NiCadBlog

Israeli Tour Diary vol.02 - Day 11

NiCad — 2007-06-01T10:19:08+01:00

After resting in the morning, we go to Tel Aviv for some shopping and sightseeing. It is our last day in Israel, and we are looking forward to go back to Holland and share what we've experienced with all of our friends. Our tour of Israel has given us a new perspective of who we are as an international band, and where we are going. For the future, we will have a tour of Europe this fall, and a tour of America this winter. We are very excited to continue these adventures together, and we can't wait to see what the future will unfold.

photo: Beatrice Jansen

Israeli Tour Diary vol.02 - Day 10

NiCad — 2007-06-01T10:17:50+01:00

After a very short night sleep we go to the lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea. The desert and the floating experience in the sea leave a deep impression in our memory. On our way back to our base, Kfar-Hess, we pass by Jerusalem again to say goodbye to our friends we met there.

photo: Beatrice Jansen

Israeli Tour Diary vol.02 - Day 9-2

NiCad — 2007-06-01T10:14:48+01:00

After the show, we head towards Side's studio in Be'er Sheva for an Argentinian Bar-B-Que. The food is insanely good. Nir, Side's sound engineer, surprises us by playing our shows that he recorded. It is awesome to be around so many people (sound engineers, musicians, lighting technicians, journalists) who are really in love with what they do well. At the party, we confirm Side's tour of Europe for October this year. We can't wait for Holland to see what these guys are doing.

Israeli Tour Diary vol.02 - Day 9-1

NiCad — 2007-06-01T10:12:40+01:00

Our last concert is my favorite, we have really ended our tour with a bang. We play in Be'er Sheva. It is a small college town on the edge of the desert. If you go there, you might think it's on the edge of the world. We give a concert again with Side in an amazing venue called Baraka. The venue is huge, and completely packed with a very attentive audience. The lighting on stage is very inspiring, and Side's sound guy and lighting guy have completely learned our material to give us an awesome presentation.

photo: Beatrice Jansen

Israeli Tour Diary vol.02 - Day 8

NiCad — 2007-06-01T10:11:10+01:00

After sleeping as long as we want, we have a cozy breakfast and interview with Adi, a journalist from a local magazine. Finally, we feel well rested again.

In the evening, we head back to Tel Aviv for a second performance in Levontin. This time our concert is much different from the others on the tour. We are hosted by Interval Recordings, an electronic music label in Tel Aviv, and we have an improv session with two laptop artists. The show begins very experimental, builds up to something more accessible, and then ends again with us finding Alon in the audience and getting him back on stage for the Beatles one last time. It is great to see how much the experimental music audience loves the Beatles.

Israeli Tour Diary vol.02 - Day 7

NiCad — 2007-06-01T10:09:50+01:00

Today we have a concert in Tel Aviv. After Jerusalem, it seems like a different world. As Jerusalem is very conservative and religious, Tel Aviv is very liberal and open-minded. We play a concert in a venue called Levontin for an audience that seems to have followed us from Jerusalem. Gilad's friend from childhood, Alon Lotringer, joins us on stage for two songs, "I'm Afraid of Americans" by David Bowie and "Tomorrow Never Knows" by the Beatles.

photo: Beatrice Jansen

Israeli Tour Diary vol.02 - Day 6

NiCad — 2007-06-01T10:08:25+01:00

Today we head for the holy city of Jerusalem. We are staying at Gilad's cousin's place in an old arabic house, which is about a ten minute walk from the Wailing Wall, Jesus' tomb, and the second of the three most holy sites in Islam, the Al-Aqsa Mosque. He and his friends give us a little tour of the old city. We get surrounded by numerous religions, which creates a very special atmosphere. At night, we play a concert in the Yellow Submarine with Side. Once again, the audience is amazing. We end up giving four encores.

photo: Beatrice Jansen (right)

Israeli Tour Diary vol.02 - Day 5-2

NiCad — 2007-06-01T10:06:38+01:00

We have a short performance at a café in Tel Aviv called Café Mersand (50's style cafe). Some of the people in our audience have been coming to the café since it opened in 1950. We get some comments about how it's amazing for them to see a German, Japanese, American, and Israeli playing music together.

photo: Beatrice Jansen (right)

Israeli Tour Diary vol.02 - Day 5-1

NiCad — 2007-06-01T10:03:17+01:00

We start the day with a two hour interview on 106 FM Kol hakampus in Tel Aviv which is filled with songs from our CD, live performances, and tracks from other Dutch bands (Doll House Drama, Noblesse, Pourqoui Me Reveiller, Juice, and Mummy's A Tree). Barack, the interviewer, seems to share a lot of our same opinions and we end up having a very good discussion on the air about how our music relates to international politics, religion, and self-reflection.

photo: Beatrice Jansen

Israeli Tour Diary vol.02 - Day 4

NiCad — 2007-06-01T10:01:11+01:00

We wake up at 5 o'clock in the morning to take a long drive down to the desert for a newspaper interview to promote our shows in Jerusalem and Be'er Sheva with the band, Side. We hit it off really well with the band and we end up having a big lunch together and then go back to their place to listen to an amazing record collection.

photo: Beatrice Jansen (left)

Israeli Tour Diary vol.01 - Day 3

NiCad — 2007-05-22T00:08:12+01:00

After a long night, we have a relaxing day on the beach.

photo: Beatrice Jansen (right)

Israeli Tour Diary vol.01 - Day 2-2

NiCad — 2007-05-22T00:00:49+01:00

The tour begins with a great concert in Kfar-Saba at a venue called "Barby". We play for a seated audience. It's a bit different from what we're used to, but their attention and reaction is amazing. The band, Eggroll, opens the show with an awesome set and hands it over to us. Our show finishes at about two o'clock in the morning.

photo: Beatrice Jansen

Israeli Tour Diary vol.01 - Day 2-1

NiCad — 2007-05-21T23:55:30+01:00

We wake up early Saturday morning to get in a warm-up practice at a studio on the other side of Gilad's small village. We have an adventure getting the equipment to the studio with a tractor. Welcome to the country!

Israeli Tour Diary vol.01 - Day 1-2

NiCad — 2007-05-21T23:52:07+01:00

Gilad's family welcomes us into their home with coffee, soy beans (edamame), and watermelon! While sitting in the garden, night begins to set in. We enjoy a Sabbath meal with his family, which includes traditional singing and yam-akas. After dinner, we head off to promote our first concert in Kfar-Saba.

Israeli Tour Diary vol.01 - Day 1-1

NiCad — 2007-05-21T23:34:30+01:00

We arrive in Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport to a very beautiful and warm day. After stripping off our jackets and getting our passports stamped, Gilad picks us up and drive us to Kfar-Hess to meet with his family.

photo: Beatrice Jansen