When Israeli rock legends Mashina walked onto the specially-designed stage at
Tel Aviv’s Barby club Sunday night, with no introduction and a few mundane
songs, it looked as if the night would be uneventful. While the show got off to
a slow start, by the end of the evening everyone was on their feet dancing and
singing along to the nostalgic hits.
What made this gig unique was the
“theater in the round” style stage, with the band members sitting in a circle
facing each other. In an attempt to replicate MTV’s famous Unplugged concerts,
an intimate mood was set by candles and the crowd’s close proximity to the
stage.
RELATED:
Still riding the night train to Cairo
Concert Review: Gogol BordelloThe legendary Barby venue, which lends itself well to rock
performances, was the perfect setting for this special show with its various
levels and little nooks and crannies.
While most of the audience was in
the late 20s to early 30s age bracket, having listened to Mashina as kids in the
early 90s, there was also representation well into the 40s and 50s.
The
opening number of “Az Lama Li Politica Ahshav” (Why politics for me now) got the
show off to a slow start and the crowd took quite some time to get into the
groove. The pace picked up as the gig went on, and the audience started to
participate a little more during “Bederech El Hayam” (On the way to the
ocean).
While during the first few songs the band members didn’t really
say anything, to each other or to the crowd, as the evening continued some
playful banter began, with band members joking about the fact that could
actually see each other’s faces while performing for once, and that this was
putting them off.
The turning point in the evening was when lead singer
Yuval Banai broke out with a verse of the classic Eurovision hit “Hallelujah.”
With the whole crowd singing along in unison, the intimate venue suddenly came
alive and the band rolled out some of their most well-known hits.
The
choice to leave the best till last was a wise one as it meant that the evening
ended on a high. While the classic “Ein Makom Aher” (There is no other place)
had everyone singing along, it was the timeless “Ahake Lach Besadot” (I’ll wait
for you in the fields) that really brought down the house. The band left the
stage to a standing ovation.
Less than five minutes later they were back
on stage for the encore, which kept everyone on their feet until the bitter
end.
Judging by the cheering fans, along with band’s clear expression of
enjoyment at what they were doing, it’s fair to say that these rockers are
growing old gracefully, and are better than ever.