Hadag Nachash Comes To NYC to Kickoff the Celebrate Israel "Season"

I caught the subway train followed by then transfered to the downtown 6 train at 5:38pm. I had very little wait which is just unheard of on a Sunday. Of course, my 6 train also got stuck in the tunnel thanks to a sick passenger on the train ahead of me. I still got there in time to get pretty good seat-about 6:10 after getting through security. People actually streamed in until just before the show when I noticed it suddenly got really full. Of course, they couldn't start just quite on time which I expected. However, they did start shortly after on time. The show was kicked off with remarks from various politician/diplomat types from various Jewish and Israeli groups. One of them read off all those reasons for not boycotting Israel. It's a cool list, but I can't imagine too many people haven't heard it several times before.

I realized I should hit the lou. I missed the group's entrance, but I figured that was better than holding it until I finally go and miss the beginning of one of my favorite songs. Groups always do the best songs towards the end of a concert. My timing was good since several women came in behind me and I just escaped standing in a long line.

I came back in and realized the aisles were full of people... I squeeked by people and found my way back to my seat-not that I was sitting. They released a bunch of blue and white balloons which I was a couple rows behind, so a small number came to me as they were tossed about in the crowd. Some went on stage while the guys were performing and they smacked them away and they performed.

My favorite of the group, Shlomi Alon, looked hot. He grooved and jammed his body into sexy girations as he played his various saxophones, the flute or sang. The guys drank water and put towels on their sweaty heads. The crowd was kinda boring, especially as far back as I was. Hardly anyone around me was dancing. It was so unreal. My friend got me into Hadag Nachash all the way back in the summer of 2009 and they have come to NYC to perform a bunch of times and every time I missed them. I remember last year, around Purim they came. I saw it posted on the leader singer's Facebook page during the time they were performing.  Finally, though, I was seeing them in front of me. I should have asked someone to pinch me!

Eventually, the lead singer of the group, Sha'anan introduced the various guys in the group. Then Guy Mar, the DJ, introduced him. Soonafter, he said they were about to sing their last song. My jaw dropped. This was impossible. They hadn't sung the Sticker Song. Sha'anan said in an interview once that this is the song to which Americans actually know the words. It was a teaser, though. They acted like they were going to go off stage and they went into a huddle on the side of the stage. I was standing there, stunned, it's not possible that it's over. They are still on stage. People were leaving. I wasn't going to leave yet. It seemed like an eternity. Then they came back to their spots and did the "Shirat Hasticker" that made them famous. They actually did another song after that. Then that was it.

I went out of the auditorium to buy a CD or two and a t-shirt. I was taking waiting for the table to calm down when a group of people taking pictures of themselves pushed me into the table. "Do you have to do that right here?" That group of people broke up and all the sudden I was standing next to Sha'anan, the lead singer, "oh." It all came together. I stammered, "I'm standing next to Sha'anan!" He smiled and walked by me padding me on the shoulder as he passed. "He just touched me, holy cow!" I was for sure grinning from ear to ear.

I asked the t-shirt girl, "are any of the others here?" She was like, "sure, right there.... there... there... all over.." I grabbed my jacket, sweater and CDs in a big klump and staggered away still in a daze. The security guards screamed and yelled trying to get everyone out of there. Grrrrrrr!

There he was-cool and aloof standing against the wall... SHLOMI!! I went up to him and stammered, "ummmm, are you Shlomi Alon? Can I get a picture?" He was soooo super cool and offered to hold one of my CDs in the picture that I recruited some guy to take of us while said guy's friend offered to hold my lump of jacket and sweater that I was actually going to put on the floor.

I was supposed to have a picture of Sha'anan, too. After having gained my bearings I found him again and asked for a picture, but the stranger I recruited for that picture never actually took the picture as I discovered on the subway.

Sooooo, cool! I met the guys from Hadag Nachash! YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! I even have a picture to prove it! That's me next to him right there in my new Hadag t-Shirt!