Honorable Menschen

[magid]

Saturday evening I went to Honorable Menschen concert at the Tremont St. shul. Not surprisingly, I had a good time.

The set started off with havdalah, since it was just after Shabbat. The rest of the songs were:

1. "Joshua," the traditional song (Did it start as a spiritual? I don't know), arranged by the guy I first knew in the group. (*wave* if he's reading this). I couldn't help but giggle as one of the group couldn't do the miming of instruments without cracking up, I think because of his guest (brother?) in the audience laughing about it.
   
2. "Kah Ribon Olam," using just the refrain of the traditional Shabbat zemer (song).
   
3. "Hinei Ma Tov," a very very very cool version, using both the Hebrew and the Luganda, the language of the Abayudaya Jews of Uganda.
   
4. "Eli, Eli," the famous poem by Hannah Szenes and set to music by David Zehavi. It's always moving.
   
5. "Hora," the Eurovision version from the 80s, familiar to me from many weddings. Also, featuring Chanaleh as the soloist.
   
6. "David's Lamentation," a song composed by William Billings in the late 1700s about David's lament for his son Absalom, slain in the midst of revolt. I'd never heard this song, and it was beautiful.
   
7. "By the Rivers of Babylon," based on Psalm 137 (mostly), another song I'd not heard before, though I was familiar with the words with this one.
   
8. "Na'ar Hayiti," the familiar tune from the end of bentching (grace after meals).
   
9. "Lecha Dodi," a very funky version (using three verses and the refrain) of the song from Kabbalat Shabbat, very jazzy and with innuendo...
   and
   
10. (Bonus non-song track) Ongoing skitlets of "Frum Eye for the Trayf Guy," with our five intrepid consultants getting this guy ready for his religious girlfriend's parent's seder. Very cute.