Rihanna, Live?

So Rihanna came to Israel last week. This was the second time Rihanna performed live in Tel Aviv and everyone were talking about this for months!

50,000 people in the park, all waiting and exited to see Rihanna. I couldn’t make it, so I didn’t even buy a ticket, but around 4 pm they started talking about Rihanna landing here is Israel. The excitement was huge.

Well, I went to a few concerts in my life, some of them here in Israel, and almost always, the artist and his or hers entourage lands here the day before or even sooner –for sightseeing, for a bit of rest before the show, for putting the stage together, sound checks… stuff like that.

So Rihanna lending here about four hours before her own concert was a bit weird.
Then, they wrote she took a helicopter and went to swim and enjoy the Dead Sea. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great place, but… again, less than four hours before the show starts!?

So, it was only expected that she was an hour late for her own show. 50,000 people stood in front of an empty stage and waited.

Then, apparently she decided not to sing live at all. She used playback throughout the entire show! I know! That is something a lot of artists do, but there are video clips of her dancing to her own playback and not even bothering holding the mic to her mouth!

And also, for some unknown reasons she went backstage every two songs for minute or two, only to go back on stage wearing the same dress, doing nothing different at all.


The crowed felt disappointed. I read about the fiasco at midnight that very night.

Now, people are trying to get together and sue the production company that produced the show. They are saying they feel Rihanna disrespected her audience here in Israel, that she never intended to have a full show, therefore had the time to go swimming before the show.

I don’t know. When you’re the biggest music star in the world right now you can’t afford being disrespectful to this amount of people. I don’t want to get to ugly places of political and racial opinions, and I don’t think this is the case here either, but it does seem weird.

The show in Israel was a definite part of this current tour, it was planned for about a year, and it couldn't just not work out for Rihanna.

Rihanna would keep on being one of the most popular artists here in Israel, and I’m sure the radio stations will keep on playing her beautiful songs, but I’m also pretty sure next time around there wouldn't be 50,000 people buying her concert tickets.

Rihanna’s got it all, she’s beautiful, she sings well, she has great songs and a great show. But maybe, just maybe, she lost something along the way. The dignity and respect to other people’s time, money and feelings.

You can call it being a Diva. I call it being rude.

A music Artist Meets a Music Icon

Growing up in Israel, I really liked listening to a singer called Aviv Geffen. Back in the 90’s Geffen was the most influential, ground breaking figure in the Israeli cultural view.

Starting his career at 16, he used to wear heavy makeup, lying on the stage floor and go against the Israeli political policy and the mandatory army service. we all liked him. As teenagers not only he was our voice calling for a change, he was also insanely talented.
Writing his own lyrics, composing his own melodies – Geffen brought something so fresh and so unique you couldn't ignore him.

The years went by, and Geffen talent got better and bigger. Israel, obviously was not enough.

In the early 2000’s I was in high school looking for some new, refreshing music to listen to.
Unlike other teenage girls, things like Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera wasn't very interesting for me. I had a new favorite band – the progressive rock band – Porcupine Tree.

Up until this very day, I’m amazed by that band. The music is so sophisticated, intelligent and mind stimulating.
Porcupine Tree’s leader – The almighty Steven Wilson brought that sophisticated sound, the tranquilizing voice, the meaningful lyrics.
And then a miracle happened. My two favorite singers Geffen and Wilson found each other and created Blackfield.

I, a young girl in her very early twenties, acknowledged the fact that her local music hero is now cooperating with her international music rock star.

The result was stunning. Blackfield sounded just like I dreamed it would.
 Porcupine tree meets the Israeli Aviv Geffen. Those insane melodies, with that recognized feeling back from home.

Wilson moved to Tel Aviv to work closely with Geffen. The band took off, started preforming in London and across Europe.

It’s been a decade of creation for Blackfield and only recently they released their latest album.
My appreciation for Geffen grow even bigger along the years. Now, not only an Israeli music icon but an international famous and appreciated artist.

During the past few year I grew a bit apart from the progressive musical genre, but just recently someone reminded me of Blackfield again.

Listening to the tunes of that band takes me straight to where I was when I was falling for them in the first place.

Blackfield to me is the prefect music fairy tale. A music artist meets a music icon. The rest is history.