27 Feb 14 - Asaf Avidan

He's a talented singer/songwriter ...very philosophical poet ...wise beyond his years ...and sings like a girl?! 

SouthSide's not being mean spirited about that last comment about Asaf Avidan, blogspot readers. He literally did sing like a woman throughout his recent performance at Old Town School of Folk Music ...and he admitted to the captivated audience that he does sing like a woman. And he doesn't, he sounds so humble and quiet. Yet, it's his unique vocal style that truly brings out the emotional aspect of his music to vibrant life though immersing the listener to such deep, dark somber sadness. However at times you wouldn't truly notice it unless immersing yourself along with him as he creatively plays his guitar and/or other instruments (sometimes recorded on a loop to make himself sound like an entire band), blogspot readers.

What a performance it was. Despite it being mostly somber in tone, Asaf's music rather had this melodic spirit wrapped around it which immediately captured your ears the moment he started strumming his guitar in a gentle, child-like tone. Performing between a vibrant acoustic cross of Jazz and Blues, this singer/songwriter thrilled the enraptured audience with lyrics of poetic realism and symbolism in which all of us can relate to. His words about love lost or love unattainable spoke to this reviewer since there was such profound truth in them i.e. "...you cannot stop a man from lying..." or our human concept of time. That alone was very interesting as he explained his philosophical reasoning for hating birthdays because time works on a linear plane from point A (birth) to point B (death).  It might have come off as a very depressing rant about time but, blogspot readers, even SouthSide had to admit the artist was correct. We measure time by the minutes, hours, days, weeks and years when it's actually between those two points. Something to think about while he sung his next song about that subject.

Still, don't think of Asaf Avidan as just a depressing person performing on his guitar, blogspot readers. He's quite ordinary who started playing music because of a broken heart. Let's go back further into that story (just like he did during his break between songs) ...he and his lady love had what he called a "geological" type of love for someone at the age of 19. In between the many metaphors of describing it as their own island world for a while, there was suddenly a wall gradually separating them until it stood permanently in their relationship. See, blogspot readers, ordinary yet uses a lot of symbolism to relate and connect with his audience.  And it's that same realism in which he can sing about whether it's gentle as a simple lullaby or fiery as a woman done wrong ...Asaf will definitely make you feel the emotions running deep within his words. For example, he popped the stage to life during one particular song sounding like a veteran blues vocalist pounding the words "...you cannot stop a man from lying..." into our heads until we truly got it, blogspot readers.  While in the next one and with the use of his electronic percussion on a loop, he was able to metaphorically describe how much he loved his woman through some eastern/Latin jazz influence tossed in the mix. Or try not getting creeped out by the hauntingly dark atmosphere he surrounded the auditorium amidst the many organic rhythms and sounds heard.

Perhaps that's why he taps into his "female" side, blogspot readers, when singing. It really does take a special kind of man (mainly, a musician) to understand how we women think, feel, act et al when it comes to relationships and love. Asaf Avidan was such a person who did ...who also bestowed on us sound, philosophical advice during his special Chicago performance on this chilly night ...where saying "I love you" could actually mean "You're afraid".

SouthSide highly recommends attending Asaf Avidan's performance wherever he travels while visiting the US for a limited time. It was an outstanding ...excellent show featuring a very talent and wise singer/songwriter.  This reviewer was blown away...

For more information about Asaf Avidan, visit http://www.asafavidanmusic.com.

Until next time, support your local scene,

SouthSide