New haircut; same voice
Once again, I was able to talk a friend into going to see a musical artist at a smaller than normal venue for an unusual performance. Fortunately, unlike Moby’s long discussion about his photography and complete refrain from playing music, a celebration of Shavuot with Matisyahu did primarily involve him singing. The evening was emceed by the temple’s rabbi, Rabbi Shira Stutman, a woman in her late 30’s or early 40’s, who didn’t fit my ignorant definition of what a rabbi should look like. She began the evening with a brief discussion of the holiday, which celebrates God providing the Torah to the people of Israel. She kept it brief and relevant.
Matisyahu took the stage shortly thereafter. I almost didn’t recognize him at first. Gone were his signature beard and payot (side curls). Instead, he was clean shaved with a blowout. In fact, he looked almost like Jersey Shore housemate Pauly D rather than a traditional Hassidic Jewish artist. However within a few bars into his first song, the sounds of his voice made clear that it was him.
He truly does have an incredible voice, so powerful and melodic. At the end, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic did a Q&A with him. Actually, it might not have been him but rather a stand-in as whoever was asking the questions didn’t really seem prepared and was that great of an interviewer. It made me realize how hard interviewing someone is. Guys like Larry King and Jon Stewart make it look so easy. We didn’t stay for the entire interview; Matisyahu is kind of a weird guy. Good thing he has that beautiful voice.
Once again, I was able to talk a friend into going to see a musical artist at a smaller than normal venue for an unusual performance. Fortunately, unlike Moby’s long discussion about his photography and complete refrain from playing music, a celebration of Shavuot with Matisyahu did primarily involve him singing. The evening was emceed by the temple’s rabbi, Rabbi Shira Stutman, a woman in her late 30’s or early 40’s, who didn’t fit my ignorant definition of what a rabbi should look like. She began the evening with a brief discussion of the holiday, which celebrates God providing the Torah to the people of Israel. She kept it brief and relevant.
Matisyahu took the stage shortly thereafter. I almost didn’t recognize him at first. Gone were his signature beard and payot (side curls). Instead, he was clean shaved with a blowout. In fact, he looked almost like Jersey Shore housemate Pauly D rather than a traditional Hassidic Jewish artist. However within a few bars into his first song, the sounds of his voice made clear that it was him.
He was joined on stage by a guitarist, who seemed like an old friend instead of a hired musician. Despite seeming to know each other well, the two musicians were often at odds with their tunes and tempos and had to restart a few songs to find the right groove. At times it was a little annoying when it got particularly sloppy, but at other times it was very endearing and intimate. Matisyahu played a good mix of his songs as well as plenty of covers including Paul Simon’s “Graceland” for which he had to read the lyrics from a piece of paper. He also shared a few stories about his life including a recent motorcycle trip with his Dad. So while highly unpolished, it was a quite enjoyable set.
He truly does have an incredible voice, so powerful and melodic. At the end, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic did a Q&A with him. Actually, it might not have been him but rather a stand-in as whoever was asking the questions didn’t really seem prepared and was that great of an interviewer. It made me realize how hard interviewing someone is. Guys like Larry King and Jon Stewart make it look so easy. We didn’t stay for the entire interview; Matisyahu is kind of a weird guy. Good thing he has that beautiful voice.
