DEDI and MBD Perform at YU Chanukah concert

On December 11, Yeshiva University and YCSC played host to the preeminent names in Jewish music in the annual Chanukah Concert. An energetic crowd exceeding 1000 attendees from YC, SCW, and an array of local Jewish high schools deluged the theological ly charged moshpit of Lamport Auditorium in a memorable event that afforded students the rare opportunity to engage in on-campus recreational activity.

The concert featured Dedi, Mordechai Ben David, and Shmuel Bodenheimer's B'samim. All performers enjoyed the musical accompaniment of the Neginah Orchestra. Shmuel Bodenheimer, a recent YC graduate, led his recently formed band in a short set of three songs to get the evening's performance underway. The vocal performances of B'Samim band members Avi Moche, Elisha Mayer, and Ephraim Yablok complemented Bodenheimer's original scores to create an innovative sound that repeatedly brought the crowd to its feet with roars of "Bodey! Bodey!"

Following B'Samim's successful debut, Jewish music icon Dedi mounted the stage to reprise his performance at the previous year's YCSC Chanukah Concert. Bedecked in a black t-shirt bearing his trademark insignia, Dedi explained that his casual garb was an indication that "when I come to YU, I am not performing, I come to party with you." Dedi belted out a full set of popular tunes including his signature songs "Ratzah," "Lecha Eten," and "Od Yishama." As Dedi concluded with the promise to return later, the intermission got underway.

The intermission featured some of the year's most intense fraternization. A smattering of pick-up ma'ariv minyanim also sprang up in the Lamport foyer. YUSSR used the break in the action to conduct its annual raffle.

Subsequent to a brief introduction of the Neginah musicians, Mordechai Ben David (MBD) assumed the stage for his headline performance. Many students were concerned that the 1994 Succoth debacle would be repeated. In 1994, on the holiday of Succoth, clo se to sixty thousand fans traveled on the only road available to hear MBD perform at Nof Ayalon, Israel, a growing settlement near Sha'alvim. They arrived disgruntled after suffering through hours of treacherous traffic, but their troubles had only just b egun. After Mordechai Ben David rambled onto the stage, he refused to sing before a mixed audience. For forty-five minutes, Ben David played traffic cop – directing males one way, females the other – trying to separate the sexes. According to students' accounts, Ben David even catechized individual audience members. Eventually, students say, the rowdy audience became so exasperated with Ben David's tactics that they started flinging trash, hurling chairs, and launching stones at the singer.

On this evening, however, MBD delivered a performance that satisfied many. His presentation was peppered with trademark Jewish classics including his "Da'age," "Moshiach," and "Samcheinu." MBD's rendition of "Just One Shabbos" provided a heart warming interlude as two HASC campers joined him on-stage. He declared that the song was dedicated to HASC counselors and campers in attendance. Yosef, an emerging youth star on the Jewish circuit, shared the spotlight with MBD and Dedi for a noteworthy, yet abru pt, finale.

Throughout much of Dedi's performance, the enthusiastic mass of attendees, especially the high school contingent, slam-danced in the aisles under the occasional crowd-surfer. However, the efforts of YU Facilities Management to coerce concertgoers to re turn to their seats by issuing various threats to cancel the performance mitigated the frenzied dancing.

In addition to the stellar musical stylings, the crowd was also treated to a unique display of Judaic-themed special effects. Rotating menorah and Star of David images played on Lamport's venerable walls. The periodic waves of purple smoke that emanat ed from the front of the stage enhanced the concert experience.

Most students appeared to enjoy the concert. One student remarked, "This was an incredible event. I danced, I socialized, and I listened to some good music." Ira Tannenbaum, YCSC President, believed theChanukah Concert to be an expression of what "t he students and Student Council can accomplish when they work together."

Related Stories:

• YU Alumnus Shmuel Bodenheimer Opens Chanukah Concert