At a certain moment during Ethnics' concert last night (Saturday) at Hangar 11, Zeev Nechama announces: "Tamir and I have been together on stage for 35 years."
Technically - Ethnics has existed, initially as a Moscow band, since 1985, so it is quite clear that in his calculation the band's lead singer subtracts the years of the great conflict between him and Kalisky, the one that came to an end very recently, returned the keyboardist to the band and brought crowds to the port of Tel Aviv on a rainy and windy evening.
"Only love will prevail", they called the great reconciliation show, with a name that alludes not only to the personal relationships between the members of one of the most important ensembles that worked and are working in Israel, but also to the situation in that Israel, which is more conflicted and divided today than ever.
Below this inscription on the poster of the performance, the word "the party" appears.
That is, Ethnics does not prepare its audience for a proper musical performance, as for an evening of loss of senses and a lot of joy.
A statement of intent that turned out to be honest and quite accurate, given the atmosphere that prevailed in the hangar last night.
Even if the tables that filled the square of the hall suggested otherwise at the beginning.
Ethnics in concert, photo: Regev Tal
"Katurna Masala" that opens the evening, "Speaking Bird" that follows, and "Amona", "Old Song" and "Ktam Haferi" that follow could have been considered by any other composition a dangerous waste of ammunition.
Using old and proven materials so early in a performance can create a pit during the evening, into which lesser known and beloved materials are drawn.
But the case of Ethnics, the band that dominated the charts for most of the 90's when they released an album every summer and shot hits in bunches, is different precisely because of those hits.
And there was no lack of them in the evening, not even those who wrote to others.
For example, Eyal Golan, whose association with Ethnics made his career and whose early and iconic hits starred throughout the evening, including "Heart of a Man", "Buy Lech a Diamond", "My Beautiful" and "Go to the Window".
All of them are signed by local Nechama and Kalisky, Lennon and McCartney, whose creative connection helped mark the one who was considered for decades the most successful singer in the country.
But most of the evening was devoted to songs from the classical ethnic repertoire.
These are performed one after the other almost without a break in between, mainly, as Nechama explains, due to a lack of time.
At the Ethnics party there is no time for unnecessary talk, and even a reference to the end of the great crisis amounts to "Tamir is back in the band" which throws comfort and which leads to "She will not return (the ballad about Amalia and Gal)".
It will also be followed by "Bring some Dineros", "Strawberries" (a highlight of the show, but there's really no need to mention it) "When to come back", "Black B.Mv" and "Jessica" - all golden hits that even those who don't know know that he knows, and make it clear how much more power there is in this group, which understands songwriting and performing to an audience well.
It is even more worthy of appreciation when you take into account that it is not a very young group (in a month I will turn 62" says Nechama at a certain moment).
Ethnics in concert at Hangar 11, photo: Regev Tal
At the end of the encore of four songs, which also includes "Faithful Woman" and "Love Will Win", and a survey of the audience that came to see her yesterday, a clear conclusion emerges: Ethnics' audience, like her material, are the most accurate definition of Israeliness in its honest and unpretentious form.
Although it is based quite a bit on rock aesthetics, especially in a live performance, the Mediterranean defines it just as much (in fact, maybe a little more).
The story of this country is interwoven in her songs, whether it is "Tomorrow I'm Home" written about military service in Lebanon (and the date of his departure marked him in 2000, thanks to fate and Eldad Koblenz, for the song of leaving there) or "Jessica" written about a volunteer at Kibbutz Bari who met Hamma at the time His service in the Nahal nucleus.
Zeev Nechama's speech at the Ethnics concert.
Photography: Regev Tal
Over time, Ethnics also preferred to distance itself from war machines and focus more on the side of Israel that likes to celebrate at a party.
And this is true of her career, the later material, last night and yes, also the great forgiver, after one of the most unnecessary conflicts the music industry has known here.
"What Tamir and I did was free love," Nechama says just before the final song of the show that closes the evening.
"We gave up the ego and we are working on a new album together. Only love will conquer all the tears."
If the story of Israel is told through this band, maybe even this place still has a chance to reconcile.
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