Ah, Chol Hamoed.  A time to spend quality time with the family, take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and pack on out to a concert to enjoy great music and some plain old fun.

In my case, the concert in question was YBC Live! Pesach 12, featuring Ohad, the all new Chevra and, of course, Eli Gerstner’s Yeshiva Boys Choir, singing a mix of classic YBC songs and some brand new additions.  This year YBC staged two shows, one at Queens College and the other at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey.  As someone who lives in the suburbs, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to attend a concert that was located outside New York City.  Hats off to EG Productions for putting together a show that was an easy commute, at this beautifully redesigned 1920’s theater with seating for over 1300.

The evening began fairly promptly, only twelve minutes after the announced start time of 7:30.  The crowd consisted of many YBC parents and relatives, with numerous people holding signs to cheer on their favorite singer. There were also many families with small children, with so many little kids in attendance that I felt like I woke up and found myself somehow mysteriously planted in the middle of Chuck E. Cheese.  But let’s face it.  This is a YBC concert and despite the talent onstage, the stars of the show are, all too young to drive a car, buy alcohol or even qualify for working papers in New York State.  First and foremost, this is about adorable boys getting up on stage and winning the audience’s hearts, something that they most certainly did.

The emcee for the evening wasn’t customary host Yossi Sharf, but YBC member Shabi Soffer who, with an incredible amount of poise and humor, ably filled Sharf’s much larger shoes.  The evening kicked off with an opening medley by the Yosis Orchestra, directed by Eli Gerstner, playing a mix of YBC songs, both old and new, including Kol Hamispalel, V’Ahavta, Shabichi, Daddy Come Home and Those Were The Nights and it was interesting to see how seamlessly the songs flowed into each other.  The orchestra was outstanding throughout the evening, always energetic without ever overshadowing the vocalists.  A special shout out to Avremi G who, as always, did a superb job.

First up was a surprise act, the Nochi Krohn Band, performing Ein Kadosh KaHashem, the opening track from Krohn’s latest album, Banai.  They were extremely enjoyable and it was entertaining to watch Krohn who seemed to be dancing and playing the keyboard simultaneously.  I was disappointed to see them leave the stage after just one song.

Ohad took the stage next, singing Shalom Aleichim and Stop, both tremendous crowd pleasers, with the crowd chanting “Ohad!  Ohad!”  For his next song, Ohad was joined by YBC soloist Yitzy Waldman to sing Birkas Habanim from his latest album Ohad III and while I was hoping for the two to sing a duet instead of just alternating parts, it was still a lovely rendition of this touching song, originally sung by Ohad and his son on the album.  By the time Ohad began singing V’erastich, there were the requisite yeshiva bochurim jumping up and down in front of the stage.

While the crowd loved Ohad, they went totally ballistic when Shabi introduced the stars of the show, the Yeshiva Boys Choir.  Dressed in white shirts, black pants and skinny black ties, each song was accompanied by YBC’s signature choreography and I am guessing those kids definitely burned off some of that matza by the time the night was over.  Over forty boys, ranging in age from eight to fourteen, were adorable and vintage YBC, singing Shmoy, Chasoif, Those Were The Nights and Amein, Amein, Amein off their new a capella album.  Throughout the evening Yossi Newman introduced the boys, giving the audience an opportunity to put names to the faces, a nice touch for those of us who had no clue who any of the kids were.

After a short intermission, the orchestra played another medley after which Eli Gerstner, who had been on stage the entire evening conducting the orchestra, finally turned around, schmoozing up the audience and describing how over the years, Yeshiva Boys Choir concerts have a benefitted schools and tzedakas and attributing YBC’s success to their linking their music to this very special mitzvah.  This concert will benefit the Bnei Israel Matza Fund, which provides food for Pesach for needy families in Northern Israel.  To share in this mitzvah click here.

Gerstner enlisted the audience’s participation for Baruch Haba, a song that debuted on YBC Live 4.  Both Ohad and the choir came out for the song and at its conclusion, Ohad once again took center stage, singing Boi B’Shalom  which the Maccabeats sang as L’cha Dodi, but is actually a cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.  (Most interestingly, the person I asked to help me identify the song, because I knew I had heard it before, named it as Hallelukah from the movie Shrek.  Apparently a lot of people have heard, liked and used this song.)  Ohad finished up with an Eli Gerstner composition from his latest album, Malchuscha, which again, was a real crowd pleaser.

The next act up was just a small taste of the Chevra who are hard at work on a new album.  They started off with a Yehei/Chizku medley and while this is only their fourth live performance together it was impressive to see how well the group worked together.  They finished off with a new song from their upcoming album, Chai and it would have been nice to have heard them do another song or two in order to really get a feel for this new group.

But alas, that was not meant to be.  Not that anybody minded seeing YBC come back on, singing Yevanim in a costume that was totally eye-popping.  The stage lights were off and each boy had a green glow stick encircling his face and another on each arm and each leg.  With the lights off, the effect was very cool and the crowd went wild, especially when Yossi Newman started throwing glow sticks out to the audience.

While we have all heard the song Daddy Come Home, Yossi Newman told a touching story of an email that YBC received from a soldier in Iraq, who received an emotional phone call from his daughter when the song was released, saying “Daddy, this is our story!”  Soloist Mendel Nebenzahl brought the story to life, joined by the choir who followed with Mizmor Shir and the all new Ah, Ah, Ah with some funky choreography.

The evening ended with a finale that encompassed some long standing YBC traditions:  Omar R’ Akiva, Kol Hamispalel, beach balls being tossed out into the audience and children from the audience coming onstage and taking their turn with the microphone.  At the end of the day, despite innovative choreography, some great songs and a number of exceptional voices, YBC remains as popular as ever because it is all about our most precious resource:  our kids.

I have lots to say about concert etiquette…stay tuned for a future post on the subject after Pesach.

By Kol Isha

(If reposted please include link and credit to JewishMusicReport.com)

Having seen my share of HASC videos and having heard the timeless classics that were introduced at HASC concerts over the years, going to an actual HASC concert, long touted as “the concert of the year” has always been on my to do list.  Being presented with a pair of tickets to a HASC concert seemed like a golden opportunity to experience this musical event firsthand.

As with any concert, there are both advantages and disadvantages to seeing an event in person.   A concert video doesn’t capture the energy and the excitement of a sold out audience, the majesty of a room like Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall which seats 2,738 people.  But a live performance doesn’t offer any chance for do-overs.  You have one chance to get it right and if you mess up, chances are good that people will notice.

This year marked the 25^th anniversary of the annual concert originally conceived by Sheya Mendlowitz as a fundraiser for the children of Camp HASC and in general, the concert focused more on the concept of the HASC concert than the music itself.  That is not to say that there weren’t some memorable performances, but by and large the night was all about the concert itself.  Performers were mostly limited to a single song each, with a never ending stream of singers taking the stage one after another, introduced by the number of times they had each appeared in previous concerts.  Only two acts were invited for a debut on the legendary HASC stage:  The Maccabeats and 8^th Day.

The evening began promptly at 7:30 as advertised, with Yisroel Lamm conducting a Neginah orchestra that had approximately twelve pieces.  The HASC choir, led by Shloime Kaufman and featuring Sholom Jacobs, Yaakov Klein, Yaakov Ettinger, Meir Popowitz, Asher Fine and Shua Nachman,  was on the stage for much of the night and did an outstanding job. The stage featured a big center video screen flanked by two 21 feet high banners bearing the words “HASC 25 A Time For Music,” artfully designed as was all the HASC artwork.

Before I go through all the songs, let me just issue a disclaimer.  I will probably get some names wrong.  Feel free to correct me in the comments section and I will be happy to make changes as needed.

First up on stage were Avraham Fried, Lipa Schmeltzer, Shloime Gertner and Ohad who used the nusach of Maariv for Kol Nidrei night as an introduction to a set of songs including Ribono Shel Olam, the HASC classic Small Piece of Heaven, Abi Mileibt, Adi-Tanya as performed at HASC 20 and Avraham Fried’s Shalom Aleichem.  Dedi came onstage to join the quartet and the group sang Dedi’s Kulanu Nashir B’Yachad, with lots of help from the audience, occasionally substituting the words “twenty five years together” for “everyone sing together”.

A breakdancer dressed up as the aging Six Flags dancer used in previous HASC campaigns came on stage for a few moments and the last song sung by the group was London School of Jewish Song’s Mareh Cohen.

Next up was a quick, modified video clip of Dovid Gabay learning with his son, from the Ana Avda video released by Sheya Mendlowitz in conjunction with his Big Time Alte Heim album, followed by Dovid Gabay dancing all over the stage as he sang Ana Avda with the choir.  Abie Rotenberg was introduced as the HASC record holder, having appeared at fourteen HASC concerts and he spoke briefly and beautifully about both HASC and concert founder Sheya Mendlowitz who was not in attendance.  After asking the audience to give Sheya a standing ovation, Abie launched into the first song he ever wrote for HASC, the truly touching Who Am I, which all these years later is still as beautiful as ever.

Zale Newman, master of ceremonies for the first six concerts introduced the next segment of the evening, paying tribute to six performers who had previously graced the HASC stage but are no longer with us.  After first mentioning Laibel Heshel, Danny Berkowitz of Menucha and Mikey Butler, Newman introduced musical tributes to three musical greats who were all HASC alumni:  Shlomo Carlebach, Jo Amar and Moshe Yess.  Eitan Katz, Yehuda Green, Chaim Dovid and violinist Ruby Harris performed Carlebach’s U’fros Aleinu followed by Hashem Oz.  Ohad returned to the stage for an impressive performance of Jo Amar’s Barcelona, followed by Avraham Fried singing Moshe Yess’ signature song My Zaidy.

The next singer, Israeli entertainer Yoel Sharabi, was introduced by Uncle Moishy as one of the original HASC performers.  Sharabi, who plays several instruments proficiently, came out on stage with bongos, beginning with a few bars of the chorus of the classic Kol Haolam Kulo, before launching into a rendition of the Eyal Golan hit Mi Shemaamin, recently redone and made popular by up and coming superstar Benny Friedman.  While the middle aged Sharabi can’t possibly match the energy and voice of Friedman who is so many years his junior, he gave an enthusiastic performance, jumping all over the stage with a temporary segue into Mordechai Ben David’s Mitzvah Gedola.

Next on stage was concert chairman Miles Berger.  After all, you can’t possibly have a benefit concert without thanking all those involved in the process, can you?  But the expressions of gratitude were short and in no time at all, Shalsheles and Shalsheles Jr. took the stage.  Neither group was full, as both Simcha Sussman and Edan Pinchot live outside of the New York area and were absent.  Following a short medley of Heyma and Gadol, the Maccabeats (or most of them anyway) appeared singing their viral hit, Candlelight.

Chazzan Yitzchok Meir Helfgott delivered a flawless performance of Moshe V’Aaron  and was followed by Lipa, in an electric jacket and hat.  I mean, literally electric, as the trim on both Lipa’s jacket and hat were trimmed with lights, which was pretty cool on a darkened stage. Lipa launched into a cute bit as he reminisced about previous concerts and a video showed first a five year old Lipa singing at his home in New Square when the HASC concert series began and we see Lipa singing at age ten, then at age twelve in his first pair of unconventional glasses, which Lipa described as having been paid for by Medicare.  Lipa continued in his musical musings, consistently crediting the wrong singer with a particular song, describing Shlomo Carelbach singing Diet, Abish Brodt singing Ya’alili and launching into a nigun he claims to sing every Shabbos with his children, the theme from the Godfather, before conductor Yisroel Lamm attempted to set him straight.

Up next was, what for me was probably the best performance of the night, as Journeys, aka Abie Rotenberg, Elie Kranzler and Gershon Veroba took the stage, singing Abie’s first English song, Time to Say Good Shabbos.  From there it was time for the second debut performance of the night as 8^th Day rocked the house with Ya’alili.  Another tribute followed, this time to the numerous gedolim that were niftar recently, by the trio of Srully Williger, Mendy Wald and Shloime Dachs singing the touching songs Lev Tahor and Acheinu.  Sadly the accompanying background video with pictures of the gedolim never went on.

Dedi was the next performer to take the stage which was already occupied by a royal guardsman, one of the unsmiling sentries who flank the gates of Buckingham palace.  In an attempt to get the guardsman to smile, Dedi hums Shloime Gertner’s Shmeichel, but to no avail.  Hoping that perhaps a fellow Englishman would have more success coaxing a smile out of the guard, Dedi is joined by Gertner and after a rousing chorus of Shmeichel and Dedi’s V’Koivei, the guardsman starts to loosen up, as his limbs start to twitch and by the end of the set he removes his tall black hat, puts it in front of his face and we are rewarded with a smile from the Justin Bieber look alike dancer who we first saw at the Ohel concert this past November.

Singer/Composer Baruch Levine took a seat at the piano bench, singing Bitchu from his latest album, Hashkifa, followed by a song and dance number from Miami Boys Choir as the boys bounced all over the stage singing the opening track from their latest album, Shema Yisroel.

The evening ended on a bizarre note, as Yigal Calek took the podium, reminiscing about his youth in Tel Aviv, as he was addicted to music but there was no Jewish music available and in a short sermon, he both thanked HASC for a quarter of a century of beautiful concerts and chastened the performers to keep the “Jewish” in Jewish music.

A video of Camp HASC set to Avraham Fried’s Forever One was a poignant reminder of what the HASC concert series is all about, as the beautiful faces of the HASC children and the dedicated staff filled the large video screen.  The entire cast gathered onstage for the HASC theme song, Candles, complete, of course, with candles illuminating the darkened stage in addition to Lipa’s electric couture.

There is no question that while the HASC concert is a huge fundraiser and one of the most highly anticipated musical events of the year.  For music lovers everywhere, the fact that other organizations have also begun staging top notch fundraising concerts that give HASC a run for its money is a positive development as it raises the musical bar for everyone.  For those who are looking for musical perfection, where every vocal and every note is dead on, I strongly suggest you stay home and wait for the HASC concert to come out on video.   For those who are looking  to make a sizable donation to Camp HASC, while enjoying an evening of live music, you might want to start thinking about HASC 26 before it, too, sells out.

This past Monday night London hosted its second annual Hatsoloh concert featuring Yaakov Shweky and Baruch Levine.  The concert was one of the best I’ve been to in a while, and was certainly worth the trip from Manchester.

As I entered the hall I could tell it was going to be a good night.  Most ofthe seats were full, and on the projected screen was the DVD form Caesarea II and got the audience (or at least myself), ready for the night ahead.

Very shortly the lights dimmed and the orchestra conducted by Yaakov and Baruch’s world renowned producer, Yochi Briskman, opened with an overture compromising of Shwekey’s hit songs with an overture that was very similar to the one from the latest Caesaria DVD

Yaakov’s Chavrusah in Kollel Rabbi Shlomoh Farhi, now living in London working for Aish Hatorah, received a last minute call to host the show and then agreed to do so. Rabbi Farhi first introduced Baruch Levine and commented how caring Baruch is as a person, and pointed out that his initials even spell the word לב.

Baruch Levine then burst onto the stage singing his hit song Chosson Hatorah and the crowd went wild, after the song he said how much of a pleasure it was to be in the UK for his first time and told the audience of his English connections, from his Grandparents before they moved to Canada, which (as Baruch joked about) was once owned by England.

Baruch than sang one of the biggest hits in recent years, Vezakeini, and all the crowed joined in, and was moved by his rendition of the title track of his debut album, he dedicated the song to all the young children in the audience, Baruch then thanked the audience before leaving the stage, and Rabbi Farhi returned.

Rabbi Farhi told the audience about some of his experiences with his friend, and how much of an inspiration he is, and then the headline act came out. Yaakov Shwekey was greeted by a huge round of applause, and everyone was excited. Yaakov entered singing Libi B’mizrach, the title trach of the hit sefardi album he brought out just over a year ago.

After the song Shwekey told the crowd how happy he was to have been invited back to England again, he told us that English crowds are way better and livelier than New York crowds, (something  which I  certainly agree on) and then sang Im Eshkocheich. This song is one of his most famous songs, and comes from his Y’Did album, this was the 3^rd time I have seen Yaakov live and this sing always creates high emotions running through me, the only negative was that I felt this song was done to early on.

His next song was Areivim, from Ad Bli Dai which he dedicated this song to all of Am Yisrael especially his friend from Israel who was in the audience last night. Areivim is certainly one of my favorite songs from Ad Bli Dai and was wonderful hear it sung live.

Next up was a medley, Yaakov said that a special audience like ours deserves a special medley and this one was made just for the occasion. The medley opened with Mama Rochel – this song became an instant hit when it was first released.  The second song of the medley was Tatte, originally by Dveykus and then sung by Shwekey on his fourth album Leshem Shomayim with the original lyrics written by his rosh yeshiva.  The final song of the medley was my sister’s favorite Shwekey song, Shema Yisrael. This medley had the crowed united and everyone joined arms together and swayed to the side.

Then Yaakov bust into Kol Mevaser,  one of my favorite songs at the moment, written by Yitzy Waldner and fist released on live in Caesarria II. This song had the crowed going wild – and deservedly so, it’s a very good fast song and with as Yaakov as a performer as well as a singer I’m not surprised at the crowd’s reaction.

For the final song of the set, Baruch Levine joined Yaakov on stage and together they sang V’hoo Keili, a slow and great kumzits song and originally featured on Baruch’s debut album with guest vocals from Yaakov. The two performer left the stage together to applause from the crowd.

As the performers relaxed and had a much needed break, a short video was shown and a speech from the president of Hatsoloh UK about the amazing work hatzoloh do, and pledged for donations for the needy cause.

Next was a surprise, International superstar, originally from London but has been living in America for a few years was Chazzan Shimon Craimer.  It was clear from the audience’s reaction how welcome he was back in his home town.

Baruch Levine  returned to the stage, with one of my favorites- Kol Haberuim, this got the audience alive again after the short break, and he then sang Piano Boy, from his English album, a song which tells the story about what we can all achieve.

Yaakov Shwekey returned to the stage with Veshochanti from Ad Bli Dai, and he got the crowd were on their feet dancing, before singing Bo’ee B’shallom, a slow song but one of the best slow songs on libi B’Mizrach.

Then came the song I’d been waiting for, again from Libi B’mizrach, Raoo Banim, a catchy song written by Yonatan Razel, and everyone enjoyed it.

Baruch Levine then came to rejoin Shwekey on stage. Yaakov, told the audience that upon hearing the news of the passing of one of his best friends he called Baruch asking him to write a song about refuah.  The song was first featured on Caesaria and then again on Boruch’s new album – Hashkifah, and the two of them singing together was a wonderful experience. Yaakov dedicated the song to all the kids from Camp Simcha who were in the audience.

Then came the finale song, certainly one of the  biggest wedding hits from the last few years, – Ma ma ma, another Yitzy Waldner composition.  Baruch then returned to the stage, and the two singers wore hatzolah jackets and danced together, I didn’t realize that Baruch had some good moves.

After the performers left the stage, it was time for the encore as no Shwekey concert is complete without Vehee She’omda, another Yonatan Razel song and another massive hit.

This was certainly an amazing concert, and cannot wait for next time. My only wish was that Shwekey would have sung Hakadosh Boruch Hoo from Libi B’Mizrach, another of my favorites, but even without it the concert was still worth the long trip.

Let me preface this concert recap by saying that I hope my fifteen year old son never reads this review, because he was dying to come to the Ohel concert but I refused to take him out of yeshiva four hours early just to come to a concert.  After all, there are plenty of concerts, right?

Well, right and wrong.  There are plenty of concerts.  But concerts like last night’s The Music We Love are few and far between.  In the words of one music industry insider after the concert, “The future of Jewish music took a turn for awesomeness tonight.”  What made this concert great was that while it was a mix of old music and new, most of the faces on the stage tonight represent the future of Jewish music and while oftentimes concerts seem stale and formulaic, these performers on the whole, were fresh, energy filled and made it obvious that while there are those who say Jewish music is dying, it is indeed, alive and well, and kicking up quite a storm.

The folks at Ohel took a huge gamble when they decided to stage a concert and keep the lineup top secret.  Were people really going to spend big bucks to come to a show without knowing who the performers would be?  The answer, apparently, was yes, as Mason Hall at the Baruch Performing Arts Center was completely sold out for the annual benefit concert.  Unlike most secrets in the Jewish music business, this one actually stayed secret.  While people ventured guesses as to the identity of the performers after the final concert ad provided a list of clues, no one except for a select few knew what the lineup was going to be.

The venue, Mason Hall, was an excellent choice.  The room was appropriately sized:  spacious enough that it didn’t feel claustrophobic but small enough to give the room an intimate feel.  For those who took the time to look around the room, the architecture was nothing short of magnificent.

But we don’t go to concerts to check out the ceilings, do we?  It was just the scenery that was top notch, on the whole, the music was as well.  With performances by Michoel Pruzansky, Eitan Katz, Rivi, Eli and Avrumi Schwebel, Shalsheles Junior, 8^th Day, Shloime Gertner, Benny Friedman, Yishai Lapidot and Lipa Schmeltzer, there were some musical moments that were totally amazing.  The nine piece orchestra, led by famed music copyist and arranger par excellence, Avremi G, was extremely well done and while most of the time at concerts the focus is on the guy holding the microphone, it is the talents of the individuals playing the musical instruments who really make the music come alive and last night was no exception as the orchestra really rocked the house.  Despite a few extremely disturbing microphone glitches, the sound and particularly, the sound levels, were perfect for the room.  In an unusual move for a Jewish music concert, the lighting was spectacular, giving the entire evening a more polished and professional feeling.  The choir, made up of Aryeh Kunstler (who became a father for the first time just one day before the concert), Sholom Jacobs, Akiva Lawrence, Miami alumnus Eitan Nat and Yoel Schmell, appeared sporadically during the concert, giving a nice fullness to certain songs throughout the evening.  Finally, all the concert artwork from posters to tickets to the amazing graphics that were up on the big screen were truly gorgeous, thanx to the very talented Sruly Meyer (see the slides here)

The concert clocked in at a whopping three hours and twenty three minutes which was definitely too long and perhaps the bags distributed to concert patrons with literature from the sponsors, pens, foam microphones, umbrellas and glow sticks should have included a cheese danish and a frappucino as well, just to tide everyone over.  Kudos to Avram Zamist of Sheer Productions for not only putting together a great show but for starting the show just four minutes late, a trend I would love to see continuing in Jewish music.

After a video of Lipa Schmeltzer and Eli Schwebel singing at a piano, musically asking the audience to please turn off their cell phones, the night kicked off with an overture based on a Mishpacha Magazine article listing the stories behind some of the most popular songs in Jewish music including Chamol, Yamim al Yemei Melech and Racheim.  A voice offstage introduced the emcee for the evening, Nachum Segal, but the stage stayed dark as Nachum was nowhere to be found.  A cute video clip showed Segal watching Monday Night Football refusing to come to the concert until concert sponsor Americare CEO, Elly Kleinman, shared the concert lineup with him.  Kleinman has quite the flair for comedy and the clip showed the two rushing from Nachum’s house to the venue, finally running down the aisle and appearing onstage together.

Nachum introduced the performers via a set of clues that appeared in the final concert ad and the first performer showed up on stage during the intro amid creepy music and dressed in a black cape, fedora and mask, a la Phantom of the Opera.  As Nachum figured out that the performer described as “someone who has three albums, one of which is released in the last three months” must be Michoel Pruzansky, Pruz whipped off the cape and hat and launched into a rousing medley of some of his most latest songs, including Kol Ma and Zeh LaZeh

Pruz was followed by the ever popular Eitan Katz, who sang Yisborach, Boruch Hu and crowd favorite L’maancha.  The Ohel glow sticks were waving as Katz told the crowd “it’s not about how many CDs you sell, it is about how many people you touch with your music.”  Next up was Eli Schwebel, singing a new song titled Yoga, probably from his upcoming solo album, which was actually quite good.  Schwebel then introduced his younger brother Avrumi and his father Rivi, charmingly announced as “Daddy Schwebel” for their first ever joint performance, singing the D’veykus classic In a Vinkele, known to the younger generation as Shwekey’s Tatte.  The Schwebels, who also appeared later in the show, are all extremely gifted and were one of the many high points of a show that had many moments of music excellence.

Another sponsor bit, this one featuring the grandchildren of the owners of concert sponsor Nutola left Nachum in a bind as he asked one kid after another what their favorite song was and was thwarted each time by responses like “I don’t have a favorite song” and “I’m not a big fan of music.”  Finally Nachum had co-host, his son Yosef, read off the next clue and seventy five percent of Shalsheles Jr. appeared as Dovid Dachs, CJ Glicksman and Avrumi Schwebel took the stage singing a Shalsheles medley.  The trio was joined by their fathers for the classic Naar Hayisi, and while both Dachs and Schwebel senior are in the music business, Yitzy Glicksman more than held his own and was really quite impressive.

A video showing campers at Ohel’s camp Kaylie singing their rendition of Ya’alili was followed by none other than 8^th Day and from here on in, the concert picked up steam and never once came back up for air.

8^th Day rocked the house with a fifteen minute set that included Shabbos Now, Avraham and Ya’alili, complete with a dancer who was beyond belief.  There is no question that the crowd loved them and there is very good reason why Bentzi and Shmuli Marcus are the hottest act in Jewish music today.  Next up was Shloime Gertner who just seems to get better and better with every performance as he gains confidence, his sweet personality only enhancing his very impressive voice.  Gertner sang two medleys in addition to the beautiful Hashomayim before being joined onstage by the next performer Benny Friedman and the two discussed their musical inspirations before launching into an oldies medley.  While Gertner was very enjoyable, at twenty five minutes, his set was too long for a show that had so many performers.

Benny Friedman continues to shine and he climbed yet another rung on the ladder of Jewish stardom last night, as once again he nailed song after song.  With his slight Midwestern twang, he exudes charm onstage, from his opening moments hugging Shloime Gertner, to his thanking Yitzy Spinner for lending him a tie to wear for the show.  Friedman opened with the title track of his album Taamu, then sang the classic Dudu Fischer Elokay before asking the audience to grab their foam microphones and join him in his feel good song Yaavducha.  Friedman described his last number as one that “the Jewish people have been singing for 2000 years” and while the audience was expecting a classic oldie, he launched into a sweet, slow version of One Day, giving the audience an opportunity to sing some of the lines before calling out to drummer Gal Gershovsky in Hebrew, “You ready, Gal?”, taking the song to a whole new level.  Friedman seems to have taken this Matisyahu song and made it his own, imbuing it with the cheyn that, combined with his never-ending wellspring of talent, makes him one of the most sought after performers out there today.

Michoel Pruzansky returned to the stage a second time absolutely nailing the beautiful Shlomo Carlebach classic Mimkomcha, which he dedicated to Elly and Bracha Kleinman of Americare.    Next up, it was the Schwebel family again, singing Abie Rotenberg’s Memories, with a slide show of the Holocaust playing in the background.  What a group of voices, further enhanced by the way they shared the song, playing off each other.  Most touching was Rivi Schwebel embracing his sons at the end of the song, a truly heartwarming moment.

I must confess I had never heard Yishai Lapidot, the next performer sing before and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  But if I had had expectations for Lapidot’s performance, I think he would have exceeded them.  Despite the late hour, he had the crowd going wild, singing along with him, waving their glow sticks and clapping along to a medley of his own songs plus a terrific number called Mi Shemaamin.  His frenetic energy was contagious and the crowd went wild as Lipa Schmeltzer took the stage and joined him for another medley and Lapidot left the stage to wild applause.

Only to return moments later amid more wild applause.  While Lipa was dressed in a small brimmed hat and a striped shirt, someone came from backstage and handed Lapidot a metallic gold bekeshe.  The banter between the two was hysterical and it is the first time I have ever seen a performer share the stage with Lipa and not be overshadowed by Lipa’s manic energy.  The two sang Lipa’s Mizmor L’soda together, with Lapidot more than holding his own against Lipa, not just musically but in stage presence as well and they literally blew the song out of the water.  I doubt that this song will ever be performed as well as it was last night.  It was just that good.

Lipa finished up with a Carlebach medley and a very energetic performance of Hentelach before being joined onstage by the other performers for a finale which consisted of the classic Kol Haolam in several languages and a song I would love to see adopted as a closer at more weddings and concerts, the wistful Naomi Shemer Al Kol Eileh.

This was just an amazing show, admirably put together by the very talented Avram Zamist of Sheer Productions, clear proof that Jewish music has a very bright future ahead, no matter what the voices of doom and gloom may be saying.  Ohel’s The Music We Love delivered on all counts and if they continue to play their cards right, it is the Ohel show that may soon be considered the one can’t miss show of the year.

Stay tuned for a full picture gallery of the show.  To see slides that appeared on stage at the concert click here.

One of the best kept secrets in the Jewish music business was the lineup for tonight’s Ohel concert, titled The Music We Love.

For those of you who weren’t there tonight, you missed an awesome show as the performers came fast and furious, hotter and hotter.

Stay tuned for a full concert recap, but for now here is the list of artists who rocked Mason Hall at Baruch College tonight:

Michoel Pruzansky

Eitan Katz

Eli Schwebel

Rivi Schwebel

Avrumi Schwebel

Shalsheles Jr.

8th Day

Shloime Gertner

Benny Friedman

Yishai Lapidot

Lipa Schmeltzer

I want to start off by saying that I really enjoy collections from all over the spectrum of Jewish music and HASC really gives us that from Haimish to Yeshivish and more.   This year’s concert is even more greatly enhanced with the duets because you can pick up the qualities of a singer much more when he is paired up with another.

So let us begin:

1- Overture

2-Gertner-Fried:   An interesting choice of singers with their respective songs. It starts with Nissim – a Yossi Green classic that propelled Shloimie to stardom and followed by Ki Hirbaysa – a leibidike Slonimer niggun that became a hit about two years ago. Fried sang it on a single back then, but it is not a typical Avrohom Fried shtickel. This duet brings out the smooth elegant voice of Gertner while Fried is still Fried – one of the best.

3-Abie Rotenberg- Baruch Levine:  It starts off with some emotional nostalgia with Abie and Baruch sharing their early experiences together in music in Toronto. ( I am also a proud Torontonian!) It got really cute when they played the famous Hamalach Hagoel sung by Baruch Levine as a child and Abie saying “your voice hasn’t changed a bit, heh?” They start of with Birchas Habayis – a B. Levine composition sung by Abie on Aish and the deeper Abie blends splendidly with Baruch’s high youthful pitch. They flow in to Habein Yakir Lee from Dveykus composed by Abie with Baruch doing the high Yossi Sonnenblick part – so warm and outstanding.  They end off with “A Small Piece of Heaven” that Baruch alluded to in the beginning while telling his memories of Abie from a HASC video.

4-Shloimie Gertner – Lipa:  They first sing Asay Asay from Shloimie’s 2nd album and again Shloimie is such a treat to listen to.  Lipa entertains the oilom with his wit and humor and then inspires us with the background of his song Mizmor Lesoido, finally singing it together with Shloimie.

5-Yehuda Green – Ohad:  Yehuda has his classic Carlebach emotional style complemented with Ohad’s fire. First they sing the first part of Hinei Yomim Boim then transition into Hashiveinu which is a deep classic that tugs at the heart strings.

6-Shalsheles – Shalsheles Junior:  They start off with Boruch Habo then surprise us with the high part of Ivdu with a fast beat instead of the normal slow one. Then Ki Ereh,Yerushalayim, Modeh Ani, then a speech about duets as a form of achdus. Finally Yofyofisa and the kids go so HIGH! Amazing!  They close with Hinay Ma Tov – Sheves Achim Gam Yachad…

7-Daniel Ahaviel – an amazing violin player plays “Hupp Kossack”.

8- YBC makes a surprise entrance with Eli Gerstner and sing Mizmor Shir-Aroimimcho Hashem. You can tell from the applause that the crowd was very excited to hear them. The solos are amazing! The song itself is quite leibedik, but not too jazzy.

9- Daniel Ahaviel again. I am amazed how he can play violin  so well and at times seems like he’s playing two sounds at the same time.

10-Back to the duets with Ohad and Yonatan Sheinfeld who sing Yehi Rotzoin from Ohad’s new album. It’s a gorgeous hartzige song that just perfect for a duet. Yonatan is very impressive and reaches very high notes. He sounds so confident.Ohad is great and reaches notes most only dream of.

11-Then comes Duet “Made in Heaven”:  Yehuda Green and Shlomo Carlebach z”l. They sing Am Yisrael Chai. It’s always emotional when we hear Carlebach, and now especially that he is in the Oilom Hoemes and hear a recording of him. Yehuda Green is a very appropriate duet with him since he is a “Talmid” of Reb Shlomo and sings in a very similar style.

12-Lipa and Zaidy Lipa:  Lipa meets himself 30 years from now and they have an intriguing conversation about life in Yerushalayim with Moshiach preparing for HASC 52. They then sing a song “Moshiach” imagining the spiritual joy of those times and HASC is only a yearly affair celebrated by Klal Yisroel since everyone is healed.

13-Avraham Fried and Benny Friedman:  The famous uncle and up and coming nephew start with Moriah and then transition in to Taamu from Benny. Avraham really shines in this medley considering he is the older one. I’m not taking anything away from Benny who was  great, but Avraham is in a league of his own.  For their last song, Avraham introduces Yossi Green’s Rifoeini and Benny asks his uncle permission to sing it.

14-Abie, Baruch Levine, Shalsheles and Shalsheles Junior medley:     Haneshomo Loch from Baruch sung by Abie then Junior.Baruch takes over by the high part then harmonizes with Shalsheles. They transition in to the classic Eso Ainai from Shalsheles with the kids doing the famous Yosef Wartelsky low part and end off with Ato Echod.

15-We “finally” get to the Finale – a masterpiece of a collection:

Yehuda Green – Nigun Moshe – sounds like a Carlebach.

Ohad/Yonatan – Viairastich – A Yossi Green classic from Ohad’s original album.

Baruch Levine – Ki hu ( with the HASC anthem in the background) – from Baruch’s 2nd album. It’s sung faster than regular. By “Mi Yaaleh” Ohad does some  really high harmony and by “Neki Chapayim” they all get in to it.

Lipa – Hentelech – you can hear Yehuda Green getting in to it, and Avraham Fried repeating “Uvini” ( Or maybe that was Benny…)

Abie – Neshomele with Avraham Fried doing the MBD part amazing! A HASC classic.

Shalsheles and Shalsheles Junior – Mi Hoeesh – the hit first song from Shalsheles’s first album. It just occurred to me that if someone gets afraid of death from the Neshomele song, you get great advice on how to increase life from Mi Hoeesh!

Avraham Fried – Make the world a kinder happier place. A great message that we should never throw in the towel! Then Fried shouts “Avrumi!” Maybe he meant Shloimie because next came Shloimie Gertner singing  Happy Birthday that  they all sing that tune to “Time for Music 24″.

Yisroel Lamm ends off with the HASC anthem.

On a side note I must say that the Gabai who gave out the “Kibudim” did a phenomonal job giving everyone their appropriate parts – a real symphony of Klal Yisroel where everyone really counts!

Also, I realize that the singers did this L’sheim Shomayim and nobody used the stage to promote their new albums such as Ohad and Shalsheles Junior who had just come out or were just releasing their new albums.

JewishMusicReport.com would like to welcome  HillelKAPS, the newest member of the JMR team.  We look forward to HillelKAPS sharing his many insights on Jewish music with our readers.

This past week, September 15,I had the privilege of attending the ‘Moshe Hecht Album Release Party’ in the amazing Soho Synagogue, probably the only Synagogue where the paintings on the walls really come down and fold into chairs (you have to be there to see it) and the setting is very peaceful and relaxing. The event started at about 7:45 with an interesting array of people all coming to hear Moshe Hecht and maybe even to get a chance to schmooze with him before the show. I did get the chance to speak with him for a bit before the show began and I asked him what his goal is with his music. He thought over my question for a few moments and then responded,

For all those who missed my introduction and part one (volumes 1-3) here it is:http://jewishmusicreport.com/2011/07/01/review-of-hasc-the-remastered-collectors-edition-part-1-volumes-1-3/

Continuing on:

HASC 4: Right off the bat, my first impression when it came out was WOW, and that was even before I opened up the triple cassette. Yes, I said triple, as in 3! The concert had gotten longer (or at least there was more material to share with the consumer) and now I had more music to enjoy! The Neginah Orchestra, conducted by Yisroel Lamm, begins with an overture, once again featuring features the original HASC theme song, this time in a rock style and later in the more classical style. I really used to look forward to hearing how they tweaked and changed the song every year. They also play an instrumental Memories Medley, which features some of the hit songs performed at the first three HASC concerts. The concert featured both of Abie Rotenberg’s groups, Journeys, singing Time to Say Good Shabbos and Ride the Train, and Dveykus, singing some of their hit songs, including one of my favorites, Shalom Rav. Abie also composed another song special for HASC, Candles, and it is performed by him and the entire cast. The entire cast also sings the Finale, U’vney, from Abie Rotenberg’s first Lev V’Nefesh album (and one of my favorite songs back then. Mordechai Ben David, is once again one the main performers, and he sings among other songs, a couple of medleys with some of his hit songs, Refa’einu, composed by Yerachmiel Begun and originally performed by Miami Boys Choir (I really love MBD’s rendition of the song), once again Yidin, and at the time his newest hit song, Daaga Minayin, complete with the original vocal tracks that begin the song on his “Double Album”. The Goldshmid Brothers, known as Kol Achai, sing one of their songs, Hinei Ma Tov. I always liked their work, and actually own all four of their albums, the last released in 2003. Their harmonies and togetherness, is very nice and enjoyable, and since I did see this concert on video, they even choreographed to move together on stage in step. The main highlight and performer of the evening, was The London School of Jewish Song, under the leadership of Yigal Calek. I know it wasn’t their first ever performance in the US, since they came to the US in December of 1976 (I was at their Chicago concert, but I was busy learning with the malach, so I don’t remember anything from that evening), but for the choir to come over was a big deal. They sing many of their hits and favorite songs, including Ko Amar, Mareh Cohen (yes, it is one of their songs from the 70’s), Vechi Yadav, Oshirah, and many more of my favorite songs. I grew up listening to their records, so I really enjoyed hearing them live in concert. This concert also marked the first concert where Nachum Segal was involved, as he was the Master of Ceremonies along with Zale Neuman. This was one concert I know I enjoyed, and would have loved to be at live.

HASC 5: The concert, called “Five Years in the Making” was another innovative concert. For starters, it’s the first one I have on CD, which I am pretty sure means it was the first one released on CD when the concert was originally released. It also features a brand new HASC theme song, titled “A Time For Music”, composed by Yossi Green with unbelievable lyrics by Abie Rotenberg. It is sung at the beginning by The MBD Vocal Quartet and at the end by the entire cast (and I love the Piamenta Brother’s line….”but time has come now we must part.” I don’t know why, but I always got a kick out of it). The Regesh Vocal Ensemble, with Abish Brodt singing behind a curtain, sings Shalom Aleichem (with the Piamenta Brothers singing Barchuni) and Modeh Ani (I love how Abish goes an octave higher on the low part to end the song). A few notable members of The Regesh Vocal Ensemble are Shloimy Dachs (one of the soloists), Avremi Gourarie (known to the world as Avremi G), and the director, Rabbi Eli Cohen (master keyboardist). They also sing another song, V’yaazor, later in the concert. Mordechai Ben David is the night’s featured performer and has several interesting additions to the concert. He sings a Regesh song, S’lach and Ma Ashiv (the one he made famous from an All Star tape) with the Ensemble. He sings a couple of songs with The MBD Quartet, and Neshomele with Abie Rotenberg. My two favorites by MBD are the History Medley, where he imitates many of the previous generation’s musical “superstars”, and Reminiscing, where he narrates and his son Yeedle sings, all about his own journey through Jewish music. The highlight of the evening however, is the “Showcase of the Masters”, a classical performance by Yisroel Lamm and the Neginah Orchestra, along with some of the amazing musicians of our time. My two personal favorites are Yaron Gershovsky’s version of Abie Rotenberg’s Hamalach, and Yossi Piamenta’s adaption of the Sabre Dance, which he renames the Sabra Dance.

HASC 6: This concert was called The HASC Concert of a Lifetime. It certainly had a multitude of performers, and is quite packed with memorable performances. To begin with, the main performer, yes once again Mordechai Ben David, only sings 3 of his own songs, Rashi’s Nigun (where he screams out in the middle “shmaltzer”), Moshiach, and Ko Amar (composed by Yossi Green, Mona Rosenblum, and  Chaim Banet respectively , and sung as part of the composers tribute), plus 2 other songs that we will talk about later. There is a new HASC theme song, that also incorporates the earlier songs, and other HASC favorites. Abie Rotenberg sings a HASC medley, featuring his compositions for HASC from over the past few years concerts, followed by a medley of HASC favorites sung by Mona Rosenblum and his vocal Sextet, including famous drummer, producer and arranger Yochi Briskman (and a special shout out to my old friend and fellow Chicagoan, Chaim Richter, for his chazzanus). Yoel Sharabi, one of the performers from the first HASC concert, returns and sings A Prayer for HASC, including some really funny (and corny) jokes. Yossi Piamenta sings a song, Vaani, with his signature guitar solos interspersed throughout the song, and Yaron Gershovsky plays another classical/contemporary piece, named Tain Shabbat/Pitome Medley. Avraham Rosenblum and Ruby Harris, both of Diaspora Yeshiva Band, perform one of Diaspora’s big hits, Tzaddik. Then there is a tribute to many of the top composers in Jewish music. Yossi Green,Mona Rosenblum and Chaim Banet, all have songs sung by MBD. Abie Rotenberg’s Hamalach is sung by a duet of Dov Levine and Rivie Schwebel. Shlomo Simcha, who at the time is new to the Jewish Music scene, makes his HASC debut singing one of Moshe Laufer’s songs. Another great friend of HASC who also makes his HASC debut, and at the time was also a relative newcomer to the Jewish Music scene, is Dedi, who sings a Yossi Green song from his debut album, which incidentally was Yossi’s first foray into producing albums. Dov Levine also sang a solo medley of songs composed by Yerachmiel Begun and Rabbi Shmuel Brazil. Before I get to my two personal favorite highlights of the concert, I want to jump to the end of the concert, where there is a Composer Finale, where Yigal Calek and the London Vocal Quartet sing and narrate a tribute for the composers, with Shlomo Carlebach joining them for his song, and the new HASC theme song being sung by the cast (including Yossi Green singing in his HASC debut as well) for the Concert Finale. I do find it ironic that back then they had the same song used for the Opening and Finale, and it was (and still is) so enjoyable. The first of my two favorite highlights of the concert are: The song Ki Heim composed by Boruch Chait, and performed by him and Mordechai Ben David. R’ Boruch talks about the anatomy of a song, and shows how it is composed. He first plays the song on his guitar and harmonica, and eventually is joined by MBD, accompanied by Yisroel Lamm and the Neginah Orchestra. It was a song composed a couple of weeks earlier on the spot for some cancer stricken boys. I have always had a special spot in my heart for that song. It is later found on one of Dedi’s albums, but it is always a HASC concert original in my mind. The other one of my favorite highlights is the section of the composer’s tribute dedicated to Shlomo Carlebach, and performed by Abie Rotenberg, MBD, and in a surprise, Shlomo Carlebach showed up and joined them on stage singing Ana Hashem, Esa Einai, Borchi Nafshi, and V’Yesayu. I can’t even imagine nowadays anyone showing up in the middle of a concert and making it on stage, but R’ Shlomo was one of a kind! This was really a HASC concert of a lifetime!

HASC 7: This concert was called The Next Stage, and they changed the format and venue for the concert. The concert was held at Radio City Music Hall, and it was mostly a play, with vocal performances mixed in. I must say, since I never watched the concert, and only had the audio, it was not my favorite concert, as it is only 1 CD, and there is much less audio content. Supposedly this was a very revolutionary performance, and is much more enjoyable being watched (maybe I’ll go watch it at my in-laws house one day).The concert begins with a new HASC theme song, named The Next Stage of A Time For Music, composed by Yossi Green, and performed by the Time For Music Vocal Quartet, Yerachmiel Begun and the Miami Boys Choir, and Mordechai Ben David. Of course the original theme song finds its way into the middle of the song. I find it real cute how every year they tried to find a new name for the adult choir each year! The first performer of the night is Sandy Shmuely, singing Shabbat Shalom. This is one of only two songs of his I have ever heard, but it was one of my highlights of the concert. Yerachmiel Begun and the Miami Boys Choir are the next performers, singing one of their hit songs, and my favorites from back in the day, Lo Yisa Goy. They also perform later on in the evening A Wedding in Chelm, together with the Chelm Chasidic Singers and Dancers, interspersing some of the famous traditional wedding songs with some of their hit songs. Mordechai Ben David sings a Yosselle Rosenblatt song, Keli Keli, one of his son Yeedle’s songs, Oz Yemoleh, and Mimkomcha (which is one of my favorite classic MBD songs). there is also a special performance of Spanish Rhapsody by world famous clarinet virtuoso Andy Statman. Abie Rotenberg and MBD sing another one of  Abie’s special HASC compositions, Hamalach (not his famous song by the same name). This is a very interesting song because he mixes in English and Hebrew lyrics, and even though it has never become famous, it was also one of my favorites from this concert. The Grand Finale of the concert is once again the same theme song from the opening of the concert, performed by the cast. This time around the original HASC theme song gets more play time. This concert seems to have been a fabulous concert, and even though it wasn’t my favorite, it still is an enjoyable listen.

In conclusion, this DVD set is a must have for collectors and lovers of Jewish Music. It is worth it just to hear what Jewish Music once was, and to hear the beginning of the tradition that is now about to be 25 years old, the HASC concert!

This can be purchased at http://www.mostlymusic.com/hasc-the-remastered-collectors-edition.html

Aderet’s recent release of the digitally remastered HASC’s A Time For Music Concerts Collection: 1-7 has brought back some very fond memories of my youth.

Let me explain. Nowadays, Jewish Music is a much larger and more sophisticated industry than it was back then. The HASC concert was the biggest and most anticipated event back then, and for us youngsters the release of the cassettes, videos, and later CDs, were eagerly awaited. Truthfully, however, that really has nothing to do with my love for the early HASC concerts or the memories that they bring me. I remember the summer of 1988, the first time I went away from home as an eleven year old boy to sleep away camp, Camp Kol Torah. The whole summer people were playing and talking about this amazing concert that had come out on double cassette, and after hearing parts of it over the summer, I decided that I had to buy it for myself.

Time passed by and somehow the next summer of camp was only a few days off and I had still not purchased it. My siblings and I were staying at my grandparent’s house overnight, since my parents went to play at a wedding in Detroit and I finally had the opportunity to walk to the bookstore where my grandfather worked to purchase this amazing concert. Imagine my confusion when I looked at the music section and saw not one, but two A Time For Music Concert double cassettes staring at me. One had a gold cover (volume one) and the other a blue cover (volume 2). Not only did I not know which one I had listened to the summer before, but I didn’t have the money for both of them although I really wanted to get both of them. I reasoned if the concert I had listened to the previous summer had been so awesome, then chances were both of these concerts were amazing. I don’t remember the next details exactly, but somehow my grandfather became aware of my dilemma and offered to let me “borrow” the money from him. Of course when I tried to pay back the loan to him and then to ybl”ch my grandmother, they wouldn’t accept the money.

I had one problem left and that was listening to the the albums. It was already the 3 weeks! All the cassettes got packed for camp, along with my Sony Walkman (that I still have, but haven’t tried to use in years). Boy was I waiting for chatzos on Yud Av! That day my bunk (Bunk Tahara for those CKT veterans) was playing basketball in the gym (on the 1^st court) for first activity. We did not get to play basketball often, since we were still from the younger bunks, so it was a big deal. I don’t remember the exact time of chatzos, but it was in the middle of first activity. I brought my walkman and tapes to the gym with me, and told my counselor that I would only play until chatzos. After that, I had very important music to listen to. That day, was the first of many that summer that I enjoyed both volumes of the HASC concerts.

I became a huge HASC concert fan, and waited every year for the new concert to come out. Seeing that this new collection was released, it has afforded me to relive many memorable memories, and to listen, once again, to some really amazing times in Jewish Music history, in crystal clear sound. To recap all 114 songs would be very tedious, however, I will give a brief synopsis of each concert and point out a few of my highlights and favorite songs.

HASC 1: The concert begins with a musical overture by The Neginah Orchestra, featuring the first HASC theme song, and a medley of songs from the night’s featured performers. It is arranged and conducted by  Yisroel Lamm.  The performers at the concert were Mordechai Ben David, Avraham Fried, and Yoel Sharabi. The Master of Ceremonies is Zale Neuman. My favorite songs from MBD were Yidin (which incidentally was performed in part or the entire song at three of the first four HASC concerts), Rachem, and Let my People Go, with a killer saxophone solo by Arkady Koyfman. My highlights from Avraham Fried are Tatenyu, Sholom Aleichem (Regesh’s song, which in my opinion, Avraham Fried’s version at this concert is the best I ever heard it performed), and Forever One. Yoel Sharabi sings a few songs; my favorite is V’ani B’chasdicha, and his performance on the recorder in the Recorder Medley. It was a very simple concert, as far as HASC concerts go, but for 1988, it was quite a trend setter, and a real joy to listen to.

HASC 2: This concert was also a groundbreaking event. The music was performed by a 60 piece orchestra featuring Yisroel Lamm and the Philharmonic Experience, and really has a sweet classical sound to it. The overture once again featured the HASC theme song, but it evolved into a classical sounding piece. There is also a choir under the direction of Moshe Mona Rosenblum called 101 Talented Voices. I am not sure if there actually were that many (I only counted 69 total between the adults and children) but it is still quite an impressive choir. Their highlight is singing Avraham Yogel, featuring solos from Laibel Hashel z”l. Mordechai Ben David is once again the main performer, singing among other songs, Meharoh, Golus Pharoh (which is what it’s called on the cover of my original cassette from the concert, yes, it is on the original cassette despite the advertisement saying otherwise), a couple of medleys with MBD classics, Someday followed by Yerushalayim, and Ribono Shel Olam, sung together with the 101 Talented Voices. There was a 25 year tribute to Jewish music  featuring performers who sing one song a piece, including Canter Yakov Motzen, Benzion Shenker, Or Chadash, Pirchei, D’vekus, and Disapora Yeshiva Band, featuring Avraham Rosenblum, however a few stood out to me at the time. Abie Rotenberg sings the first of many special songs he composed for HASC, titled Who Am I. Jo Amar sings Barcelona, with special words added for the evening. The Piamenta Brothers perform Asher Bara with the crowd continuing to sing after they finished, prompting the MC, Zale Neuman, to remark “Alright, calm down, calm down”. The highlight of the concert has to be Shlomo Carlbach z”l’s HASC debut. He was announced as the Rebbele of Jewish Music, and after he finished singing (he sang for under one and a half minutes) the crowd continues to sing, prompting Zale to remark “Alright, alright, you’re all hired next year!” As someone who has met and spent time with Zale over the years, it is but a tip of the iceberg of his witty and spontaneous lines.

HASC 3: Once again, Yisroel Lamm and The Neginah Orchestra was the Orchestra of choice, this time going under the name of The Jerusalem Bandstand. The overture also once again features the original HASC theme song in a swing style. They also perform an instrumental Hora Medley and a cute medley of shul songs, named Rhapsody in Shul. The main performer of the evening is Avraham Fried. My favorites of his are the Opening Medley (check out the rocking slap bass in Lefonov Na’avod), Tanya, A Yossi Green Medley (featuring some of his early hit English songs), and Avraham Yagel (with some chazzanus at the beginning and some more killer slap bass). A group called Harmony, featuring Avraham Rosenblum, Moshe Yess z”l, Avrumie Flam, Gershon Veroba, Jonathan Hill, and Matthew Hill (I am assuming the world famous drummer) sing a cute song called Harmony, and a greatest hits medley, featuring My Zaidy, Malchuscha, Chozok Yimalei, and Od Nagiya. Abie Rotenberg sings another one of his especially composed for HASC songs, A Small Piece of Heaven, my favorite from all of his special HASC songs. There is a special guest appearance by Mordechai Ben David, and he sings a medley featuring among other songs, Eliyahu Hanavi and Yidin (with more slap bass) and Sameach, a Boruch Chait song, featuring bouzouki by Avram Pengas. This was another very enjoyable concert.

To be continued…..

This can be purchased at http://www.mostlymusic.com/hasc-the-remastered-collectors-edition.html

Last night I had the privilege of going to YBC LIVE! PESACH ’11 Ah Ah Ah! In other words, the latest Yeshiva Boys Choir concert. I’m going to be honest. I was very excited, and I expected it to be cute– which it totally was, but it was also much more than that. Let me start by mentioning that my last concert was a rock concert at Madison Square Garden my freshman year of college. This was my first Jewish concert, and I was anxious to see how it differed.

The crowd got excited when the orchestra started to play a medley to get the show started. I am not so into instrumental music, but this orchestra was really good! Of course, they played throughout the show, conducted by Eli Gerstner himself, and they always did a beautiful job.

Then Yossi Piamenta came out. I wasn’t too familiar with him, and I was there basically just to see YBC, but wow! He’s great! As someone who plays the guitar…wait…let me correct that…as someone who knows 2 chords on guitar… it was so much fun to see him play. I loved his Asher Bara (sounds like “Land Down Under” for those of you who remember that song from the 80s). At one point he put the guitar behind his head during a solo! The solos were all insanely good. I was sad to see him leave the stage after only two songs, but knew only good acts were to follow…

Next up was Eli Gerstner singing The Chevra’s “Yehei”. I was really impressed with his voice! Of course I knew it was good, but when you hear something on the album, it usually sounds much better than it could live. He sounded the same as he does on albums. He did a great job with this song, getting the crowd into it.

He called out his little brother, Yaakov Mordechai, to join him in singing Av HaRachamim. It’s really nice to see brothers singing together. I also love adult/kid duets where the kid sings throughout the song and doesn’t just do a 15 second introduction. They did a beautiful job. Are there any CDs where the two of them sing together? I can’t find any. Can that please be the next project if there isn’t one already???? YM has wonderful control over his voice and it’s impressive how emotional he gets considering he is still very young (just had his Bar Mitzvah).

Yaakov Mordechai then sang a song by himself, which I didn’t know, but really enjoyed. He did a wonderful job commanding the stage by himself, getting the crowd into it and just generally being a great performer. The song showed his range… we knew he could sing the high notes, but he went a lot lower in this song, too.

When Yaakov Mordechai first came out, we were told this was his last time on stage with YBC. My friend and I, throughout his first two songs, kept saying to each other that his voice was still high enough, why can’t he stay in the choir? He seems to be such a staple of it…all the way back on the very first album! 8 years! After he sang, we were told what’s happening. YM wants to focus on his learning. I’m sure being in the choir takes up a lot of time. It’s very commendable, but he’ll be missed! When the choir came out, though, I saw first hand that there are a lot of wonderful soloists, and that even though YBC will not be the same without him, they will be fine!

Eli Gerstner next sang a fun new song from the next Chevra album, which is said will IYH be released after the summer. So, get excited everyone! I’ve said this before, but how does he put out quality albums so frequently? I know I’m not complaining…

Then…the moment we’d all been waiting for…. YBC came onto the stage! They first sang Baruch Hashem, Shabichi, and Derech Sheker.

It was really cute. They dancing was more than I expected it, and the kids seemed so excited to make sure they put on a good show. But I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. It sounded just as good as the album! I was so impressed! The soloists were all wonderful…some were very young but still had great control of their voices. I wish I knew their names so I could say them, but I don’t, so good job to all of them (this goes for all the YBC songs, by the way. I’m not going to say it again through each song, but you can safely assume that this applied the whole time). Aside from the soloists, there were also some duets with twins! They had similar voices, as twins, and it was really nice, again, to see brothers singing together. They sounded great!

Next, Yossi Newman (who was great with the kids!) told us a story from the choir’s summer trip to Yerushalayim. The boys were walking through the streets singing Kah Ribon and got a great response from bystanders. And wow, I understand why. It was beautiful! The boys put their arms around eachother’s shoulders and were swaying back and forth…It seemed sort of spontaneous. The story from the trip was easy to imagine, and I am looking forward to this song on an upcoming album (is it going to be on Ah Ah Ah? It’d be great acapella).

The last song before the intermission was Shehechiyanu. It was, like the first three songs, very good and a lot of fun, especially with the breakdancing that one of the boys did!

After the intermission, I was glad to see that Yossi Piamenta came back on stage! He played two songs, including Kol Hamesameach. His whole feel was very happy and laid back, and once again the guitar is just…phenomenal. Some of YBC came out to join him, dancing behind him wearing piamenta style kippas!

From the very upbeat we went to the heartbreaking, as Shlomo Schwed & Avi Schachter of Menucha came out to sing a tribute to the other member of Menucha, Danny Berkowitz A”H, along with Eli Gerstner. They first sang Tchias from the last Menucha album, which Eli Gerstner said he wrote as a teenager and was Danny’s favorite song on the album. It was very emotional and heartfelt, and I applaud them for being album to sing so beautifully while clearly in some cases holding back tears.

They then sang “Shma Yisroel”, the most fun and exciting song from the last Menucha album of the same title, and encouraged the whole crowd to get involved (a lot of people took them up on that offer). It was, as expected, a good performance, well sung, and and a lot of fun!

YBC then came back out and sang Mizmor Shir complete with an adorable cane dance. Next was one of the parts I was most anticipating… they sang their new song, “Ah Ah Ah” . We got some singing lessons so the crowd could participate! We found out that Ah Ah Ah is for Ashrei. I loved it! I can’t wait to hear it on the new album. This wasn’t an acapella version, so I am really anxious to see how it sounds that way. The song was upbeat but laid back. It was one of those “feel good” songs, and even the security guard was bobbing his head along!

I was excited to next hear the emotional “Daddy Come Home”, which was my favorite song from the Chanukah album. It really sounded just like the album! YM did a great job singing it. It was very believable that he was the boy in the story of the song, though I hope he wasn’t because it’s sad. The choir did beautiful harmonies behind him, glowsticks in hand, and though all the fun songs were amazing, it was nice to hear this beautiful slow song.

Before the finale, the boys sang Shmoy Shel Melech. The finale started with Omar Rabbi Akiva and then went into Kol Hamispalel. The crowd was waiting for these songs, and the they were worth the wait! Shmuly Brofman from A Jewish Star joined the boys on stage, followed by more kids from the crowd. It was a great finale.

Here comes the most important part of the review, at least in my opinion. Throughout everything, what shined the most was the boys middos. When they sang solos, with their friends and family cheering in the audience, they commanded the stage and sounded great, but not one of them looked a tiny bit haughty. They are young, and they are stars! But they are so humble. They also had the calmness and stage presence of adults, while retaining the cuteness of kids! They are music stars, yes, but, like I’ve read/heard before, yeshiva comes first. The way interpret that is not just that learning is a priority, which is not a “just”, but also that mitzvahs in general are a priority, and that was clear by the glimpse of their character that I got on stage. There were little things I noticed. The boys switched around in rows, so different kids could be in the front. Lots of different kids had solos (I wish there was enough songs for them to each have a solo…I would love to hear what everyone sounds like individually!).

Overall, the concert was a great experience, and I can’t wait for the new album to come out!!!! (Heard it’s any day now…I vote for today.)

Chag Sameach everyone!

If you didn’t come to the Tzivos Hashem Jewish Children’s museum last night, you missed an incredible event.

The promotion promised an exclusive and intimate setting and it really did deliver. If you have already been to the Tzivos Hashem Jewish Children’s museum then you know it’s already a very modern and upscale venue. When you first came into the building there were very classy & elegant tables set up with sushi, wine, cheeses and many different types of exquisite hor d’ourves.

When it was time for the concert to start the attendees were ushered upstairs to the main banquet room. The stage was set in green, with Freilach Band playing and Shira Choir singing. A large black Grand Piano set up for the star of the show. Freilach played a great opener (Overture) set with Shira singing a short set of medleys. Following that, Yossi Green joined the stage and spent the wonderful evening going through different songs, different eras, and some fascinating stories into how these songs came out. The evening featured singers, Yisroel Werdyger, Yumi Lowy, Choni Zucker and Michael Ian Elias, who all complimented Yossi Green’s songs in there own way, While the Producer of the evening’s show was quoted, by saying ” Plans for the next event are already under way so Stay Tuned in the coming weeks for more specific details” .

Yossi also played two brand new songs. One from an album Yossi is working on with The Freilach Band’s, Avrumi Schreiber, Mendy Hershkowitz & Nachman Dreyer, called “The A Men Group”, a fast Al Hanisim which was amazing and really let Freilach shine! The other song was Pen Pen, a new song which will be on Yumi Lowy’s upcoming Debut album. Before the concert portion ended Yossi received an amazing surprise in the form of an appearance by Chasidic Music Superstar Lipa Schmeltzer. Yossi and Lipa sang Va’ani to the delight of the crowd, it was quite a show.

After the concert The Freilach Band stayed on stage and played while more incredible food brought in by Pomegranate was served as the crowd mingled with Yossi Green and all the stars of the show. The event was successfully Produced by Yaron Levy Of Pearl Productions.

Baltimore, MD – Mar. 7 – How often does one have the opportunity to hear Elli Kranzler, Rivi Schwebel, and Yussi Sonnenblick, aka Dveykus, live? According to Elli Kranzler, it has been about 15 years since the group has been together in such a forum. Thanks to the efforts of Shomrei Emunah and its concert committee chaired by Stuie Schabes, last night – Rosh Chodesh Adar Sheini 5771, Baltimore was privileged to enjoy a sold out Dveykus Reunion Concert at Shomrei.

The band, directed by Nochi Krohn, included Gary Honick, Nossi Gross and other members of the Zemer Orchestra. They accompanied Dveykus in this sold out performance of over 600, as the group led the audience on a musical journey through a repertoire that highlighted the best of Dveykus’ classics. These inspirational melodies included Lev Tahor, Shema Koleinu, V’lirushalayim, Shalom Rav, Boei V’Shalom, Yedid Nefesh, Ka Ribon, Habein Yakir Li, Kol B’rama, LaKol Z’man Va’eis, Hamalach, Ani Maamin, In A Vinkele, Journey’s Its Time to Say Good Shabbos, The Place Where I Belong, and Naar Hayisi.

The night’s Master of Ceremonies and member of the concert committee, Chaim Wealcatch, said, “The atmosphere was spectacular. Every time a song started, a gasp went out in the crowd. People were so happy. We look forward to bringing them back in a larger venue, perhaps even bringing Abie (Rotenberg).”

Rabbi David Finkelstein, Director of Camp Shoresh, expressed his thoughts on the concert as well, saying, “When you read through Tehillim you get a very spiritual connection to Hashem. Dovid HaMelech’s words come to life. The music and niggunim by Dveykus almost seem like they were written by angels to perfectly coincide with each Passuk from Tehillim used in their songs”. He added, “I am the director of a Kiruv organization, and many of my kids walk in not even knowing the Alef-Bais. However, before many of them even know the Alef-Bais, they know the words and tunes to V’Liyirushalayim and HaMalach HaGoel Osi.”

Gary Guttenberg said, “The concert was incredible and uplifting. Elli’s heart-warming rendition of “The Place Where I Belong” was worth the price of admission by itself.”

Each song’s introductory anecdote was heartfelt and timely and each song was sung with inspirational energy. As the evening came to a close, and following a standing ovation from the audience, the Dveykus members led everyone in a leibedig rendition of Mishenichnas Adar Marbin B’Simcha. The men danced in a large circle as the simcha filled the room. It was truly a remarkable evening and one that will be cherished for a long time.

For more pictures go to BaltimoreJewishLife.com

8th Day played a sold concert this past Sunday night in the Laguna Hills Community Center, sponsored by Chabad of Laguna Niguel, Ca.

Playing their classics and some  new hits off their just released album, “Chasing Prophecy”, the band headlined the evening bringing the crowd to their feet.   The mood in the room was joyous as the crowd was energized by 8th Day’s unique sound and riveting stage presence.

Libi Bamizrach – Yaakov Shwekey in Brazil – November 2010, Kislev 5771

Ethan Bortnick playing and singing MBD in Brazil

Veahavta Lereacha + Im Eshkachech – Yaakov Shwekey in Brazil – November 2010, Kislev 5771

Yaakov Shekey & Ethan Bortnick sing together in Brazil on november 2010, Kislev 5771

Ethan Bortnick – TenYad Show in Brazil, November 2010, Kislev 5771

(Via KosherMap)

by Reuven Arazi

The 31th Annual South Florida Chassidic Chanukah Festival is getting bigger and better. Considering that over 10,000 people have participated each year since the event was moved to Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach back in 2007, the staff and volunteers preparing the upcoming Festival set for Wednesday, December 8th, have coordinated a star studded program that will guarantee the biggest attendance ever.

Child prodigy Ethan Bortnick, of world renowned fame, who has appeared on every major television network, in concerts around the world, and at several South Florida Chanukah Festivals, will once again grace the stage of the world’s largest Chanukah Festival. Only nine years old, Ethan was an instant hit at the 2007 Chanukah Festival, when he was but six years of age. Ethan plays the piano brilliantly, has memorized some 300 songs, has composed his very own music and songs, and has a stage presence that is nothing short of remarkable.

Benny Friedman, rising Jewish singer today, will be giving a live concert, where he will be getting the most exposure he has ever had in South Florida. Benny’s bestselling debut album “Taamu” was released in 2009, and his rising popularity has made him very high in demand in the Jewish Music World.

The Festival takes place in Hallandale Beach, at Gulfstream Park, US1 and Hallandale Beach Blvd.The event is annually produced and directed by Chabad of South Broward, leaders in Jewish Education, social services and community outreach.

In addition to Friedman, who’s from Brooklyn, New York, the Festival will also feature the twin Hassidic Acrobats from France. A dazzling performance by these artists will provide Festival goers of all ages an experience that will last a lifetime.

The Festival will be preceded by a one hundred Car Menorah parade, starting out from the Yeshivah Gedolah of Greater Miami, under the auspices of Florida Friends of Lubavitch.

Other Festival highlights include the lighting of Florida’s Largest Menorah, led by Cantor Rabbi Yossy Lebovics and a large lineup of Community Leaders and Dignitaries, free Chanukah gelt and goodies for the thousands of children in attendance, a delicious dinner (for a nominal fee), and scores of valuable prizes.

Rabbi Levi Tennenhaus, the events’ coordinator and Chabads’ Program Director, encourages those who can afford to get reserved seating: “The event, as always, is free. However, in addition to our major sponsors, individuals are entitled to reserve VIP seats for $100 per seat. This will help both the Festival, which runs at an enormous cost as a service to the community, and individuals who want the luxury and convenience to sit up front with their seats reserved exclusively for them and their families”.

For more Festival Information, and to reserve VIP and box seats, please call 954-458-1877, email ltchabad@gmail.com, or log on to chabadsouthbroward.com.

Hats off to Green Apple Productions for coming up with a stroke of genius – a series of Motzei Shabbos concerts in the mountains.  There is something about going up to the Catskills that makes you feel like a kid in camp again and what better part of camp to recreate for adults than night activity?  The concerts, featuring top name entertainment in the all new Kutsher’s Hotel, feature top notch entertainment in a relaxed atmosphere, recreating those great moments of your youth when summer was all about having a good time.

The first concert in the series was Shabbos Nachamu, featuring Moshav Band and Soul Farm.  Next week’s lineup features Shloime Gertner and 8^th Day.  The final Shabbos of the summer season will feature Srully Williger singing at Kutsher’s as well, though this concert is not affiliated with Green Apple Productions.

Tonight’s concert (though by the time I write this, it is last night’s concert as the show didn’t end till 2:24 AM) was an all star night with performances from Michoel Schnitzler, Benny Friedman and Yehuda Green.  It was a truly awesome show and makes me hope that I will be up in the mountains next week so I can come back for the next one.  (Though my parents will probably shoot me.   More on that later.)

The concert, scheduled to start at 10:45 didn’t start till 11:15.  The nice couple sitting next to me (shout out – sorry don’t remember your names, but hope you enjoyed visiting day in Bnos!) seemed surprised that the concert started late, but I wasn’t.  I have yet to attend a concert that started on time.  The nightclub at Kutshers was a nice sized room and was probably about a third full by the time the concert started, though the room kept filling up as the night went on.

The emcee for the evening was introduced as someone named Eli.  I don’t think his last name was ever given.  No matter, he was fine, even without a last name.  The night began with a great jazz number from the Freilach orchestra who were really, really good.   A group of about twenty teenage boys from Machane Pnei Menachem walked in, cheering as they walked down the center aisle.  They were a source of entertainment for a large part of the evening, as they danced, cheered, did handstands, flips and other interesting moves, amid chants of “MPM!  MPM!”

Green Apple has done something really special here, giving the opening number to young unknowns who are looking to make a name for themselves.  The opener here was the duo of Hillel Kapnick and Boruch Naftel.  They were very energetic as they sang an original song.  Stay tuned for next week’s opening act, featuring Simcha Leiner.

The first major act of the evening was Michoel Schnitzler.  I confess I have never heard Schnitzler before and wasn’t sure how much I was going to enjoy him.  No worries.  Not only was Schnitzler an enjoyable singer, he was quite the entertainer, filling in between songs with one liners and amusing anecdotes, as he slipped between English Yiddish and even Hungarian.  The atmosphere the entire evening was quite relaxed, with a friend of Schnitzler’s walking up to the stage and shaking hands with him between songs.  He sang an assortment of songs including Carlebach’s Simcha L’artzecha, Ki Hirbeisa, Niggun Nevo and really had the crowd rocking as he sang MBD’s Omar Rabbi Akiva.

The stage went dark and the crowd was already screaming before rising superstar Benny Friedman came on stage, singing the title track from his hit album Taamu.  In fact, the crowd was so pumped that the six and a half foot tall, three hundred pound security guard came to the front to tell the campers to settle down.  Benny was really at the top of his game and by the time he finished Taamu the crowd was chanting “We love Benny!”  Benny was very at ease on stage, joking with the crowd, telling stories and dancing all over the stage.  Benny sang quite a few songs, including Avraham Fried’s A Gut Voch, No Lyrics/One Day medley, Emes, Yaavducha, L’tova and was joined onstage by Schnitzler for Rabos Machshavos and Kad Yasvun.  Watching Benny perform last night there is no doubt that while there are so many up and coming singers, Benny Friedman is well on his way to a long and illustrious career as one of the top names in Jewish music.

Next up, Yehuda Green, another crowd favorite.  I couldn’t even begin to list all the songs Green sang, given that he was on stage for so long.  Green took the stage at approximately 12:45 and stayed there until 2:25.  There were some in the audience who left due to the lateness of the hour, but there were just as many who stayed through Green’s whopping 100 minute set, (yes, you read that right!) where among other songs he sang something Havdala related (sorry, don’t know the name), V’Zocher, Hinei Yomim Baim, Shir Lamaalos, Return and Nishmas.  (Again, I may have gotten the names wrong, feel free to let me know!)

Benny Friedman joined Green back onstage for a Nishmas encore which was really excellent and I found Green even more enjoyable during their duet.  Hillel Kapnick and Baruch Naftel came back onstage for the finale, the four of them singing Hashiveinu until the lights finally came back on.  From the first opening notes, until the concert ended hours later, the Freilach Band really outdid themselves, with some outstanding work by guitar player Nachman Dreyer.

All in all it was a very enjoyable concert and if I am in the Catskills next week, I would love to come back and hear Shloime Gertner and 8^th Day.  Having said that, it probably won’t happen.   Despite the fact that I am married with five kids, my parents, at whose house I was privileged to spend Shabbos, decided to wait up for me because they were worried about me driving back alone.  I don’t think I could make them worry like that two weeks in a row!  But I am guessing most of you won’t have anxious parents panicking because you are out so late.  If you are up in the mountains next Motzei Shabbos, make it your business to be at Kutsher’s  for another evening of great entertainment!

Many thanks to our dear friend Baruch Ezagui for the amazing photos! (2 videos below review as well)

Avraham Fried performed last night in Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh to a sell out crowd in Sultan’s Pool Auditorium. The last time a singer with a long beard was the main act at this venue was when Matisyahu performed here over Sukkos. This was an evening that celebrated Avremel’s achievement of 30 Years singing Jewish music—and he did not disappoint the diverse crowd that ranged from—Secular, Lubavitch, Litvishe, Mizrachi—every type of Jew was present to reminisce with Avraham Fried and to enjoy the surprisingly cool summer night! Throughout the evening, as Avraham Fried sang songs throughout the decades, the theme was clear—he wanted to inspire his audience to remain conscious of the Geulah, Moshiach, and The Beis HaMikdash.

To that end, while the computer graphics malfunctioned a bit—he even admitted so during the Concert—the animated visuals were IMPRESSIVE and only further enhanced the sweet voice that sounded stronger than ever as the night went on.

On another note, I continue to be impressed with Avraham Fried’s grasp and use of the Hebrew language—he spoke one word of English the entire night (guess which word it is, I’ve placed the word at the bottom of the pictures!). In fact, he even modified some English Songs into Hebrew!

The crowd was enthralled by a guest appearance by Israel folk singer…Ariel Zilber, who in a duet with Avremel, sung his hit song: Ten Li Koach click here!

Plus, Avraham sung a NEW SONG click here to hear it, called Kumu V’Naaleh Tzion. Better yet, he sung seemingly forever his current hit, Ki Hirbeisa, featured already on JMR here.

He closed the evening, with a song in Hebrew in which he thanked everyone for joining him on this musical journey. The song was called: Kamma Tov and in the background it had pictures of Avremel throughout the years…I forgot he wore a vest for a period of time in the 90′s :)

• Concert was in Mermaid Theatre, Blackfriars, London
• Sell out crowd (approx 1000 people)
• Tremendous atmosphere.
• First time Miami back in London for 12 years.
• Sang a lot of old medleys, new songs and even showed a preview video clip of their new Ultimate Miami DVD
• Sang an amazing kumzits medley accompanied by Yerachmiel and Leib Roberts (from London)
• Yerachmiel played a Miami quiz with the audience and gave out 3 prizes
• Crowd very leibedik and left singing “we want more”!!!!

If you live in Brooklyn and see smoke when you look out your window, don’t be alarmed.  It is coming from Brooklyn College, location of last night’s Lineup Of A Lifetime Concert.  The show was so hot the Walt Whitman auditiorium was absolutely, positively on fire.  Mordechai Ben David.  Avraham Fried.  Lipa.  Shloime Gertner.  Yeedle.  Yossi Green.    All joining together to honor Moshe Laufer and his thirty years of contributions to Jewish music.  Yossi Tyberg and Gershy Moskowitz, together with concert coordinator Menachem Toker put together what was, quite possibly, the best concert I have ever been to.

The minute you walked into the auditorium you knew you were in for something truly outstanding.  There were instruments all over the stage, and you almost wondered if there was going to be enough room for the singers.  If my count is correct, there was a fifteen piece orchestra in addition to the Shira choir, led by Shraga Gold, which meant you had roughly twenty people on stage, with equipment, and that doesn’t even  include the singers.  TeeM Productions Orchestra consisted of Shai Bachar (piano), Eli Laufer (synthesizer), Sima Ephron (bass), Dave Solomon and Ari Boiangiu (guitar), Gal Gershovsky (drums), Samuel Torres (percussion), Danny Flam, Don Downs, Matt Peterson (horns), Mark Gatz (sax), Jonatan Keren and company (strings).  A gorgeous, full color, forty page glossy concert program put together by graphics king Sruly Meyer contained stunning color portraits of all the artists, over two dozen behind the scenes photographs, detailed biographies of the singers and, of course, lots of colorful advertisements.

One disclaimer before I run through the actual show.  I am sure I am going to get the names of some of the songs wrong.  This three hour concert had quite a few medleys, which meant there were a lot of songs, many of them oldies,  making it extremely time consuming to track down the exact name and album of every song.  Feel free to point out my mistakes in the comments and I will be happy to correct them.

The auditorium was about two thirds full when concert MC Nachum Segal came on stage at 8:05, twenty minutes later than the planned starting time.  Segal introduced the concert, a unity celebration honoring thirty years worth of Moshe Laufer’s music and then Laufer, conductor for the evening, came out on stage as the band launched into a medley of Moshe Laufer song that were either composed or arranged by Laufer.  There were so many of them that I couldn’t possibly identify them all as they kept changing so rapidly.  I did pick out Invei Hagefen, Shehechiyanu, Samchem, Habeit, Racheim, Chazak and Shiru Lamelech.  The orchestra was top notch and the sound, by Eli Lishinsky was loud enough that I could feel the vibrations in my seat, but not disturbingly so.  After all, it is a concert.  You want to feel the music, don’t you?  Interestingly enough, the talented Shira choir was placed on the women’s side of the stage, so a few of them had their backs to the audience to avoid looking at the women.  I don’t know why they couldn’t just nudge the instruments all over a few feet so that they could place the choir on the men’s side of the stage and not have their backs facing the audience.

After a nice opener, things kicked into high gear right away, with almost all the performers coming out singing one of Laufer’s compositions..  Shloime Gertner came out from the left, singing Laufer’s Shechiyanu, followed by Lipa coming in from the right singing Ogil V’esmach.  Lipa and Gertner singing together was quite a treat and they were clearly enjoying themselves.  Mordechai Ben David and Yeedle emerged together, hands clasped together and held high over their heads, singing Migdol.  Last onstage was Avraham Fried who could be heard slowly singing the low part of Kol Yisroel, but was nowhere to be seen. You see MBD onstage, putting one hand across his brow as if he is searching for Avremel, and the spotlight finally shines on Fried, who was on the far left side of the auditorium, in the audience, calling out “I’m over here!”  Fried joined his fellow perfomers on stage, high fiving each one as he passes them and they all energetically continue the song accompanied by lots of jumping and dancing.

Kudos to Mordechai Ben David and Avraham Fried, the only two singers who had their jackets buttoned.  I know, it does get hot up there, but come on!  If you are on stage, your jacket/bekesha needs to be buttoned!!

As the five performers filed off stage, Nachum Segal came out and introduced Moshe Laufer’s son, Eli, a singer, songwriter and arranger in his own right.  He sang one of his father’s compositions, Sheffa Rav from Shwekey’s Live in Caesaria (thanks to Hillel Hirsch of Sameach for supplying the name of the song) which was enjoyable.  Aside from working the synthesizer, Laufer Jr. also had a mike and was doing backup vocals on and off during the evening.  The best part of the song for me was seeing Moshe Laufer singing along with his son (although he had no microphone) and clearly shepping nachas from his very talented son.

The next singer was introduced by Segal as “another link in the musical chain” and I was wondering if there was perhaps another Laufer who was going to be performing, but it was Yeedle who came on stage, wearing a white, rhinestone studded tie.  (Yes, you read that right.)  It wasn’t over the top or anything, but I have never seen a frum guy in rhinestones before.  Back to the music:  Yeedle sang Ella, followed by a beautiful hartzig song by R’ Akiva Homick of Yerushalayim – again, another song I couldn’t place, but he sang it well.  Yeedle took a minute to mention how he has enjoyed working with Moshe Laufer over the years and thanked Eli Laufer for composed many of his songs.  His final song was Emor Me’at, arranged by Eli Laufer, with Yeedle doing some fancy footwork on the words.  I was surprised that he didn’t sing any songs from Lev Echad, but his set was quite enjoyable.

At this point in time it was 8:25 and taking a quick look around, the place looked quite full.  If it wasn’t a sellout crowd, it was very close to it.  While Yeedle left the stage amid chants of “We want more!” Nachum Segal was back quipping “Don’t know what to Say Asay about the next performer,” and it was obvious that London’s favorite son, Shloime Gertner was up next.  Gertner’s next two songs, Nissim and Hashomayim, were exact duplicates of his performance at the Miami Pesach concert, except that on Pesach he didn’t get to dance with Moshe Laufer.

Gertner exudes sweetness, chayn and simcha when he sings and his voice is really something special.  Clearly the audience agreed as they cheered and applauded for Gertner.  After Hashomayim, a group in the audience started singing Nishmas but Gertner sang Barchi Nafshi, an older Moshe Laufer song and putting his mike in front of Laufer he even got Laufer to sing a few bars of this beautiful song.  Gernter certainly did it justice and as always, I am impressed with just how mellifluous his voice is.  Finally, Gertner sang Say Asay, the song everyone had been waiting for and the crowd really got into it, especially the people sitting around me who were all dancing in their seats.  The spinning lights on the walls of the auditorium were a nice touch, though a bit annoying when they got in your eyes.  At times the music got a little noisy and was a little overpowering, but there was so much energy in the room that no one really seemed to care.

Next was a special tribute to producer and composer Moshe Goldman who did fifteen albums with Laufer and passed away just a few months ago.  Eli Laufer came back out and sang Pnei L’Elbon, a beautiful Moshe Goldman song with lyrics from Yom Kippur Maariv (thanx, JMMaven!) that I have never heard before and the younger Laufer was even more enjoyable on this song than he was with his first.

Nachum Segal introduced the next performer, the ever ebullient Lipa Schmelczer whose new album, according to Segal, is one of the best selling Jewish music albums ever.  Lipa bounded on stage wearing a chartreuse bekesha embroidered with flowers singing Hora Yes, Lashon Hora No.  He was dancing and spinning all over the stage and while I don’t speak Yiddish, it was easy to get the gist of this strangely addictive song.  At one point Lipa broke into a rap and there were some very funky sounds coming out of the band, but as always, Lipa is just plain fun.  This was actually the first time I have ever seen Lipa live and I found him to be ten times better in person that he is on an album.

Lipa took a few minutes to chat with the audience, confessing that while all the other performers spoke about all the times they have worked with Moshe laufer, Meimka D’Lipa was actually the first of his albums to feature the talents of Moshe Laufer, although Lipa actually sang with Laufer at the age of seven, on his brother Zisha’s CD.  Lipa  invited everyone to join him in at his Airmont, New York, Shul for a very special Kabalas Shabbos, saying his Shabbos guest, Shloime Gertner would be davening for the amud.    Kabalas Shabbos?  It is not Kabalas Shabbos I want to hear, it is zemiros.  Mrs. Schmelczer,  do you mind if we walk over on Shabbos and join you for a meal?  Let me know what I can bring!

Continuing the Shabbos theme, Lipa introduced Ve’anpaha Ne’hirin, a beautiful slow song from his album, with the words that immediately precede Barchu from Friday night Maariv, explaining how people tend to rush through these beautiful words, in a hurry to say Barchu and start Maariv.  The strings in the introduction were breathtaking and Lipa started this song from Nachum Segal’s podium, as if he were the chazzan standing by the amud.  It was beautiful and hartzig.

Lipa, who is an entertainer as much as a singer kept the audience spellbound, saying that he had been asked backstage why Hentelach isn’t on his new album.  “You don’t ask the Rambam why cheilek vov doesn’t have cheilek hay in it, do you?” responded Lipa, explaining that he has so many songs, so much good material to work with and there are only so many songs that he can put on each album.  Another anecdote Lipa told had someone complaining that the songs on Meimke D’Lipa weren’t particularly singable, to which Lipa replied, “But that is good.  I need to make a living!  I will sing the songs and you can hum along!”  Lipa has such personality and truly embodies the phrase simchas hachaim.  It is wonderful to see how Lipa bounced back from the fiasco that was the first Big Event and came back bigger and better than ever.

Lipa’s next song was Mizmor L’Soda a wild song that had the crowd roaring and it was very entertaining to hear the Shira choir singing backup on a rock song.  During the chorus, Lipa jogged rapidly in place, picking his knees way up high and it was a riot to see his payos bobbing up and down.  At one point, Lipa was playing air guitar, accompanying Ari Boiangiu.

After welcoming concert coordinator Menachem Toker in flawless Hebrew (how is it that all these singers speak Hebrew so well, but so few of our yeshiva bochurim do?) Lipa welcomed Zevi Tyberg, son of producer Yossi Tyberg. Lipa spoke about how sometimes life can be difficult and filled with obstacles, dedicating his next song to Yossi Tyberg’s young son who was in a car accident several weeks ago.  Lipa spoke about Yossi Tyberg’s emunah and positive outlook through a difficult situation and sang Shwekey’s Ki Hashem, adding in some English lyrics about having bitachon.  Lipa invited the audience to sing along and this was the first time during the night that I found myself in tears.  I respectfully ask everyone reading this review to stop reading right now and take a moment to say a kapittel of Tehillim for Boruch Mordechai ben Tessel, who is in need of a refuah sheleima.  While Lipa finished with the song, the audience kept on singing this heartfelt song that was clearly a tefilla in its own right.  Lipa joined in, giving the song an absolutely stunning ending.

Ok, people, I wasn’t joking.  Stop reading and say one perek of Tehillim.  Now.  Every tefilla counts.

Lipa’s final song, Hentelach, was one of the two moments during the night when the place just exploded.  Lipa asked everyone to stand up, and the audience was on their feet, screaming, singing along, waving their hands and dancing.  There were even a few screaming girls dancing on the side.  What can you say about Hentelach?  From a musical perspective it makes no sense, but the song is just insane and it really speaks to people.  There is no question that Lipa connected with his audience in a very big way and is plain and simple, hotter than ever.

Nachum Segal came back onstage, reminding the audience that the evening was a fundraiser for Vaad Haolami, an Israeli tzedaka that raises money for sick children, even giving a shout out to a girl in the audience who was recovering from a transplant, funded by the Vaad.  After a video about Vaad Olami, Hilly Gross took the podium, calling the evening a “summit meeting of the greatest Jewish music of our day, all on one stage”.  He spoke about Lior Yisroel, a 12 ½ year old Israeli boy, whose story was featured in the concert booklet.  Lior has a massive brain stem tumor and requires surgery in the United States, at a cost of $300,000.  Not only were there volunteers in the audience collecting money,  but Gross divulged that all the singers for the concert had donated their payment for appearing in the concert to this very important cause.

After a very brief intermission, it was time for Avraham Fried, who just celebrated his 30^th anniversary in the music business.  Again, Fried began singing from somewhere offstage, finally emerging to sing Ki Hamitzva.  If you have ever seen Fried in person, he is not a physically big guy by any stretch of the imagination, yet it is amazing to see how someone so slight can dominate a stage that has twenty other people on it.  Fried’s voice was full, rich and absolutely gorgeous last night proving once again how it is that after all these years he is still at the top of his game.  The crowd clearly enjoyed Avremel, repeatedly calling out requests for Tanya.

Fried did a mini trivia game, having the band play a snippet of an intro and having the audience guess the song.  First was R’tzey, then Tanya, then turning to Moshe Laufer he asked him to take a bow, while at the same time, asking the audience to give Laufer a standing ovation.  Fried explained how a singer brings a song to an arranger that may consist of just a part A and a part B, but it is the arranger who adds in the introduction and other parts, bringing thesong to life.  Fried launched into Modeh Ani, a prime example of a good song, taken to a whole new level by a top notch arrangement.

Fried introduced his next song as one of “the top ten songs I wish I would have recorded”, Laufer’s Elokai Neshama,which was sung originally by Dudu Fisher.  The video screen in the background, showed video of Lior Yisroel, and when they superimposed the video of Avremel singing the words “v’ata asid l’itla mimeni” over the Vaad Olami video of Lior Yisroel it was an incredibly emotional moment.

Next, Fried spoke about achdus among klal yisroel in general, the singers who graced the stage and even the audience  who came together as one to support Eretz Yisroel during these turbulent times, and specifically Vaad Olami.  Finally he introduced a medley of songs that Laufer did for him, saying “I had the good fortune to bring these songs to the world”.  The first song was Invei Hagefen, a song that Moshe Laufer composed in honor of his own engagement, followed by Keitzad Merakdim, which Laufer composed for his own wedding.  Laufer joined Avremel and they danced together.  It must have been getting hot up there, because Fried took off his jacket and put it down on the piano before launching into K’sheim Sheani, followed by V’hayu L’mishisa, as he danced all over the stage.  He followed up with L’vinyanim, another song I didn’t recognize and finally Chazak.  Seeing Fried playing “air violin” with the string section as he sang Chazak was definitely a memorable moment and at the end of the song, he changed the words from “ad bi’as goel, chazak” to “Moshe, Moshe, chazak!” a very nice tribute to the special guest of honor.

The next song started off with Shai Bachar playing an introduction on the piano, and Avraham Fried at the piano singing the opening words of “If I Were A Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof.  The audience was a little surprised, to say the least and Fried smiled as he quipped, “Not Moshe’s song, but very similar,” and then switched to Koach.  As Avremel left the stage, Moshe Laufer took the microphone, thanking Avraham Fried for making his songs come alive and giving Fried a bracha that he should always have koach to sing.  Laufer also took a moment to  thank concert coordinator Menachem Toker.

What can you say about Avraham Fried?  Plain and simple, thirty years later, he is still solid gold.

A great night just kept on getting better. After a short video featuring Lipa, MBD, Fried and Yossi Green all shopping together at Pomegranate, one of the evening’s sponsors, it was time for MBD to take the stage.  The band began with a slow klezmer sounding introduction with Mordechai Ben David singing offstage, then bursting onstage singing Keytzad Merakdim, before moving on to V’karev P’zuraynu and Samcheim.

Though the hour was late (10:35 and already two hours and twenty minutes into the show) MBD spoke about how we are facing difficult times, both in world affairs and in tragedies that people are facing on a personal level.  He spoke about how Boruch Chait was once sitting with a sick child who asked him to write a song on the spot, and Chait made up his timeless “Pischu Li”.  MBD spoke about the enormous power that a tzibur can have and once again asked people to daven for those who were in need of refuos and yeshuos.  Seeing video of Lior Yisroel, again with live video of MBD superimposed on the screen, knowing the difficulties that particular people affiliated with the concert were facing, I found myself tearing up for the second time as Mordechai Ben David sang the words “lo amus ki echye” and “pischu li shaarei tzedek”.  It was a truly heartfelt moment, and once again, I will ask you to stop reading and say a perek of Tehillim for Lior ben Shani.  Perhaps the most beautiful part of this touching song is how hopeful and optimistic it is and Laufer was dancing in place by the end of the song.

While there were already two generations of Laufers on stage (both Moshe and his son Eli), MBD called yet another Laufer onstage, 12 year old Benny, whose Bar Mitzvah is in two short months.  Shai Bachar vacated the piano bench and the absolutely adorable and poised Benny Laufer took his place at the piano, accompanying Mordechai Ben David as he sang Mimkomcha.  I will tell you that with such a full orchestra, it was hard to hear the piano, even after Shai Bachar adjusted the microphone, but it was clear that the young Laufer is very gifted, as he played the song without the benefit of sheet music.   All four photographers who had been all over the stage and auditiorium all night converged at the same spot to take pictures of Benny Laufer who seemed very at ease as he looked around smiling, not the least bit intimidated by accompanying the king of Jewish music.

But for me the best moment of the night was when Moshe Laufer, still conducting with his baton in hand, turned to face his youngest son with the proudest smile you have ever seen plastered all over his face.  If that isn’t yiddishe nachas, I don’t know what is.

MBD went on to sing a medley of hits, singing Tov L’hodos, Od Yishama (dancing with Moshe Laufer as he sang), Yibane, Hold On, Ze Shir Shevach and Yerushalayim  Is Not For Sale.  The applause was absolutely thunderous and there is no question that the crowd enjoyed every minute of MBD’s performance.

And then the orchestra started playing Omar Rabbi Akiva and from the moment MBD opened his mouth to sing the first note, the place exploded, marking the second time during the night that the crowd went absolutely and completely crazy.  Everyone was on their feet, dancing, clapping, singing along, whistling, cheering.  The place was absolutely sizzling and instead of watching Mordechai Ben David, I turned around and watched the crowd who was completely caught up in the music.  It should be easy to identify anyone who was at the concert last night, because they will all be hoarse today after all the singing that went on during this song.  Imagine, a rock song, sung by a Zaidy who was been singing for almost forty years and is still as hot as ever.  Just goes to show you that if you are talented and keep in touch with what the people want to hear, you can still wipe the floors with everyone else out there.

It was already very, very late by the time Shai Bachar left the piano and finally time for Yossi Green to come out onstage.  The audience was ready for Green and were singing Anavim before Green ever came out.  Had Green waited for the audience to quiet down, we would probably all still be at Brooklyn College.  Green just started playing and waited for the singing to die down, but it didn’t, probably because the song he started was Anavim.

All the performers came onstage to join Green at the piano and with Lipa starting the song.  Each performer did a beautiful job on this stunning song, with Green finally taking the end.  The song ended with Mordechai Ben David, who was standing directly behind Yossi Green, giving Green a hug, putting his hand on his head and bentshing him that he should continue to write beautiful songs.

It already after 11 o’clock at this point and my understanding is that Mordechai Ben David had to leave after his set, but since the crowd had decided that Anavim was the song they wanted to hear, Green started with that song, which wouldn’t have been the same without MBD.  Sadly, that was the only song that Green played other than the finale and I was disappointed not to hear more from the very talented Green.

The finale was Shiru Lamelech, a song that is so good, it is possibly the best song Yeedle will ever record.  It was clear that they hadn’t really rehearsed this song and it started with MBD signaling people, telling them who should sing when.  They were all dancing a little two step and it was cute to see them all try to stay in sync with each other, especially seeing the very tall Yeedle try to get his arm around the much shorter Lipa’s shoulders.  At one point, Mordechai Ben David waved at someone in the audience, then left the group and went over to the audience, giving a knippel to a disabled boy.  One by one, all the key players ended up on stage, with all three Laufers joining the line, as well as Menachem Toker, Gershy Moskowitz and Yossi Tyberg.

Avraham Fried asked Yossi Green leave the piano and join the group and then stopped the music completely, asking the entire audience to stand up.  He asked everyone to say a tefila for Yossi Tyberg’s son (if you missed the Tehillim name before, it is Boruch Mordechai ben Tessel) and expressed fervent wishes for b’suros tovos.  Tyberg, a model of emunah and optimism, waved his fist in the air and I can only join Avremel in personally wishing the Tyberg family a refuah sheleima and simchos b’karov.

The concert came to a close at 11:15, amid singing, clapping and the good news that Vaad Olami received some sizable donations during the evening.  There was video taken during this concert and if and when this video becomes available for commercial release, I strongly suggest you buy it.  It was truly the lineup of a lifetime.

If I had to sum up this concert I could do it in only two words.

Musical excellence.

It was a major event for Gush Etzion when Yaakov Shwekey arrived on June 2^nd for a one-night-only concert in the huge new outdoor amphitheater in Efrat. Set right into the slopes of the Judean hills, on the outskirts of the Rimon neighborhood, once there one could watch the arriving people streaming down the winding path in ever increasing numbers as it got closer to show time. I arrived early with Lexi, her friend Kareen, Eitan and Maya and we patiently waited for the main event.

The last big concert I was at was the legendary Paul McCartney concert in Tel Aviv.  In a city of 400,000, there were more than 40,000 fans, crowded in the outdoor Park Hayarkon. Of course you can’t compare McCartney to Shwekey; the crowd that packed this amphitheater was estimated at 4000 people – one tenth of the McCartney crowd. Actually, since the Gush has a population of only about 30,000, relatively speaking I suppose Shwekey did even better than Paul…

The concert opened with a recorded song, “V’shavu Banim l’gvulam” (And your sons shall return to their borders) accompanied by a moving multimedia p

resentation, on massive screens, of our soldiers that are missing in action. A special focus was placed on Gilad Shalit who has been in captivity for nearly four years. They got us in our guts – we were all theirs.

Aharon Razel then opened the concert with two songs. When he started singing “Higiya zman” (“The time has come”) dozens of exuberant youths decided the time really had come and ran to the front and started dancing. We happened to have gotten excellent seats with a great view; when dozens of kids started dancing in front of us, we had a view of them… But it was all good.

Finally Shwekey got on stage. The crowd went wild! I was sitting there thinking, Now here is a religious singer, wearing a huge, black kippah on his head, singing religious songs about “Toyrah”, playing to this crowd of modern orthodox people. Nobody looked or dressed like him, hundreds and hundreds of youth, some not looking religious at all, are totally getting into the music. Yaakov Shwekey is not like many Jewish singers who try to weave religious content into a pop music sound; he simply delivers authentic, Jewish music. And yet he manages to appeal to all ages, from the most religious to the barely-at-all. Appeal? The people were going nuts over him!

Even the guards, all official in their yellow reflective vests, could be found dancing and singing along like the rest of us. Can’t say I’ve ever seen that before. In fact, about those guards: At one point I was fairly close to the guardrail taking pictures and a guard approached me. I thought he was going to make me move. But instead he offered to go even closer and take pictures for me!

After the intermission Shwekey invited about a dozen uniformed IDF soldiers up to thank them, and through them all of the soldiers, for defending the Jewish nation and Jewish people. He sang the beautiful song “Im Eshkachech” (If I forget thee O Jerusalem). It was gorgeous! Even the soldiers were crying.

A surprise shout-out to Lexi’s dear friend who is engaged to be married preceded a song dedicated to her and her fiancé. It reminded me that this crowd of 4000 people was in some way an intimate gathering of neighbors. A BIG intimate gathering of neighbors… A few more big hits were sung as the crowd got more and more involved by dancing and singing like crazy.

Shwekey spoke about Jews all over the world being “Areivim zeh lezeh” (Responsible for one another). That we are all the same, regardless of where –and how – we live. From the concert he gave I’d say he really delivered on that message – through the songs he sang, the media in the presentation, and the crowd that he drew.

Yaakov Shwekey finished with an encore of “V’hi She’amda” dedicated to Shayetet 13, our naval Special Forces unit that was ambushed on the Gaza flotilla this week. The enthusiastic crowd joined in as one, “v’HaKadosh Baruch Hu matzilainu miyadam” – And G-d will save us from their hands. As we watched the ending fireworks explode in the sky, it was truly as if G-d were punctuating the prayers evoked in the songs.

[Republished from "The Aliyah Blog" which you can check out here.]

What an amazing night! Lipa promised a night of firsts and you better believe he delivered!  In your entire life, have you ever been to a concert where there was a desk and couch on the stage?  Country Yossi hosted the breakthrough format from behind a wooden desk,with Lipa sitting in one of two silver, comfy looking couches. Throughout the night Lipa sang songs from his brand new CD and in between songs talked with guests about the creation of the CD.

The show began with Lipa sitting by a typewriter. The music started up really strong,  with a disco party intro featuring Yanky Katina on guitar, Shai Bachar on keyboards, Nir Graff on Bass, Eran Asias on Drums, Samuel Torres on Percussion and Shloime Cohen on Sax.  The show was produced by Chesky Zeiger and Yanky Katina with sound by Ilya Lishinsky. Background vocals were provided by Shauly Grossman, Yitzchok Landau and Lipa’s Nephew, Yanky Schmeltzer.

The show began with Lipa appearing on stage singing, Splash, the opening track from the new CD.  This concept for this song was a joint collaboration between Avraham Fried and Lipa. The song really rocked and people reacted immediately to the catchy lyrics.  Country Yossi came on stage and sat down at the desk, where he and Lipa discussed the significance of the number 16 for this album, which has 16 tracks.  The CD is being released on May 16th.  Lipa only sleeps 6 hours a day leaving him 16 hours to give out his heart. The address of Lipa’s new shul is number 16, and so on…A video of Lipa and Avraham Fried talking about, Splash, was next on the program.  This was an extended version of the Splash video that is currently on YouTube, that had lots of fun information added into it. Lipa and Fried really looked like they had a fun time together. Here’s to hoping we see more from the two of them!

Lipa explained the next song, Chosson Domeh, saying that at every wedding he see the Chosson asking for so many things, and he reminds himself that a Chosson is takkeh like a Melech, as it says, Chosson Domeh Lemelech. Lipa thought this would be a great wedding song and I’m sure we will be hearing  lots and lots of it very soon!

Yisroel Lamm was the next person called to the couch by Country Yossi and they spoke about many things including how Yisroel Lamm got started. (On a dare, by then Neginah manager Issac Gross). Lipa  sang  a song which he sang as a child on Zishe Schmeltzer’s CD, which was arranged by Yisroel Lamm. Yisroel remembered the song but admitted he didn’t recall the then young Lipa.

The next song Lipa sang was the title track, which Lamm arranged, and he actually conducted the song live.   This was followed by a video of  Beri Weber talking about Mi Chochem, a country style, Kumzits song that he composed five years ago.  Lipa loved the song so much he just had to have on his album. The crowd  waved their hands in the air and hummed along as Lipa sang this song.

Another video, this time Lipa on the phone, in his car, talking to Pinky Weber about the next song,  ”the Language of Music”, which Pinky composed.

Country Yossi called Yitzchok Landau up to the couch, and they discussed “Melech Malchei Rachamim”, the  beautiful, slow song he composed. Lipa first met Yitzchok visiting a relative of Yitzchok’s in the hospital and Yitzchok asked Lipa if he  could play him some original songs.   Lipa agreed and a friendship was created.

The next song was an amazing rock song titled “Mizmor Lesoda” which had the entire crowd on its feet screaming and singing along. This is sure to be a concert favorite for many years to come!

Michoel Schnitzler had his turn on the couch and they chatted  about when Michoel and Lipa first met and Lipa’s experiences working with Michoel and his nephew, Naftali Schnitzler. Michoel really made the crowd laugh, and we learned a lot at the same time.

Next they interviewed Shauly Grossman about the song “A Gut Vort”.   Shauly talked about his relationship with Lipa and how they bounced countless song ideas back and forth.   Of all those songs, “A Gut Vort” felt like the strongest song and they decided to put it on the CD.

Then Lipa sang the phenomenal Hora, Yes. Loshan Hora – No!, which was cute and  creative with lots of fun lyrical shtick. Lipa was dancing like crazy on the stage.

They then showed an extended video of Motti Ilowitz talking about his song and his relationship with Lipa. Lipa showed us some more video of the string session being recorded for the next song. Lipa dedicated the beautiful song  to Yossi Tyberg’s son, Boruch Mordechai ben Tessel, may he have a complete and speedy Refuah Sheleimah!

As good as the concert was, they saved the best material for the end. First we were treated to a wonderfully interesting interview with the one and only Yossi Green, who composed a song called Ich Hob Gechapt.  This was followed by a video of MBD discussing his song, Ayeh. MBD talked about how well Lipa sang the song and how excited he was to have Lipa was singing this track. Lipa  sang the song, which was another amazing rock song that is sure to be another concert staple.

Lipa  closed out the show with Achron Achron Chaviv, a song he sang for the first time at the Great Parade in Crown Heights and was featured even earlier on JMR as a sneak peek.

All in all a truly amazing show.  It was fun, interesting, exciting and as promised, a night of firsts, full of wonderful and groundbreaking new Jewish music.

You can now buy Lipa’s CD in most NY area stores before Shabbos, and around the country by Sunday and Monday. You can also download the CD at MostlyMusic.com, which includes the full 40 page booklet in PDF form.

SPECIAL REPORT BY COLLIVE.COM

Binyamin Moshe was declared the winner of the 5770 A Jewish Star singing competition at the Soul II Soul concert Sunday.

Binyamin Moshe, 20, was declared the winner of ‘A Jewish Star’ singing competition Sunday, at the finals which were held at the Soul II Soul 5770 concert in Brooklyn’s School of Music.

Each of the finalists stepped out on stage to roaring applause from the audience and delivered strong performances. But ultimately, the Israeli born Moshe, who learns in the 770 Yeshiva in Crown Heights, impressed judges Avraham Fried, Michael Sojcher and Mendy Pellin and swayed an exuberant crowd of 1,100.

Equipped with a guitar and sparkling personality, Moshe performed his own composition “Romemo” which he recorded for his audition in the contest.

“I called my parents immediately,” Moshe told COLlive.com after receiving the first A Jewish Star trophy. “They were awake and ran to wake up my 6 brothers with the news.”

Comedian Pellin noted: “You got what it takes, although at first I thought that guitar was an Uzi gun.”

Sojcher of Neshoma Orchestra explained: “People enjoy innovation, and his song had a 2010 sound to it. There are a lot of good singers, but then a ‘chidush’ comes along.”

Moshe’s first competitor, Avraham Ohayon, 24, a newlywed from Strasbourg, France, sang the hit song ‘Ale Katan’ in what Sojcher called a “fearless performance.”

The second finalist, Shuky Sadon, 20, from Paris and now Brooklyn, dedicated a heartfelt ‘Machnisei Rachamim’ to his brother Mendel OBM. Fried praised his “crisp voice.”

Jewish singer Benny Friedman was the surprise emcee for the finals, who bantered with contestants and judges alike, keeping the mood upbeat.

As part of his prize, Moshe sang Yossi Green‘s Tanya with Fried. He also received a $500 cash prize sponsored by Duddy Farkash of the Farkash Financial Group.

Soul II Soul’s 8th annual concert featured Fried as the lead singer accompanied by the Chassidishe Kapelye conducted by chazzan Berel Zucker. Fried gave a rousing performance of familiar and beloved niggunim, encouraging the crowd to join in and sing along with him.

Faithful to the theme Rak Chabad, only Lubavitch niggunim were sung and Musical Director Avremi G and his musicians were all in fedora hats and untucked white shirts (a Lubavitch staple).

Throughout the concert, video footage by Yankee Teitelbaum of life in the Crown Heights shtetel were projected. Gan Israel images were shown while Fried sang a medley of popular Lubavitch camp songs.

The concert, benefiting the education of children with special needs, was produced by Shmuel and Tzirl Goldman and Naftali Olivestone of NO/IT Productions.

The Goldmans, directors of Chasdei Soul II Soul, surprised Yossi and Mica Soffer, owners of COLlive and producers of ‘A Jewish Star,’ with a large silver Kos Shel Eliyahu.

“I give the concert 5 stars,” said Rabbi Ari Raskin, Director of Chabad of Brooklyn Heights. “It was truly phenomenal.”

]]> http://jewishmusicreport.com/2010/03/08/soul-ii-soul-jewish-star-recap-and-photos/feed/ 0 http://jewishmusicreport.com/2010/01/10/concert-review-benny-friedman-with-8th-day/ http://jewishmusicreport.com/2010/01/10/concert-review-benny-friedman-with-8th-day/#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:23:21 +0000 Kol Isha http://jewishmusicreport.com/?p=3806

I’m sorry. If you missed the Benny Friedman/8^th Day Concert, the first in the Chelsea Unplugged concert series, you missed an absolutely awesome concert. Plain and simple, it was such a great night and such a terrific concert, that I just can’t wait for the next one in the series.

I will confess that I wasn’t quite sure what to make of a concert that was being labeled “unplugged”. Sure, it refers to the instruments, but I was guessing this concert was going to have a whole different vibe and as someone whose taste runs to the fairly traditional, I wasn’t quite sure if this was going to work for me. But given how much I loved Taamu (and for all those of you who are tired of hearing how much people love Benny Friedman, I suggest you stop reading right now) I figured it was going to be a fun night. Maybe a little looser, maybe a little less conventional but how could you go wrong?

It wasn’t any one thing in particular that made this concert so special. It was the way all the pieces of the puzzle came together that made it work so well. The venue. The band. The audience. And of course, the wonderful performers. Combine all those ingredients and it made for an event that was truly unique.

Let’s start at the beginning. The concert was held at the Chelsea Shul, Emunath Israel, on 23^rd Street in Manhattan, a beautiful, historic building. This was an old style Shul, with stunning architecture, wooden benches, the kind of Shul you don’t see very often any more. The performance was held in the Shul itself, with the band setting up on the elevated area in front of the Aron Kodesh, which was itself a work of art. While the room itself probably held 500 people, everyone was very close to the action. There were no bad seats in this room. I actually spent a good part of the concert standing in the doorway in back, and even from there the view was great. Add to that really awesome lighting and you have the setting for a great concert.

Shai Bachar’s band featured Greg Wall playing both flute and saxophone, Mitch Stein on guitar, Rich Stein playing percussion, Fima Ephron on acoustic bass, with Bachar himself on the keyboard.The band, working off Yitzy Spinner’s arrangments, was perfectly suited to this event.They were leibidic, enthusiastic but never overpowered the vocalists, or to put it a little differently, they really rocked!

Instead of people sitting in their seats just listening, the audience connected with the performers and were actually part of the action. It was really something special and made a great night and a great lineup even better.

And the performers? Amazing. Fantastic. Awesome. I could go on and on for pages about just how good they were, but I am guessing that you just want to read the review. So let’s get on with it.

The night started off with an introduction by veteran concert producer Bernie Dove introducing the Shai Bachar band, who immediately got the audience going with their awesome sound. By the time they finished their opening number, the audience was already pumped and responded enthusiastically when Dove asked if they were ready to hear Benny. Benny came on with Bentzy Marcus and they opened with a set featuring Motzei Shabbos songs. I actually liked that they opened with stuff that was neither Benny Friedman nor 8^th Day music. We all know that performers can sing their own music. It is refreshing to hear them sing other compositions and see how well they handle different styles of music. In this case, they were both amazing and it was the perfect opening set for a Motzei Shabbos concert. Benny’s next song, Keili Ata, was composed by the Alter Rebbe and was a beautiful tribute in honor on the Rebbe’s yahrtzeit. While we are always clamoring for more new songs to sing, there are so many beautiful songs already out there and the audience joined Benny singing this heartwarming song.

If you thought the night was going to turn into a kumzitz, you thought wrong. Benny’s next song was Taamu, the title track from his album and the electricity in the room was palpable, with everyone singing along and moving with the music. After only a few songs, it is obvious why Benny has become such a hot commodity on the Jewish music scene. Listening to his CD, you can hear how talented he is, but seeing him live you realize just how much he loves people and how he connects with an audience. And people just love that. They don’t just want to watch a performance, they want to be a part of it. They don’t want a singer who stands on stage and smiles benevolently because he knows how talented he is. Audiences want to see a performer who is happy to be there and so clearly appreciates the people who are spending both their time and their money to come to a concert.

8^th Day took the stage next, amid chants of “8^th Day, 8^th Day!” and once again, I was surprised by just how good they were. The led off with Yiddish Country, followed by (what else, but) 8^th Day. I am imagining that an audience like this is every performer’s dream. So enthusiastic, so into the music and so leibidic as it was obvious that everyone there was having such a great time. Next, Bentzy told a story about traveling to the Ukraine where he visited some cousins. Their famous uncle, Avraham Fried, had sent some CDs but they were still sitting in their shrink wrap, because they had no CD player. The sight of those CDs still sitting unopened, moved Bentzy so much that he composed a song on the plane home from Russia about both the miracles we have in our lives and all the miracles we need to get through life. That song, Rain, was their next number followed by the last song of their set, Tracht Gut, after which they left the stage amid thunderous applause.

And the applause just kept on going as Benny Friedman took the stage singing No Lyrics. Without exaggeration, you could feel the energy in the room as the crowd joined Benny singing this infectious niggun, which only went through the roof when Benny asked the band to stop playing, while both he and the audience kept on singing the song. The next song, Moshe Laufer’s Elokai Neshama was beautiful and simple and Benny’s delivery was perfect for the song. Next up, another slow beauty, Batuach Ani, complete with Benny’s own yud gimmel middos harmony that I just loved on Taamu. After two slow, chilled songs, Benny rocked the house with Letova and again I don’t think there was anyone in the room who wasn’t singing along.

Next, Benny told of how Avi Newmark sent him a beautiful song called B’sheim, which reminded him of a story he had once heard from Israeli soldiers. The chayalim told him that normally, they managed to keep their fear in check, but one of the rare moments when they just couldn’t manage to conquer their fear was when crossing a mine field. The soldiers sang a song to remind them that Hashem is always with them, with the timeless words from Krias Shema Al Hamita, which say that the Malachim are on all four sides of us, watching over us. Benny invited surprise guest Yitzy Spinner to join him onstage, which was a surprise not just for the audience, but  for Yitzy as well who had no idea he was going to be  singing.  Nonetheless, Yitzy came up, picked up a guitar and did a gorgeous duet with Benny, with a comedic moment when Yitzy asked Benny for the key. Benny responded saying “I don’t know chords, just go like this (he mimes strumming a guitar) and I’ll sing.” Clearly the crowd loved the song because it ended amid cheers of “One more time! One more time!”

Benny took a moment to for thank you’s: producers Avi Newmark, Avram Zamist and Bernie Dove, the sponsors, the entire audience for coming, the friend who came to the concert even though he was probably missing his own Sheva Brachos, his in laws, his wife, his uncles and his entire family. Then he spoke briefly about people he knows personally who are going through difficult times and the tzaros that Klal Yisroel as a whole seem to be experiencing and asked the angels on high to intercede on our behalf as he sang Chaim Yisrael’s Malachim.

The concert would not have been complete without a mention of Benny’s recent trip to Mumbai in commemoration of the first yahrtzeit of the Kedoshim who gave their lives there. Yitzy Spinner returned to the stage to join Benny in singing his touching composition Chasoif, which was poignant and unbelievably touching, with a fabulous guitar riff by Mitch Stein. Benny led the crowd in another rousing chorus of “8^th Day, 8^th Day!” and the Marcus brothers took the stage, singing Yiddishe Mama of Mumbai. Continuing with the Mumbai theme, Benny told how he and his wife stood in the streets of Mumbai on the day of the yahrtzeit, hearing students sing the timeless words “Kol haolam kulo gesher tzar me’od” in Hindi and then went on to sing the song in both Hindi and English. While the mood in the room had turned slightly somber recalling the horrific massacre, this song was uplifting and inspiring and as the song just got faster and faster, amid swirling lights, the entire room was energized and everyone was singing along and going absolutely wild.

The energy level in the room just kept on soaring as Benny launched into Moshiach, from his Taamu album, along with a great Greg Wall saxophone solo. There was the requisite dancing in the aisles, clapping, singing along and by this point in time, I don’t think there was anyone in the room who wasn’t having an amazing time. Poor Bernie Dove. I don’t think anyone was too happy to see him get up on the stage and thank everyone for coming, as the crowd chanted “We want more!” But all concerts have to end sometime, and as the lights came on, people stood up and began putting on their coats.

G-d bless Bernie who shouted out “Turn the lights off!!” followed by “Do you want another song?” The audience was more than ready for an encore and Benny and the Marcus brothers certainly delivered, first with a fabulous rendition of Yaavducha and finally with one last rendition of Moshiach. After that, with his trademark humor, Benny thanked everyone for coming and told everyone to please drive safely, pointed to one audience member and said “except you. You are drunk.” Another moment that just showcased Benny’s charm, sweetness and terrific sense of humor. And you thought Benny was just another good voice? This guy has it all and is so endearing that he is even better live than he is on his CD.

All in all? This was an awesome concert. Great music, everything done right but still chilled and a crazy good time. While it certainly was a don’t miss concert, no need to get all sad and morose if you missed it, because this was just the first in a series of Chelsea unplugged concerts. There will be plenty more top notch music coming your way from this seasoned team of producers. Stay tuned for details of upcoming concerts which will be released as soon as they are available.

To view all the pictures from this concert click here.

Videos below:

Wow! What a blast! A cold blast at that. I showed up in Manhattan a good half hour before the Shwekey & Friends show. I circled Manhattan like days of old, trying to find a parking spot, however, there was not one in sight. I figured being a half hour early would get me a street spot; I figured wrong. The snow had taken away what was left of the open spots and everything else was taken up by snowed in cars, awaiting some good shoveling. So if you want to make some good money, head to Manhattan to shovel. Anyway, I finally parked in a garage at the hefty cost of forty some dollars and I was on my way to pick up my tickets from the will call window. Unfortunately, there was a massive line down the block and I didn’t get into the show until 20 minutes after the announced starting time. Luckily, they were on Jewish standard time, and I showed up at the end of the instrumental music at the introduction of the concert.

I showed my ticket to the usher and my wife and I were showed to our comfortable seat. Seriously, it was a fantastic seat and would have been better if the guy behind me didn’t keep calling out random things in the middle of every song. “Yaakov! V’hee Sheomda! Shmuelly!” Seriously sir, I know who is on the stage and what music is going to be playing when the singer himself already announced it, and who is Shmuelly?

Regardless, it was a great seat and the show began with Nachum Segal, the master of ceremonies promising the crowd another Caesaria. Another Caesaria? I want a Manhattan, not a repeat of a past show! It’s okay, I think he meant it would be as good as the last concert we’ve all seen on DvD. Segal announces Yaakov Shwekey and he enters to his first track of his latest album V’ohafta. The music was pumping, the crowd was clapping, and it was faster than on his album. It was definitely not recorded vocals or music. Shwekey showed off some fancy footwork in the middle of the song, which pasted smiles on the crowd around me. He’s a fantastic entertainer.

Shwekey thanked everyone for coming out and said that it was a special event for him because one of the tzedakah groups involved in sponsoring this concert was his wife’s tzedaka organization. He said that they just finished a new state of the art building for the charity. He then went into a Chupa Medley, featuring Mehayra, Sameach & Aishes Chayil. At the end, the crowd continued Aishes Chayil and he gave us an encore of the chorus once more. After the medley ended, he went back into a fast song with Hein Am from his previous album and ended it with another encore demanded by the audience.

Shwekey then proceeded to call out the Shapiro brothers of Acheinu and he thanked Yochanan Shapiro for his compositions and then they sang those two compositions together. They were Ilon from his latest album and Im Eshkacheich from his third album. Acheinu’s back up vocals added a lot to both songs.

Acheinu then left the stage and Shwekey started off Veshochanti from his latest album. He got the crowd to say “Nu Nu Nu” for him at each appropriate point in the song. It was really fantastic. The only problem was, he sounded a bit rushed.

Shwekey then called out Baruch Levine and sang a medley of songs composed by Baruch Levine. Levine played the piano and they sang a duet throughout. The songs were Chasoif, V’zakeni & V’hoo Keli.

Baruch Levine then went off the stage and Shwekey went into a medley of old songs, including Omar R’ Akiva, Yedid & Shomatti.

After the medley, Shwekey called out Yossi Green and together, they sand Tshuva from Shwekey’s latest album, which I must admit, sounded a lot better than on the album and closed with a beautiful rendition of Anovim.

Nachum Segal then came out to announce the sponsors of the concert and gave the men a chance to daven maariv.

Shwekey then came back after the videos and announcements and sang Mimkomcha from his latest album, which he said is “one of my favorite songs”. Next up came Ben Bag Bag, which got the crowd pumped up again. At this point in time, I noticed The Cool Jew in the aisle to the left of me taking pictures of the concert, which I’m sure you can see on his website. Also I saw JMR’s Baruch Ezagui taking photos as well.

Shwekey announced he was calling out one of his favorite composers and that every shabbos table has songs of his being sung. Abie Rotenberg came out and told the story of how he had two planes that were scheduled to fly to NY, but both of them were canceled because of the snow. He then took a small jet to Newark and got to the show as it started so he announced to the crowd that his practice was right now and then took off his jacket and told Shwekey to do the same. They then sang Abie’s classics. Al Kein, Naar Hayisi & Mama Rochel.

After Abie left, Shwekey sang another medley of older songs. These were Hu Yiftach, Yerushalayim, Pisome & Shehechiyanu. Afterwards, Shwekey called on Yonatan Razel, which the crowd was screaming for. First they sang Shlomo Carlebach’s Esa Einai and then sang the amazing V’hee Sheomda together.

Shwekey then asked if any sefardi friends were in the house and sang Natzliach from his latest album. He seemed to get tired towards the end of it and it was not nearly as good as the rest of the concert. Finally, he called out the whole cast and they sang Racheim together. I left during Racheim so I could get my car before everyone else got there. I didn’t feel like staying in Manhattan all night.

All in all, it was a wonderful night. I didn’t hear Ad Bli Dai, and I’m assuming that he sang it as the last song, although I’m not sure. This is the second Shwekey concert I’ve been to and to me, they are officially the best.

See a full gallery of photos from the evening here, taken by Baruch Ezagui