Let’s take a break for a while from the tensions in the Middle East, and dive into the comforting North-American esoterics. Here’re some tunes that I’ve been listening to, lately…
Well, that’s all for now, boys and girls. You’ve been on Dead City Radio…
Lately, the New York Times dedicated two articles to the urban culture of two major Israeli cities: Tel-Aviv and Haifa. Ironically enough, the original headline of the article about Haifa(written by the talented Diaa Hadid) was “In Israeli City of Haifa, a Liberal Palestinian Culture Blossoms”(which I highly recommend reading here).
This headline has obviously made some people very pissed-off, namely: Israelis who were offended by the claim that there’s a “Palestinian culture” inside the borders of Israel, and Palestinians who didn’t like to see Haifa described as an “Israeli city”. Yes, welcome to the Holy Land: where people are pathetically touchy and insecure about anything that has to do with their little fragile national identity.
It seems to me that both of the “offended” parts by the NYT headline, share something in common: they both are denying reality.
This is not a secret that about 20% of Israeli citizens are Arabs. In Israel they are being mainly referred to as “Israeli-Arabs”, to stress out the difference between them and the Palestinians that are living in the Palestinian Authority and Gaza. But the reality is, that many of them are openly identifying themselves as Palestinians, or at least “Israeli-Palestinians” — meaning, Palestinians with an Israeli passport. And why wouldn’t they? After all, they are ethnically similar to the Palestinians inside the green line, they speak more-or-less the same dialect, and many of them even have relatives there. This is perfectly normal, and you can find this also in other areas of ethnic dispute — like for example the ex-Yugoslavian Kosovo Republic, where there are minorities which are obviously identifying themselves as Serbs, even though they have Kosovarian citizenship, and they vote at the Kosovarian national elections, just like the Israeli-Palestinians vote at the Israeli ones. Nevertheless, in Kosovo, at least as far as know, I find it hard to imagine that anyone will cry out: “why are you calling yourselves Serbs and not Kosovarian-Slavs, huh?!”
Unfortunately, nobody listens to me, and that’s why(probably because of Zionist readers’ complaints) the NYT article’s headline was eventually altered from “Palestinian culture” to “Arab culture”…
From the Palestinian side, however, harsh criticism about this article actually came from one of the main interviewees in it: Ayed Fadel, the owner of Kabareet nightspot, wrote this on his personal FB page:
“I actually found this piece disturbing. It refers to certain aspects and neglects so many others that I personally mentioned during the interview, it portrays the modern Palestinian in a ‘Western’ image that comforts white readers and makes them say, ‘Oh, they’re just like us!’ Well no, we’re nothing like them, in fact, we’re very different and deep into the shit, and having to portray us in this image is insulting. On the other hand, I do agree our community has developed and evolved and I love going to the places mentioned in this article, they feel like home, and because they feel like home, it’s disturbing the way they were illustrated. […] Plus on that 90% of the interview we were talking about how the culture of the cultural resistance is growing and taking a place in so many levels, such as music, art, spaces etc. And how the Palestinian underground scene is getting bigger and bigger and full of creativity and how literally it is being a place full of intelligence and rebel agenda.”
In general, his complaining about the exclusion of his political agenda from the article is kind of silly. After all, this was an article about the Palestinian nightlife and culture in Haifa, and not about political activism.
In the same post, he also claims that a quotation of him, where he says “We want a gay couple to go to the dance floor and kiss each other, and nobody to even look at them, this is the new Palestinian society we are aiming for” was taken out of context. In his own words:
“Yes I did say that, but it was a whole build-up for the conversation until I reached this sentence, and I was actually trying to explain how Haifa became a place where everyone can feel safe and comfortable, so I used one of the most extremist views that our society could accept. Also mentioning the Kooz queer film festival that we hosted without mentioning that one of the most important topics in it was the Israeli pinkwashing- IS MISLEADING — especially when I’ve been totally used as a ‘pink washer‘ with the quote above!!”
Now, “Pink Washing” is indeed in frequent use by the pro-Israeli propaganda, and yes — this is amoral and extremely cynical to use this as an excuse for the military occupation. But this is not the case in this article. Nobody says that occupation is ok because Arabs can be gay in Haifa. I really didn’t feel at all that this article is intended to give the Israeli government a pat-on-back for being soooo liberal and soooo accepting towards ethnic and sexual minorities, but rather to describe the special and relatively tolerant environment in Haifa city — which is unique for both the Jewish and the Arab societies in the Holy Land, and the Middle East in general. Trying to shun this for political reasons, is not that different from Pink-Washing.
Finally, Ayed writes:
”it was another trap by the white media, that is always trying to show us as the cool yay hipsters full of tattoos and piercings — far away from the grounded reality that we are facing and fighting every day!
We agreed to do this, thinking the results would be different, but they weren’t. Last chance is given to white media and media in general, next time we’ll be more cautious, and we don’t allow anyone to categorize us under ’Israeli City of Haifa, a Liberal Palestinian Culture Blossoms’ — dear editor, please liberate your liberalism aspects.”
It is funny to see that while claiming that they’re not at all like western hipsters, he responds to this article exactly in a way that a western hipster(or at least typical western SJW) would react.
The funniest part, though, was when the guy wrote: “First of all I think that this interview was my last interview ever, I am done with media!! In Arabic we say KHALLASNA !”
Dude, I do not doubt that the thousands of “white-press” reporters that were counting on interviewing you would be deeply disappointed! Good luck!
Well, I think that’s all for today, kids! And remember: All nationalisms are imaginary!
Asaf Avidan and the Mojos disbanded in 2011. Almost as if they just felt that they don’t belong to the new decade. Three of the Mojos: Ran Nir(bass), Yoni Sheleg(drums) and Roi Peled(guitar) later continued on their own as The Wrong Demons.
The fourth mojo – the gorgeous cello player Hadas Kleinman joined the singer and guitarist Aviv Bachar in recording a mutual album in Hebrew.
What concerns Asaf himself: he went on to his solo career, recording two more albums – Different Pulses and Golden Shadow – in which he went exploring his more psychedelic side. I watched him perform in a few concerts after that. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t quite the same somehow. In a way, it feels like the guy lost something after leaving the mojos, maybe like Jimi Hendrix has lost something after leaving the Experience – but nevertheless, it was good enough.
In this post, I have prepared for you the seven most interesting musical highlights of this festival(in my opinion). So, here we go…
A rap-punk group from Acre, composed of mostly ex-Soviet immigrants that are rapping and singing in Hebrew about their shitty lives in their shitty city(actually I think that Acre is more of a town today than a city).
I first heard about them almost a decade ago, in 2007 when they came to perform at the legendary City Hall club in Haifa, to promote their debut album – “Park Culture”. Back then it was quite hilarious to hear the heavy Russian accent of the rapper/vocalist Falafel Crunk, and the words of the theme song of the album, that talked about the very typical for Soviet immigrants tradition to drink vodka in parks. Since then they already released a second album – “Hummus For the Masses”. Here’s a taste of their gig at the festival(symbolically, they performed this time in the Wunderbar club, the direct successor of the City Hall in which they played eight years ago):
True dinosaurs from the 80’s – reunited. Killer HaLohetet(“the Hot Killer”) is an Israeli punk-rock pioneer from Haifa. Some even say that they’re the very first band to play Punk-Rock in Israel. Tragically enough, this band has bloomed too early and disbanded too soon – without even getting the chance to fully enjoy the Israeli Rock-renaissance of the ’90s. Nevertheless, the band left an undeniable impact on the Israeli music scene. Here’s one of the last video-clips by Killer, before the break-up:
After the break-up, the band’s drummer Asaf Meroz took part in some of the most successful rock acts of the 90’s – namely Avtipus and Eifo HaYeled. Monica, one of their bassists, inspired the name of another very popular band from the 90’s – Monica Sex. Yoram Mark-Riech, Killer’s own front-man, pursued a career in journalism and became known as the main producer and host of the long-running Rock-Cinema events.
It took them 16 years to make a comeback, but finally, here they are. And here’s the really mind-blowing thing: I know Yoram Mark-Riech’s daughter – she’s just a couple of years younger than me, and nevertheless I see her father up on stage, dressed like a punk-rocker, screaming and jumping and generally kicking-ass, like in this video:
Yeah, I know that most of my favourite musicians technically could be my parents, and even grandparents – but still, only such coincidences make me truly realize how much age doesn’t mean anything, and the fact that my parents and grandparents let themselves get mentally-old, doesn’t mean that I have to be like that too. After all, there’s no such thing as “too old for Rock N’ Roll”.
This guy’s music somehow reminds me of acoustic Strokes or Libertines. I didn’t even hear of him before seeing him live in the Eli’s bar, but his tunes are quite catchy.
The direct translation of “Meuban” is “fossil”. The group is doing quite a remarkable Post-Rock music – a musical genre that is unfortunately still too underrated, in my opinion. This is also the appropriate place to brag about the fact that I know their bassist, Adam Claude, from the time that we served in the same military base. And here’s a taste of their music:
In this performance at the Eli’s bar they also brought with them some surprising guests from the Stoner-Rock act The Great Machine – whom I like very much as well, and had the pleasure to attend some of their very energetic and intense performances.
God knows that the ’30s aren’t generally remembered as the brightest time of humankind – but the music was okay, I guess. The Hazelnuts(“Ha’Ahayot Luz” – “sisters hazenut” in Hebrew) do the old-fashioned 30’s Doo-wop with a modern touch. Watch them swing:
Iliya Gertman(a.k.a NUTE) is not only a talented electronic producer, and Dj, and MC… He’s more than that. He’s a bro.
We studied in the same high-school for three years, and I never personally knew a person more talented in everything that concerns music than he is. The guy is not only a musical genius, but also a human beat-box, a multi-channel TV, and mobile comedy station in one person. During the second day of the festival, NUTE was DJing at the Saint Etienne bar for the whole evening, and was doing quite an awesome job. You can check out his works on his soundcloud, or just listen to a sample here:
https://soundcloud.com/dark-like-hell/5-nute-nosebleed-skank
Except for having a logo that disturbingly reminds the flag of ISIS, here’s something I can say without any doubt about Tiny Fingers: They were THE BEST show at the whole festival. I have been following this group for quite a while and had the pleasure to see them in many other Indie festivals. Their music is a kind of a combination of Post-Rock, with Psychedelic-Rock, Electronic music, and I think that even some elements of Trip-Hop and Drum N’ Bass. Just listen to them:
Also, if you’re a fan of beautiful masturbation with musical instruments(because I know I am!) you can check this video too:
I’ve already written here once before about J.Viewz, Jonathan Dagan’s live-electronic project, in my post about 7 Israeli covers that should blow your mind, where their cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” topped the list. They are currently based in Brooklyn, but still visiting their homeland quite often. And every time they come, they always give Haifa the special treatment, for being the city where Jonathan grew-up in.
This time, their special treatment was another free mid-day concert, that was dedicated to 10th anniversary of their debut album – Muse Breaks.
As usual for a J.Viewz summer-gig in Haifa, their concert was accompanied by small waterworks, that was hanged on cables above our heads. From there, they sprayed refreshing water-drops over the crowd.
There is something very natural in the combination of these waterworks with their music. Especially with their 2011 album Rivers and Homes, which always gives me the feeling of a gentle summer’s rain or salty sea-breeze. In a way, resembling Jonathan’s old hometown – Haifa.
And here’s my take of the live performance in Haifa:
https://plus.google.com/+TonyWolkovitzky/posts/RfzSwCQZJSt
Unfortunately, J.Viewz did only one encore this time(despite the calls from the audience for another). Maybe they were tired. Anyway, there is nothing else to do than to envy THIS EPIC ENCORE that they did a few weeks before that in Jaffa:
This video is from a concert that I’ve been at on Saturday, at Massada 13, as recorded and published by Maya Tal. The band’s name is Electric Desert, and they play an old-school, energetic, guitar-driven rock n’ roll, with a mixture of Middle-Eastern and Balkan influences. This post deserves the special attention of my Polish readers because in the next weeks you’ll have the opportunity to listen to them live as well, at their upcoming gigs in Białystok and Warsaw. Just follow the updates on their FB page.
Last week I had the pleasure to be at two very awesome concerts. The first was of the Oriental-Metal act Orphaned Land in the Wunderbar club – I mentioned them already in my previous post about 7 mind-blowing Israeli covers. The concert was pretty good, just as expected. But the second, and more interesting, was actually the monthly Haifa Frequenciesevent at the Syrup. Haifa Frequencies is all about introducing the local live-electronic scene. This time it was 3 acts:
The first to get on the stage was “MAD and LOST”. This new electronic duo Ran Lavi(vocals) and Lee Müller(previously known from another amazing Haifa-based electronic duo Tzif Rozenpot, that also set foot on Frequencies’ stage) made their very first debut on stage.
Considering the fact that this duo was practically just “born”, there is not a lot of their material online yet. Yet from what there is, here’s a bite:
Second to come was Noga Erez. She was the only performer at the event that I didn’t even hear about before, nevertheless, she was the one who blew my mind the most. Later I found out that she was in the past part of the Secret Sea band(that was headed by another favourite performer of mine – Amit Erez). This young woman, except for having a ghostly mesmerizing voice and impressive synth skills, is also just hypnotically beautiful. I think I just discovered my new musical crush.
Here’s a little taste:
Also check out her performance with Efrat Ben Zur:
The last but not least to come on stage to was the kick-ass drummer Rowch A.K.A Offer Bymel. I already had a post with his video teaser for this event, but here’s another of his kick-ass tunes:
Well, that’s all for now. Be safe!
About two weeks ago, finally, the second Midburn Festival(Israeli equivalent of the famous Burning Man Festival in Nevada) took place in the Negev desert – an event that is described by its arrangers as an experiment in radical self-expression, and radical self-reliance. … Continue reading
We’re getting closer and closer to another Haifa Frequencies event. Which is basically just a show, in a series of shows under the same title, that are showcasing artists from the city’s live-electronic scene. As part of a well-made promotion campaign, Rowch – one of the upcoming performers, and generally a badass drummer, recorded an impressive promo for the event. Check it out:
Eli’s Pub
The Eli’s is located Downtown. It has a large showcase window, through which you can see the backs of the musicians that perform when you’re passing it by from outside. From the inside, it looks like this kind of old-school Jazz/Blues bar from the ’50s. It is small, warm and crowded. It has Jam nights, and Jazz nights, and open-stage evenings once a week.
The live music attraction(which is also, usually, for free) adds a lot when you’re looking for additional entertainment to your bar-crawl, except for the regular drinking and talking.
House playlist: Mostly a mixture of ’60s and ’70s blues and rock, 20th-century jazz, and a little bit of ’80s-’90s hard-rock.
A downer: There’s a mandatory order for each person if you want to sit there. But that’s understandable considering the fact that the place is relatively small and crowded.
Recommended drink: A good old pint of British Newcastle OR a pint of the Israeli brand Goldstar Unfiltered.
Charlie Bar
If you want to have a beer on the bar alone by yourself without feeling weird or anti-social – Charlie is the place for you. It’s that kind of place that you can easily chit-chat with the bartender, and exchange sarcastic jokes with Charlie himself, even if you’re not the best at starting conversations with strangers. If you’re a little bit braver, you can also easily start a conversation with your neighbours at the bar. Just be laid-back, and friendly, and fun – that’s the spirit of the place.
Another thing: I think that Charlie is the bar with the largest concentration of people from English-speaking countries. And if you stay till late enough, you might witness some drunk Britt strip-dance on the bar, while other customers throw money at him and shout “go, go tiger!” (true story)
House playlist: Mostly Post-Punk, New-Wave, and Indie stuff.
A downer: These guys are practically pushers of alcohol. The moment you’ve finished your drink – be ready to be encouraged to order another one, and then another one, and then another one… And they’re so friendly and outgoing, that it’s really hard to refuse – so the next moment you might find yourself striping on the bar yourself. Also, as a relatively small place – they have a mandatory order for each person as well.
Recommended drink: Without any doubt, a good cup of Guinness. Some sources(especially one notorious Guinness expert whose first-name begins with R and ends with N) claim that Charlie has the finest Guinness in the entire Holy Land. The same sources claim that the secret is in the place’s Guinness tap, which is pouring the Irish stout in the best way possible.
Dovrin 7
Located in the reconstructed and beautiful Turkish Market area, Downtown, Dovrin is a great place to hang out in. The place is generously decorated with wild-humour posters, even in the bathroom – that can definitely very entertain you while getting drunk. The crew is also very friendly, like in the Charlie(in fact, its founders were working in Charlie before starting their own thing), but unlike the Charlie, they are not so pushy about the drinking part. In the Dovrin they won’t give you the disappointed eye if you say you don’t want another beer. Nevertheless, they are ready to participate with you in the house’s drinking challenge – just ask the waitress or the bartender. Also, as far as I noticed, the Dovrin has much more of studential environment than the pubs that were mentioned before – meaning, I’d say that most of its clients are students, or at least in that age.
House playlist: Indie pop/rock with a little bit of electronics.
Recommended drink: A cup of Magners, OR the local beer brand – Alexander Ambrée. The green beer in the picture, by the way, is St. Patrick’s Day special.
The Dunk
Located in the German Colony area, this place is basically beer heaven. With a choice within more than six taps sixteen taps(thanks, Emil) of high-quality beer. The walls of the Dunk are decorated with different certificates and awards that are deeming it as the best beer pub in Haifa. And indeed, the job of pouring beer from the keg is treated in this place with the utmost seriousness and respect. All the beer is poured in a slow and patient method, that creates the effect of a beautiful foam-head(as it can be seen in the picture below). The prices are also very affordable, and as the bar opens up at noon, it is the best place to hang out after work(or during lunch break) and to have a good mag of beer.
As the place is even smaller by size than all the other bars listed above, also the feeling of friendliness in the bar is very strongly felt. It is very easy to engage in small talk with your neighbours at the bar or at the near tables, as well as with the bartenders.
Another interesting thing is the part of the very strict House Rules(that are very visibly hanging above the bar) – one of them, for example, does not allow to mix beer with something else(another kind of alcohol, or syrup, juice etc). Another rule forbids more than 6 people to sit together(this includes even sitting near tables that will allow them to interact with each other like a single gang). If you don’t follow the house rules after 3 times that you’ve been warned, the owner of the place might as well just hand you the check and tell you to leave.
This sounds harsh, but that’s part of the nonchalant magic of the place. Unlike other bars, where you’re not sure if the bartender is extra-nice to you only because you’re supposed to pay him or because he really likes you, at the Dunk you won’t have such confusion. If you’re being stupid or an asshole, the pub’s staff will let you know that. But if you’re cool(like most of the customers there) – you will definitely enjoy yourself there.
House playlist: Mostly Classic Rock.
A downer: Even though, as I said before, the strict house rules are part of the special environment of the place – sometimes it might be still a bummer that you can’t come with a company larger than 6 people to that bar.
Recommended drink: It’s really hard to pick one beer out of the impressive collection of the bar, but I personally like the most one which is called Alexander Porter.
HaMakolet
HaMakolet, which translates from Hebrew as “The Grocery” is probably my favourite bar in Haifa, and maybe even in the whole Holy Land. Its rawness reminds me a little bit that of the bars Downtown(like Eli’s and Dovrin), only that it’s really located in the pastoral Kababir neighbourhood in the Carmel Centre, and surrounded by green trees and a park. The bar originally began as an offshoot of the neighbourhood’s popular “Shtaim Sukar”(“Two Sugar”) café and is still located just next door to it. Nevertheless, HaMakolet definitely has its own vibe and its own style. The music is warm and happy, the bartenders are extra-friendly and outgoing. The general feeling of the place is that of a regular, old-school bar, but with a local twist.
House playlist: Neo-Psychedelia, Blues, Rock, Jazz, Indie. ’60s/’70s/’90s/Modern.
Recommended drink: Home-made Arak shots in tastes. They are amazing – just try them. They are very tasty, and also unique for this place.
All the beer photos are taken from my tumblr blog The Daily Beer.
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