Ra’anana Park Amphitheater
May 29
Look up Israeli rock royalty in the dictionary, and you’ll find Rami Fortis and Beri Sakharoff. On paper an unlikely bromance, as if Iggy Pop and Bruce Springsteen were best buddies, Fortis (and) Sakharoff are into their fifth decade of writing and performing songs that transcend genres and touch warm hearts and philosophical minds.
Tonight we celebrate the 30th anniversary of 1900?, the first album to bear the Fortisakharoff moniker, however due to the Year That Shall Not Be Mentioned, 31 years have passed. Just when we thought we were out of the woods, the concerts were postponed again due to the latest regional skirmishes.
Hence, we find ourselves in an atmosphere of unprecedented expectancy. The underrated, picturesque venue crackles with energy. Thirty years ago, rock music was an outlet for this audience’s youthful dilemmas and frustrations. Today, in the quintessential suburban Israeli environment – Ra’anana is hardly Cleveland – we’re older and wiser, but music remains a soundtrack to life.
Appropriately for this rebirth, the band dives into “Lehitorrer” (“To Awaken”). The atmospheric verses make way for an explosive chorus which flicks the dopamine switch, thousands of people forget about the last year and everything else, and jump up and down in unison, bathed in a sea of sound and light.
Throughout, the contrast between light and heavy is prominent, underpinning the consistent energy on this marathon two-hour journey. Fortisakharoff only released three studio albums, including Fortis’s Sipurim Me’ha’kufsa (Tales From the Box), but they are full of anthems, and we’re making up for lost time.
The band grooves without missing a beat. Fortis co-opts cellist Noa Ayali and keyboardist Dani Hadani from his solo band, again their striking presence and harmonies provide invaluable contrast and support to Fortis’s punk-infused delivery. This is the genius of Fortis. Despite his punkish roots, he is pure artist, progressive and open-minded, which is why he has endured for so long.
The two protagonists bounce off each other all night. Fortis with his incessant energy, prowling the stage, imploring band and audience alike to give their all. Sakharoff exudes calm confidence, his powerful voice and guitar-playing offering short shrift to the decades. Banter between songs is largely confined to a sense of wonder that we are doing this at all, and general brotherly love. When they thank the audience for not giving up on their (2020) tickets, they miss the point that looking forward to nights like this contributes to resilience in tough times.
This is an epic journey, the material clearly resonating a bygone era, yet due to great arrangements and production, sounding as fresh as if it was written yesterday. Highlights include “Halom Kahol” (“Blue Dream”), one of the great Israeli love songs, and “Ein Ketz Le’yaldut” (“No End to Childhood”), delivered poignantly by Fortis on a giant Dave Grohl/Axl Rose-style purple throne, as he explains that getting old isn’t recommended.
And it doesn’t get any more rock and roll than that.