There were flashing lights, strobe lights, outfit changes, and chants for encores. There were scalpers bargaining, and teenage girls clustered, giggling and wearing homemade, Sharpie-d t-shirts. No, this was not the sold-out Justin Beiber concert at Madison Square Garden. This was better. Edon Pinchot, the newly famous fourteen-year-old singer, appeared for his first concert in the New York area after being eliminated from the semifinals on America’s Got Talent. He sang alongside Shalsheles, a four men group that has produced five albums, including many songs that host nostalgic memories for college-age students. The performers were accompanied by the strong and wonderfully talented Neshoma Orchestra.
At 7:30 pm on Thursday, December 13, the lines along the sidewalk outside Lamport Auditorium were nothing compared to those of the Gilad Shalit event, as security quickly scanned the tickets and ushers directed everyone to their seats. The concert began with a performance from YU’s A cappella group, the Y-Studs, a name cleverly derived from the daily (hourly) emails sent to our student Gmail accounts. Shrieks were concentrated in the upper left corner of the auditorium, also known as the women-only section. The Y-Studs were well rehearsed, and sang the favorites of their album (entitled “Take Me Home,” on sale for $12). Matching in white button downs and sleek black ties, the YU boys made us proud.
With the audience warmed up, Edon Pinchot was welcomed on stage. The crowd erupted in cheers and fist-pumps as the beautiful blond boy hailing from Skokie, Illinois, walked humbly towards his piano. Hitting incredibly high notes in David Guetta’s “Titanium,” the sentiments of America throughout Pinchot’s run on the hit TV show were more than confirmed. Parents in the crowd could be seen nodding their approval, while girls wearing shirts with printed letters, either “E,” “D,” “O,” or “N”, stood alongside their friends as their voices turned raspy from cheering.
Throughout the concert, Shalsheles and Pinchot would each sing two to three songs, and then head backstage to allow for the other act to perform again. Shalsheles sang their classic, “Mi Haish,” and YU boys ran to form their go-to mosh-pit dance, which involves thrusting one’s arms over the shoulders of a friend, gripping his neck into a relative of a hemlock, and jumping, and stomping, sweating, and feeling the simcha of Chanukah. The girls, on the other side of the auditorium, reached out for hands and danced their hearts out in an oval—an oval as lengthy as the aisles would allow for.
The highlight of the concert was yet to come, as Edon, now dressed in a grey v-neck, maroon jeans, and a black cargo jacket, sang the time-appropriate song “Miracle” by Matisyahu, as well as another cover of David Guetta, “Without You.” Edon Pinchot asked the crowd if it would be okay if he pumps things up a little bit, and the words “so cute!” could be heard stage-whispered across the whole auditorium. Shalsheles then came out to sing with our very own Y-Studs, which surely was a treat for the undergraduate men. With an introductory bracha for shidduchim for the audience, the phrase “No Where but Here” comes to mind. The Observer staff caught many of you out there peering across the room dreamily. You know who you are, and there’s no shame in that! The girls and guys lined up on different sides of the auditorium, and swayed to music that speaks to the soul, that conjures prakim of tehillim, and hundreds of past onegs in our lifetimes. Jewish music can have that effect.
Then, six stools were arranged on the stage, as Shalsheles and Edon Pinchot assembled to sing together. The mutual respect that the artists shared for each other was heartwarming, and Aryeh Kunstler was welcomed as a surprise performer. Though he did not sing any of his original songs from his “Vahaviyanu” albums or “From the Depths,” his star-like guitar skills accompanied the Neshoma Orchestra beautifully. Edon and Shalsheles sang “Naar Hayissi” and “Haimah.” The chilling performance of these songs with lyrics that run as deep as Jewish history itself left the crowd enamored. The concert’s finale was the song “Esai Ayinai,” and the five distinguished Jewish artists swayed next to the newest face in the business of inspiring achdus, in the way only music can do.