Pulling an all-nighter, Jewish style: Dawn 2005 — a Shavuot-inspired music and study session

On Shavuot, religious Jews burn the midnight oil, studying Torah all night long. This year, local Jews have a rock 'n' roll alternative with Dawn 2005, which offers a twist on the tradition, with live music, performance art and discussion till the sun comes up.

Presented by Threshing Floor Productions and the Hub at the Jewish Community Center San Francisco, Dawn takes place from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Sunday, June 12, at Club Six in San Francisco.

Shavuot, or the Festival of Weeks, commemorates the time when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the Temple. Traditionally, the holiday also celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, which is why religious (and often non-religious Jews) stay up all night studying classic Jewish texts.

Of course, not everyone likes to do things by the book.

Dawn organizers say they will try to top last year's maiden effort, booking such eclectic artists as singer-songwriter Amy Tobin, Rebbetzin Hadassah Gross (a.k.a. Amichai Lau-Lavie) and Jewish hip-hop impressario Socalled.

Others on the line-up promise an artistically challenging evening, though some aren't sure what they'll be doing.

"I don't know yet," says composer/organist Gershon Kingsley when asked what he'll be performing at Dawn 2005. A living musical legend, Kingsley is a pioneer of the Moog synthesizer and composer of the famous international hit "Popcorn."

But he's also been closely connected with Jewish liturgical music, having written melodies for Jewish services and performed locally with people like Congregation Emanu-El Cantor Rosyln Barak.

Of course, being a modern composer, he couldn't help being influenced by contemporary styles. "In 1968, a young rabbi asked me to do a service in a rock style," he says. "I got a black choir in a New Jersey synagogue and it became a huge success."

Also set to appear at the event are the Rondo Brothers, two musicians who are not named Rondo and aren't brothers. Brandon Arnovick and his partner. Jim Greer, comprise the Brothers, who work as producers and remixers as much as they do as performers.

"We know people aren't there to drink and dance," says Arnovick, who is Jewish. "They're there to recognize the holiday and what it means. Some will be more focused on the event and less on the entertainment."

Still, the Rondo Brothers (actually a five-piece band) will try to wrest a little attention, with their combination of on-the-fly beats, loops and breaks, ukelele, pedal steel, Wurlitzer organ and more. "We will vary from cool background music to something to stay glued to," says Arnovick.

Local guitarist John Schott will also perform, but he's only planning to play one piece.

However, it's eight hours long.

His original solo guitar composition "Shavuot" consists of 52 separate short themes that interweave as the hours tick away. "The music is very spacious," he says, "very much about contemplation and turning primary melodic blocks over and over and re-examining them."

As ambitious as his piece may be, Schott wants to blend into the studious mood of the event. "You're going to see a guy sitting there with an electric guitar," he says, "hopefully with a little floor lamp, a little table with a bunch of books from the Tanach to Kafka."

Schott's wife is Naomi Seidman, head of Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, and their son attends Tehiya Day School in El Cerrito.

Despite the eight-hour length of his set (plus one 20-minute break), Schott doesn't think the experience will be all that grueling. In fact, for attendees as well as artists, Dawn is meant to be just like any other Shavuot all-nighter: pure invigoration.

"For me, playing music is very much akin to prayer," he says. "At its best, there's a deep connection between playing music and communing with God. I don't think I'm the only musician who feels that way."




Dawn 2005 begins 8 p.m. Sunday, June 12, at Club Six, 60 60th Street, S.F. Tickets: $12-$15. Information: (415) 292-1233.