Idan Raichel Project

I went to an AMAZING concert tonight in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center here at Notre Dame. It was a group called the Idan Raichel Project. Here's a bit of info about them from the program:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ABOUT THE IDAN RAICHEL PROJECT:

"Six years ago, when Israeli keyboardist and composer Idan Raichel was an unknown musician working in a home studio in his parents' basement in a small city near Tel Aviv, he never imagined that his musical experiments fusing Middle Eastern, African, Indian and other global sounds would ever result in the biggest-selling records in Israeli history and propel him into a role as a major figure in the international global music scene. The Idan Raichel Project's explosive rise saw the multicultural collaborative break sales records in Israel and perform across the globe to rapturous crowds in some of the world's most prestigious venues..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group is led by lead singer / piano player Idan Raichel, and he also involves musicians from around the world, meshing their sounds to create a sound that is unique and truly global. The Project also has the goal of spreading the message of peace and tolerance.

The concert was one of the most fun, uplifting, and interesting I have ever been to! Very enjoyable. I would recommend checking out their webpage or downloading some of their songs, although I have to say, I just downloaded some of their songs and they don't compare to hearing them play live!

I stayed for the post-concert interview / Q & A time, and it was interesting. He draws on the scriptures (particularly the psalms) for some of his lyrics (most of the songs are in Hebrew). Anyway, someone asked him why he uses the scriptures as a source for his songs. He responded by quoting someone else, basically saying "all that is useful has already been written; we simply have to go back and tap into the wisdom of what came before us. It's all in there, it's all we need."

www.idanraichelproject.com/en
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idan_Raichel

Here's a few samples of his music that I really like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH6Hs7P2xW0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJfFdcHQvKI

(the videos on You Tube are a bit weird, but music is great!)

To Go or Not to Go?

So I have a decision to make. And fast!

I have to decide if I am going to go on a trip to the Holy Land over Christmas Break, or whether I should skip it and stay home.

I guess I should do the ol' fashioned pros & cons list:

Pros:
+ travel to where Jesus lived and walked
+ get to experience middle eastern culture first hand
+ buy some pretty sweet religious goods
+ travel to a new part of the globe / collect some new passport stamps! =)
+ Add to the list of World heritage sites I've been to
+ did I mention: See the Sea of Galilee, Go to Caesarea Philippi and stand on the rock where Jesus said "You are Peter, and on this Rock I will build my Church...?", Via Dolorosa, Church of the Nativity, Swim in the dead sea, Qumran, Temple ruins, etc. and much, much more!

Cons:
- Safety? (Is the US military / dept of defense / state dept really the best source of info? or is Nuclear war a real threat? Who really knows?
- Am I willing to travel somewhere where security threats are a possibility and accept consequences for my life? (if something did happen....)
- less time at home during the break
- Family as a whole is not too keen on this...

I recently contacted a friend from Iran and I'm asking him his thoughts on it... who knows who to trust anymore on the security issue? Supposedly Iran and Israel are ready to attack each other...