Image by haaretz

It is safe to say that after the Alicia Keys Fourth of July performance on Thursday night, the audience went home satisfied.

Keys performed all her hits, the band was a blast and together they enchanted the 8,000 concert-goers at the Nokia Arena in Jaffa.

It already appeared from the start of the evening that most Alicia Keys fans were females of all sorts. From the somewhat religious to the hard-core secular, from young girls with “Girl on Fire” ringtones to women who dragged their husbands or kids along to the concert, they were all in the crowd.

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Overall, there appeared to be a female to male ratio of eight to one. The photographer complained that there weren’t any celebrities in the audience or anyone else to photograph. The degree to which the crowd was straitlaced was extremely impressive. No pot, barely any beers to be seen, a quiet audience in which one can hear the noise of iPhone camera clicks before the performance.

The concert began to the sounds of Ethiopian Israeli musician Ester Rada as the warm-up act. Indeed, Rada warmed up the crowd with her excitement and polished sound, accompanied by seven excellent musicians. Rada had a stage presence much greater than the limited amount of time in the she has been in the spotlight would suggest. She began her set with a venue one-third full and finished it in front of a packed venue of fans. Hats off to her.

For more go to Haaretz

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