Musicfile: Casing out the Promised Land

The Animal Electric crowd was as enthusiastic as anywhere I have ever seen a show.

By ZEV FORMAN
A couple Thursdays back I got into a cab and headed north to Ramat Hachayal, a part of the city so far from the center I have trouble calling it Tel Aviv. I don't like "leaving the city," but this night had something special in store, I was going to see a band called Animal Collective at the Goldstar Zappa club. Israel rarely sees the best of cutting edge rock and roll visiting to play here, so the NIS 200 ticket price and expensive cab ride seemed like a small price to pay in support of the local music scene and for a rocking night. Both the music and the crowd were great. Concertgoer Jen Szapiro, a New Jersey native and current Tel Aviv citizen, referred to the show as, "a dream come true." The dream, she elaborated, was that she did not need to fly to New York, Amsterdam or London for this exceptional show. All she needed was the ticket itself and, as mentioned, an expensive cab ride. In the past year we have been seeing a growing number of great, young, hip acts coming to our shores, including The Silver Jews, Devendra Bernhardt, Will Oldham and Regina Spektor. Also, some of the larger "rock stars" like Roger Waters and Paul McCartney have visited to perform here. I hope that this is part of a trend that will see Tel Aviv on the map of musical cities worldwide. There are some problems that need to be fixed in Israel's music scene. This show, as are many others, was way too far from the city center. Tel Aviv was at one time the center of culture in Israel, however many of the great concert venues have been pushed to the periphery. As international acts (hopefully) begin to return to Israel, it should not be the time to shove culture out to the 'burbs. There is not a great music city in the world that holds its best shows outside of the city. Venues like Levontin 7 and Tmuna have the right idea, but it is time that we as a nation - and a city - demand more. Tickets for Animal Collective were expensive but less than half of what was charged for the Paul McCartney concert a few weeks back. Live music should not be something that is reserved only for the rich. I was forced with thousands of others to sit outside the venue and try to hear little pieces of the show through a fence. As more bands play here, Israel will become a major stop on world tours (Depeche Mode is kicking off their upcoming world tour in Tel Aviv), and ticket prices should come down. A thriving international music scene in Tel Aviv would do great things for the city and the country. There is no reason that a band visiting Tel Aviv shouldn't also play in other major cities like Beersheba, Haifa or Ramallah. People travel all over the world to see their favorite bands play live. Thus, more local shows could mean an increase in tourism from people who might otherwise never think of visiting Israel. Tel Aviv has the potential to be a hot spot on the world rock scene. The crowd at the Animal Collective show was as enthusiastic as anywhere I have ever seen a show. And, the more music that is performed here, the more that enthusiasm will spread. Finally, there is one last thing that needs to happen in order for Tel Aviv to reach its full rocking capacity. Bruce Springsteen needs to play here. This is my dream. As Theodor Herzl once said, "If you will it, it is no dream." I imagine that this quote from the father of Zionism may have continued, "Rock on, dude."