The best of the Barby club

I didn’t attend as many shows at the Barby as Hillel Wachs, but it’s been by far my favorite venue to see live performances in Israel over the last two decades. Comfortable, elegantly gritty, with great sound, excellent vantage points, and a sense of intimacy with the performer, the Barby was a gem for the audience and artist alike.

Here’s a brief list of the best shows I enjoyed there.

1. The Lemonheads, 2022 – Evan Dando mingled in the crowd as the opening act performed, then played an imperfectly perfect set of acoustic folk songs, followed by a rock & roll roar through It’s A Shame About Ray.

2. Calexico, 2013 – The southwest purveyors of Americana brought a scintillating two hours of magic that left the sold-out crowd spent and crying for more.

3. Ezra Furman, 2016 – The California-based, Shabbat-observing singer/songwriter and his band, The Boyfriends, obliterated the small but enthusiastic crowd. His 90-minute set knighted him as the long-lost love child of Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie and The Cure’s Robert Smith. Totally unexpected and therefore, mind-blowing.

4. K’s Choice, 2018 – The Belgian treasures celebrated their 25th anniversary with a sold-out sing-along of their infectious, rock and pop gems that would have sounded great in an arena, but were even better in the tiny confines of the Barby.

5. Low, 2015 – The Minnesota minimalist trio locked themselves, and the audience, into an intense, telepathic groove that did not let up. Graceful, mesmerizing, and magical.

6. “Doing Dylan,” Israeli artists, 2011 – Some of Israel’s best singer/songwriters – like Yuval Banai, Micha Sheetrit, Hemi Rodner, and Tamar Eisenman – paid tribute to Bob Dylan’s 70th birthday with loving and rocking renditions of his famous and his obscure songs.

7. The Buzzcocks, 2011 – This seminal British punk band proved that all you really need is one great name, two guitars, three-minute songs, and four “whoas” in the chorus to recreate the magic days of 1977, even decades later.