December 18th, 2009
Matisyahu lights up Brooklyn
Last night, trippy rhymes and rhythms spun like dreidels at the Williamsburg Music Hall.
For the past few years, Matisyahu has shared his Hanukkah festivities with his fervent, mostly-secular and ever-growing fan base. Last night was the first of four nights kicked off at the “Hall” – a terrific Brooklyn venue. The first four nights of Matisyahu’s Festival of Lights at Webster Hall, supporting his latest release “Light” were a blast, but last night, performing for his hometown was indeed special.
Matis nee Matthew Miller and his talented band brought their brand of reggae, rock and surprisingly trippy jazz to a modestly large Wednesday night crowd that simply ate them up. They really hit their stride during their third number – with the lanky Matisyahu cutting loose – pais and tsisis twirling.
Collectively, each band member had a memorable moment, with guitarist Aaron Dugan shredding on “King Without A Crown” and D.P Holmes playing a wild fretboard sliding solo during one of the more rocking numbers. Drummer Joe Tomino raised eyebrows with his hard-hitting drum style. The most surprising aspect of Matisyahu’s program was his ability to break down songs, adding trippy twists and loungy turns. Keyboardist Rob Marscher’s improvisational style is a nice fit for this eclectic band. Bassist Stu Brooks appropriately brought the thunder.
But is was clearly Matisyahu that was the draw. His musical vocal talent, upbeat lyrical content and interesting mix of musical interests makes him much more than the Hassidic reggae novelty act he is perceived to be. His dual-microphoned, oral-nasally enhanced beat-box had me floored. His tall, lanky frame and boyish good looks dominated the stage front. A relatively new secular clothing style – with his casual trousers and hoodie sweatshirt – helped break his overtly religious image. This is a person that clearly has an agenda to expand his audience and raise awareness of his positive message of hope and acceptance.
The song that most embodies this message is “One Day.” It’s “Imagine-esque” theme and “Hey Jude-like” C,G,A,F chord structure coupled with Matis’ unique brand of uplifting rap/rock/reggae vocals create a soundtrack that won’t soon be forgotten. It is THE song that will be stuck in your head all day. It’s the song that will put Matisyahu on the worldwide map. It also has an extremely cool music video. This surefire hit has been adopted by NBC as it’s theme song for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Be prepared to be blown away.
You can catch Matisyahu and his band at the Williamsburg Music Hall December 17th, 19th and 20th. Saturday night’s show, supported by Gym Class Heroes’ Travis McCoy is officially sold out. . . but I would endeavor to try to catch one of the other available dates.