Aviv Geffen’s Rock Gala Sells Nostalgia More Than Rebellion

At his annual Nashef Rock show on Wednesday night at Hayarkon Park, Aviv Geffen told a childhood story about being weak and timid, saying he always knew how to attach himself to a “bully” so that he would seem dangerous by association. He compared that instinct to his career, saying, “I always knew how to identify forces bigger than me and connect to them.” That, the article argues, is the core of a format that has run for more than a decade and moved to Hayarkon Park in 2023 as it grew larger.

Geffen links the whole evening, opening and closing the concert and appearing on every song, but the real draw is the guests. After the first three songs, a rotating cast of major and lesser-known artists joins him. On this night, the biggest crowd reactions came from performances of two major Israeli rock songs, “Hayamim Shelanu” by HaYehudim and “Geshem” by Eli Luzon. Both became mass singalongs, with Geffen’s voice often drowned out by Orit Shachaf and Luzon, and the review says these performances captured the show’s lasting appeal better than Geffen’s own material.

Even when Geffen sounded hoarse and not at his best, the nostalgia machine kept working. Mash-ups were a key part of that, including “HaAhava Meta” with Tamar Giladi and Geffen’s “Meksiko,” then a shared segment with Avraham Tal and Roi Levi of Shotei Hanevuah on their song “Yedia,” before returning to Geffen’s track. The article questions why the show included no young artists except Eliot Geffen, who performed “Makom LeDaga” written by his grandfather Yehonatan.

Another highlight mentioned by attendees was Geffen’s dance version of “Shir Hasmartutim” with DJ Omri Samdar. But the weakest segment was the surprise Mango reunion, despite pre-show buzz on Instagram entertainment pages. Their performance of “Garah BeShinkin” with Michal Tsafir, Yasmin Gemiel and Miri Nevo was often off-beat and unexciting, and Geffen did not sound fully convincing when he called it his lifelong dream as a child of the 1980s.

Before finishing with “Achshav Muvan,” Geffen delivered what the article calls a political speech, telling the crowd, “I have an audience of the right, the center and the left, when you vote, choose hope, choose togetherness, choose equality, choose peace, choose a better Israel.” The article says that, together with his “Do you want change?” refrain, it shows how far he has moved from a young rebel to a bittersweet nostalgia act.