Nostalgia is undoubtedly a sought-after commodity in the concert market in Israel.
One by one, the boy band Five, Dr. Alban, Two Unlimited and the British singer Sonic performed last night (Thursday), providing us with the best memories and nostalgia at the "We are The 90's" festival held at the Expo Center in Tel Aviv.
The experience of embracing the past offered by Aqua - one of the most successful bands in Euro-dance music in the 90s, who came to the main performance - was embraced by the audience with great love.
Crowds of people were not afraid of the constant huge traffic jams at the exit of the huge complex and filled the hall - all for the right to scream along with the Danish-Norwegian band the songs they used to hear on repeat on Discman, in the innocent days when glitter and sequins were considered a legitimate accessory.
The audience embraced.
Aqua in concert, photo: Omri Silver
A few thousand gathered to celebrate with the band, which is responsible for a host of hits such as "Doctor Jones" "Turn Back Time", "Cartoon Heroes", "Barbie Girl" and more. The royal couple of singers, Lena Nystrom and Renee Diff, kept the teenage crowd waiting until 01:00: 00 at night (to the joy or sorrow of the Babysters), which forced the crowd to stay energized as much as possible.
With quite matching clothing, in blue and white colors (an allusion to the national colors), the band members went up and launched eight of the biggest hits.
To the applause of the audience, the duo opened with "Roses Are Red", released in 1996 as their second single - and their first under the name Aqua (they previously operated under a different name).
The group felt the fatigue of those present, came to their senses very quickly, and burst into the performance of the song "My Oh My", a massive hit from their debut album.
Aqua in concert in Israel - Roses Are Red.
Photography: Assaf Hadar
The two vocalists aired business as usual;
Rene Diff moved every part of his body, waved the microphone and even splashed water on the audience, who stood close to him and did not hide the tired facial expressions of some of those present.
The duo followed up with the song "Around The World", which was released as a signal from their 2000 second album, just before temporarily breaking up in 2001.
They continued with "Doctor Jones", which was considered the fourth single from their 1997 debut album, and was at the time a direct follow-up to their biggest hit "Barbie Girl".
20 minutes into the show, during which the two tried to keep the audience awake, Nystrom sat down on the pianist's chair, and performed the ballad "Turn Back Time", and suddenly reminded us all why we loved them so much.
Just before the lights went out, Diff tried to squeeze another moment out of the allotted time he had left and tried to learn words in Hebrew.
"How do you say thank you in your language?", he asked the audience several times to get an answer.
When he realized there was someone else to sing with, the climax of the show came with "Barbie Girl", which was Israel's song of the year in 1997. The singing duo gave the people in the audience the show they wanted, and as expected, left them to sing the lyrics to the chorus.
Aqua in concert in Israel - Barbie Girl.
Photography: Assaf Hadar
The band tried to close the show with a closing song, which might leave a taste for more, but were unfortunately met with a cold response.
In the song "Back to The 80's" the audience began to pour out, God forbid not to be forced to spend the whole night leaving the parking lot.
But if we tell the truth?
Not surprisingly, the whole show smelled like a throwback to the nineties.
The strikingly unique style of Aqua's compositions from the first album has already become a kind of formula accessible to the masses.
The band, which in the past managed to skillfully combine style and attitude without losing the content, lost a little of it and was left with empty papers for episodes.
Reminded us all why we loved them so much.
Aqua soloist, Lina Nystrom, photo: Omri Silver
But despite the years that have passed, despite the striped albums, and even if they are no longer "in fashion", the band proved that it was and remains an excellent concert band, no matter what.
Lina Nystrom and Renee Diff are definitely hungry show animals and crowd junkers, still able to sing their hearts out and jump and dance like there's no tomorrow.
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