less beach-friendly, but here in Israel it’s the only way to go in a sizzling hot July…I love this picture, especially the black and white tones and the light reflecting off the water, with the silhouette of the girl adding something just that little bit sexy arty.
The picture was taken by Mu Muper, whose Flickr stream is here and website portfolio here. He has some mighty decent shots in his collection, go browse!
Pet Shop Boys vs Coldplay, live in Tel Aviv!
I didn’t make it to the Pet Shop Boys concert in Tel Aviv last night, but by all accounts it was a great one. Digging around on YouTube, I found this clip from last night, the Pet Shop Boys mashing up one of Coldplay’s classics (cue for Coldplay to make the effort and perform in Tel Aviv?) and turning it into a monster of a tune. Check it out.
Pet Shop Boys in Tel Aviv, tonight!
The Pet Shop Boys are in the Holy Land as we speak and getting ready for tonight’s show at the Exhibition Grounds (Ganei Tarucha), Tel Aviv. There should be a sizable crowd for this one, the first 1000 tickets were snapped up within hours. Hopefully shouldn’t be too much of an echo…
The Pet Shop Boys arrived in Israel on Sunday, and you can see their initial impression of Israel on their Twitter account: “We’re in Israel. It’s hot.” They were also featured on last night’s Israeli version of “A Star is Born”, so, say what you like, a little respect goes out to the boys for their efforts on leaving an impression (one way of guaranteeing a connection with an Israeli crowd is to call Israelis “Party People!” – great work guys!). We aren’t so naive to think it’s anything but a little bit of extra marketing, but, hey, at least they put themselves out there, unlike other bands that flit in and out of the Holy Land without so much as a picture of them eating a falafel…
I don’t have tickets, but want to catch this one. If somebody fancies coming along to hold my hand, drop me a line in the comments…
Don’t forget to check out our guide to who else is coming to perform in Israel during 2009.
And here’s their latest hit “Love, etc”, which has just hit the top spot in the Billboard Dance Chart, not bad at all for “old has-beens”…
Suzanne Vega performing in Tel Aviv tonight – twice!
As the summer rolls on and the ever-growing list of performers queue up to strut their stuff in the Holy Land, a certain Suzanne Vega turns up later tonight at the Hichal HaTarbut in Tel Aviv. Best known for her monster success during the late 80s with the album Solitude Standing, she’s actually performing twice tonight, bless her little cotton socks. First show is at 6:30pm (some tickets remain – 280 shekels for seats at the front of the hall, 140 shekels for seats further back), to be followed by a second show (sold out) at 9:30pm.
The clips below might remind some of you what a star she was in the 80s, although most Israelis are familiar with both songs, especially Luka, which gets a lot of airplay even today. This is Suzanne Vega’s third visit to Israel.
And don’t forget to check out our guide to the artists coming to Israel in 2009!
