The Chorus and The Fish Snake

For my 100th blob post, I'm trying something new...video! I apologize in advance for the quality of the sound and lighting on the video, but that's what you get from a camera purchased in 2004, in a large, crowded performance space filled with smoke and fun lighting.

I'm going to post about Purim AFTER tomorrow's festivities, but for now, I'm going to write about Thursday night. Enjoy!

Below please find 2 clips from the Purim הדג נחש / HaDag NaChash / The Fish Snake (I'll explain in a second) Concert at HaMa'abadah - The Lab, in Jerusalem. Rafi called at like 5 or 6PM to see if they still had tickets, and we were shocked when we found they weren't sold out, and jumped at the chance. So, after attending Megillah reading and getting a nice, quick bite at Adir Falafel, we were off to the Ma'abadah.

So, הדג נחש / HaDag NaChash / The Fish Snake is a play on words.
נהג חדש / NeHag ChaDash / New Driver (see how the letters are just rearranged?) is put on a little card in the back window of new drivers in Israel. Shiran's sister has a card for when she drives that is in the feminine form: נהגת חדשה. Nice!

We thought it was funny that פיזמון/ Pizmon / Chorus, the admittedly fabulous Jewish A Capella group from Columbia University, opened for HaDag NaChash. We thought it was funny because what do Israelis know from A Capella, and how could they possibly warm up the crowd for one of the most popular and successful Israeli groups? But warm they did. The group of at least 10 did a short set of three Israeli pop songs. When they shuffled positions on the stage for the second song, I squealed with delight to Rafi, "That's one of the kids from my Hebrew CLASS!" Indeed, "Zechariah" was one of the freshmen with whom I took Hebrew at JTS last year, and as it turns out, he's a Pizmon soloist. He's the kid who asked me last year if I knew Elie, and I said, "yeah, I'm dating his brother." His response? "I know." Freshmen are so cute. As soon as Pizmon finished, HaDag NaChash took the stage and Rafi and I danced for most of the time. I don't think he and I had ever really danced before the concert, other than at weddings. It was pretty sweet.


Pizmon's Audacity: Performing One Of HaDag NaChash's Most Famous Songs.

When they took the stage, it was not like the normal beginning to any concert. It was special. Each band member came out in some form of costume. I imagine their electronic music guy (DJ?) usually wears bright pink shirts and big, orange beta-blocker-looking glasses, but their guitarist, I believe, does not usually dress like a big-hair rocker from the 80s. Anyway, Shanaan Street, the lead singer, wore a Dracula cape over his usual performance uniform of a soccer jersey, jeans and a pair of skater sneakers.

The most interesting part of the concert was the Purim aspect of it. Shanaan announced that he's not religious, but he takes Purim "very seriously." This, he said, was because of the obligation on Purim to drink until you can't tell the difference between Haman (the bad guy) and Mordechai (the good guy). Then, throughout the concert, the band would break out into Purim songs, which I had thankfully learned in Ulpan the day before. It was terrific. Below please find a short video of HaDag NaChash singing bits from Purim songs.


HaDag NaChash Sings Purim Songs.