On paper, Idan Raichel ticks so many of the right boxes. His music combines Middle Eastern, funk, klezmer, and a host of other world music elements that I wouldn't even be able to name into a multicultural fusion that few other artists anywhere in the world can compete with. That approach has made him into one of the few Israel musicians with a legitimate global profile.
What else? His "Project" is a true melting pot with a cast of some fifteen people on stage. His songs are a mix of Hebrew, Arabic, and Amharic. He's a proud Zionist. He seems genuinely humble and takes his role as a cultural ambassador seriously. Instead of having an opening band, he plays really long shows, with tonight's gig running about two and a half hours. He's as comfortable playing solo behind the piano, or accompanying one of his singers on a ballad, as being a cog in a full band churning through steamy grooves.
And yet, I've never found Raichel's songs to be all that good, save for some of his ballads. The uptempo stuff shows off a dazzling display of cultural virtuosity without being truly catchy. Unfortunately, the idea of the Idan Raichel Project is far better than the reality. I hoped that the spectacle of the live band would breathe more life into the songs -- plenty of bands sound OK on record but slay on stage, and a fifteen piece cross-cultural, cross-generational spectacle seemed like a good bet to fit that bill. The spectacle is there, but the songs aren't. It feels like the concert could be best enjoyed via a series of clips, where one can feel the power of the full band without having to press through the entire two hour plus journey.
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