Hey Shiri...

OK, OK, so I didn't make it to the Depeche Mode party. Rumours of the place being packed to the rafters and with my anti-queue policy still holding fast, me and the missus decided to skip it. We somehow ended up at some exclusive birthday party down South Tel Aviv way, complete with a few Israeli celebs. There was maybe 60-70 people there, but everybody seemed to be a musician of some sort. And very gay. Girls going off into toilets two by two, while a posse of gay guys chatted harmlessly with the missus...we were probably the curiosity act, being straight and not musicians...

The great live band was constantly changing as drummers swapped, bass guitarists switched and singers came and went. One moment, there I was, swaying (note: not really bopping) along to the band, stood next to the Eurovision goddess Shiri (I think she might have bumped into me, the little stargazing strumpet), with Beetleman (the guy who plays the piano on the Israeli A Star is Born) on synths, while the singer from Portait belted out his one and only hit "Ver he akol mevina", one of my very favourite Israeli songs...A quite surreal moment. And yes, Shiri did belt out a few tunes, even a couple in English. Bless 'er.

Been a while since I last stopped out til 4 in the morning drinking my arse off, but it was a good one even without a Depeche Mode tune to be heard...