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Jerusalem's normally staid and historical id has taken a backseat as of late to the burgeoning party music scene, where the acts provide not just good tunes but the impetus to boogy woogy until the break of dawn. The summer, filled with festivals from all night Student party-thons to social activist nearly free concerts to arts fair entertainment is coming to a close with a bang this year with a one of a kind concert in one of Jerusalem's most recognizable and historical sites on August 21, blending the two normally seperate parts of the capital's identity.

The Tower of David, the ancient domineering minaret/citadel that greets visitors through the Old City's Jaffa Gate will host an afternoon of party music shakin' enough to make those old walls tremble. The concert, featuring The Apples, Coolooloosh and Los Caparos, is part of a newish effort by the Tower of David to branch out from its historical shell and attract newer audiences. This drive has been marked with new tours, interactive exhibits for kids, crazy sound and light shows, concerts and more.
But while the music emanating from the museum and archaeological site has normally been of the cantoral or jazz variety, this Friday, the tower will turn a new, jumping corner with a concert of soul thumping party music this Friday.

The Apples have begun to garner a strong international following, due to their frenetic and improvised live shows, and probably helped somewhat of the universality provided by a lack of vocals. The horn, bass and DJ heavy group's concerts are like a funky, soul-ey, brass band updated for the electronic scene, think Dirty Dozen meets The Avalanches with some James Brown and P-Funk thrown in. The Tower of David stop will be one of their only Israel gigs before heading off for an extended tour of the British Isles and Europe in support of their new LP "Buzzin' About."

For Erez Todres, who mans the turntables, it's not the venue, but the people that make a fun and funky party.
"If there's a stage, it doesn't matter if it's indoor or outdoor. We come to create fun," Todres said.

Yet he is still excited about playing in Jerusalem before embarking overseas.

"If it's in Jerusalem, it's going to be a hot crowd. It means that the people there will be the ones who with us from the beginning," he said.

Unlike Madonna, whose two shows in Tel Aviv next month will probably be clones of each other, each Apples show is completely different. The band has worked a jam band sensibility into their live shows, where literally anything goes.

"It changes with each show, It depends on the character of the show. We never bring a disc to the stage, that's a big no-no. The jamming happens between us and the audience. That's how we flow, it's part of the fun," he said, describing the shows as mystical and like a "circle of magic."

Another band taking the stage will be Coolooloosh, who have garnered a huge following as innovators of the Israeli party music scene. Fronted by American-Israeli Rebel Sun (A.K.A. Joel Covington), the band's hip-hop inspired funk, is still a Jerusalemite favorite, even if some of the group's members have moved on to Tel Aviv.
" We are all Jerusalem to the core. Jerusalem is home and there's no way you're going to be able to separate that from us," Covington said.

Rounding out the trio is Los Caparos, a reggae, dub, ska band that is the perfect complement to the two other party music groups.

Full details of the Friday afternoon show, plus ticket purchases, can be found at either the Tower of David's Website or at the Yellow Submarine. Happy slam dancing.