|
Matisyahu :: 07.09.05 :: World Cafe Live :: Philadelphia, PA
A Hasidic Reggae performer - that's crazy. Perhaps it's not so crazy... In 1530, hundreds of years before today, Jews of Portuguese-Spanish ancestry first landed on the island of Jamaica.
Matisyahu :: 07.09.05 :: Philadelphia |
Both Jews and Rastafarians believe in the Old Testament and therefore obey its laws.
In both Rastafarian and Jewish history, Babylon symbolizes powerful forces used against the people.
The Rastas follow laws about hair-cutting, certain Jews do too.
There are connections between the Rastafarian and Jewish dietary laws, including the prohibition of eating pork.
The Rastafarians believe that smoking the holy herb is the purest and most natural form of attaining communion with God. The Jewish religion also places some importance on herbs from the land, but instead of passing a pipe, a box containing spices is passed around to symbolize the end of the Sabbath.
The Star of David, also called the Star of Solomon, is used many times to symbolize the Rastafarian religion. The Jews also use this as a symbol representing themselves and Israel.
To the Rastafarians, the word 'Israelite' and 'Ethiopian' are both the same. There are vast numbers of people that inhabit our world. Similarities can be pulled out of different regions and peoples all over the world. Some might say those similarities are just human nature; others may talk of distant bloodlines running back centuries.
Matisyahu, born Matthew Miller, performs reggae dashed with Jewish mysticism, emotion, and a beat-box that would catch the attention of Run DMC. Matis has been throwing down lyrics and canting reggae as a rabbi would cant from the Torah for the last four years. His recent performances have included a string of high-profile festival stops and artist showcases, including a few huge performances at Bonnaroo. His future late-summer tour even has him opening for Trey Anastasio. Whether the young Jewish musician wants it or is ready for it, he is on the fast track to something much larger.
Matisyahu :: 07.09.05 :: Philadelphia |
On Saturday, July 9th, the quick-jabber, mic grabber was back in Philadelphia for his second performance on the main stage at the World Cafe Live. The crowd was a little different then the normal Philly heads. Matisyahu had successfully sold out WCL with a 600 person crowd that more closely resembled the local chapter of the Jewish Community Center than a hot Saturday night reggae show. Hebrew writing covered many a t-shirt. Somewhere, someone dropped a bit of Manischewitz into the water and made the yarmulke (pronounced 'yamika') the new baseball cap. The scene could be described as almost a reverse Christian rock show, except instead of Jesus and screaming guitars, Matisyahu brought some freaky Jewish reggae for a soul shakedown party.
Matisyahu :: 07.09.05 :: Philadelphia |
Matisyahu began the evening's performance with a catch-phrase/prayer. Roughly translated by a nice gentleman near me, "Open up my lips and my mouth will declare your praise." It was his way of dedicating the performance to God and showing respect to other reggae artists who begin shows with a certain Rastafarian phrase. It appeared he was about to get Irie like L'Chaim in Zion.
Early in the rotation, not straying far from his past performances, was "Chop 'em Down," a song the ripe Philly crowd was anxiously awaiting. Bass player Josh Werner kicked it off in Hasidic-Rasta style, sending a steady stream of low bass thumps to our inner cores. His bass playing kept a fairly deep pocket throughout the evening. He must have learned some valuable lessons on the road with Jen Durkin because he now sits with the responsibility of chief music writer for the group's songs.
Matisyahu had a fine layer of sweat glistening across his brow as he tactfully delivered lyric after lyric. I had read that "Chop 'em Down," was describing the mission of using music as a tool for religious awakening. Whether it awoke the crowd's religious side was of little concern because it did a fair job of waking the feet. Aaron Dugan produced some strong sounds and seemed to bring a sense of originality to his reggae-centric guitar style. Jonah David wielded the drumsticks, providing the rhythm and glue as he played off Josh and Matis well through "Warrior." You could easily pick out insightful ideas while listening to the lyrics Matis was tearing through. He seemed to enjoy watching the faces of those interpreting the lyrics in their own way.
Matisyahu :: 07.09.05 :: Philadelphia |
"One day those trees will stand and clap hands." "One day we will wake up from this dream, and we'll stop sleeping. Then we'll see clearly." As the almost two-hour show unraveled before us, it was easy to see that Matisyahu felt at home on the stage as he bounced around, giving the front row "hi-fives." He stripped down to his short-sleeve white button-down and traded his brimmed hat for a black yarmulke. You didn't have to look too closely around the crowd to reveal a scattering of Hasidic locks. It was easy to make hair comparisons between these and the thick dreadlocks worn by others. Matisyahu slipped the show into third gear as the stage was cleared with a single sweep of a bright spot light. A murmur of hushes and "Shhh's" only slightly interrupted our Saturday night fun as the illuminated one began to pump his cheeks full of air and churn his breath through the mic. The beat-box vocal display sent the crowd into hysterics as the show broke wide open into a hailstorm of hoots and hollers.
Matisyahu :: 07.09.05 :: Philadelphia |
Matis combined the reggae sound with his faith in the Chabad-Lubovitch, a movement of Orthodox Judaism that had him trade in the tie-dye for black and sport sidelocks (Peyot). The crowd-proclaimed spiritual warrior continued with his lyrical assault and beats. He explained how tonight was a holy night and that we were approaching a spiritual pinnacle. "Close My Eyes" was fairly moving as his gaze wandered through the audience as he chanted, "Run, run, run, but you could not hide. Never run from inside." Next, Matisyahu gave a shout-out to all his fans in the house from Westchester County, NY. The encore of "Sea to Sea" and "Candle" sent the crowd into an uproar as Matis joined the crowd and jumped around.
Matisyahu has said that reggae music was the catalyst for his connection with Judaism. His performance in Philadelphia was captivating, and his message and stories entertaining. For many of us, the religion of choice is music, and we often find spirituality in everyday life - not that that's much different from Matis. The question naturally arises as to whether or not one wishes to mix religion with music and the nightlife. This is something each individual must decide for him or herself, but when done with taste, without claiming superiority of one faith over another, and uniting as opposed to dividing, the results can be mentally, spiritually, physically and most certainly musically fulfilling. When witnessing the musical abilities and deep-seeded spiritual message of a man like Matisyahu, and the reggae toasters that inspired him, it seems apparent that religion and music can find a happy place where they rest well together, strengthening our minds and feeding our ears.
Words & Images by: Jake Krolick
JamBase | Philadelphia
Go See Live Music!
|
