On the Scene at Israel’s Euroclub Party

Wiwi, Vebooboo and Meows Kitty took to the streets last night in search of the best Eurovision party Baku had to offer. We walked past a lame gathering for Joan Franka of the Netherlands. And then we ignored an invite to Russia’s official party,  which was taking place on a beach in the middle of nowhere. We ended up at the famed Euroclub for the highly-anticipated Israeli party. Israel is a small nation, but it has a reputation for offering some of the biggest and most extravagant parties in the Eurovision club circuit. The party wasn’t particularly crazy, but some of the things that happened were. Below you will find a blow by blow of all the evening’s gossip.

We knew we had arrived at the Israeli party when we were thrown into utter chaos at the security checkpoint. Hello Mossad! We almost lost Meows in a sea of Azeris because she was forced to put her handbag through a special security scan. But no need to worry, people: her kitty litter and cat treats made it through just fine! Even Israel’s Izabo had trouble getting in. Here they are passing through the scanner.

The Israelis must have mortgaged several parlimentarians’ houses to pay for the extravagant LED show they had running all night long. Unfortunately, we were pretty much the only people there to enjoy it for the first couple of hours. In the video below, Meows and Wiwi demonstrate how much space we had to ourselves by walking the dance floor. They’re all alone!

Fortunately the empty party meant that Izabo’s lead singer Ran Shem-Tov had time to snap some pics with us. Just to be clear, that is NOT normal at a host nation’s party, but it was seriously empty, people.

Loreen was the first guest to arrive, and as you can see  in this video, Ran rushed to meet her. Loreen asked Ran how the party was and he was basically forced to lie. She then, um, fondles his ear / earring in an odd gesture, before being ushered away by security to get her away from aggressive fans dying to get a photo.

People were seriously fighting for her attention, but in a sweet gesture Loreen stayed as one particularly aggressive German tried to take a photo of himself with her on his iPhone. Aww, bless her! But our blessings can be spared on Christer Bjorkman, who somehow ALWAYS seems to cling to Sweden’s contestants. Dude, your time is up. Let them live in the spotlight…and back away!

The performances started, and we were in for a real treat. Sofi Marinova warmed up the crowd with one of her personal favourite singles, followed by her Eurovision act. What warmed up the crowd more than anything was the sight of her enormous cupcake-like nipples. I mean, damn, woman, get a bra!

Loreen took over the stage and delivered one of the most impressive stage performances at a Eurovision party I have ever seen. Seriously, people were in a trance. She was amazing. You can click here to watch that video.

Anri Jokhadze’s song “I’m a Joker” may not be great, but his attitude is amazing. He was joking around with people before jumping on stage, and posed with us for the photo at the top of this post. He really owned it with his back-up dancers. He reminds me of our favourite dinosaur from last year — Daria Kinzer — in that his song sucks, but his spirit is uplifting and completely aligned with the Eurovision brand. We wish him all the best in celebrating his early exit from the competition at the semi-final after party.

The Trackshittaz took to the stage next and they worked it even though their strippers stayed at home. They have amazing chemistry with one another, and they involved the crowd in everything they do. We loved these guys from the moment we met them in Amsterdam, and we continue to be serious admirers.

Mandinga closed out the guest performers part of the night, first with an a cappella version of Zaleilah, and then the normal version. There were some technical problems, but Mandinga got through them and delivered a quality performance. Elena’s vocals sounded stronger than we’ve heard before — we just hope she doesn’t lose them by appearing at too many other nations’ parties!

Last but not least was Izabo, the host of course saved themselves for last. They sang three songs, and the crowd was definitely pleased. Ran seems like a really sweet guy – we caught him throughout the night chatting with random people and agreeing to a number of odd requests from ever aggressive fans. For his generosity and positive spirit we award him an absolute stellar A for tonight’s party. We just wish the security guards would have let in un-accredited people to fill up the building a bit! These ex-Soviet buildings are huge!

We closed the night out dancing, and Vebooboo and Meows flirted with random dudes on the dance floor and in the smoking area outside. Wiwi is married, and drank water and read his bible. Eurovision, we love you for the music..and all the self-esteem building opportunities you offer Vebooboo.

Kisses from Baku…

Team Wiwi