Brightest Young Things

all words: Colin Wilhelm
all photos: Ben Droz

Matisyahu, the formerly Hasidic but still firmly Jewish reggae-rapper, spent much of Wednesday night at the 9:30 Club trying to be many things to many people. He began his set offstage, while an extended trance intro segued into a reggae groove, which the formerly hirsute performer started rapping and singing over in absentia for the duration of the first song.

His next song saw him emerge onstage to be greeted by the camera phones that poked up from the crowd intermittently, like meerkats in a desert of backwards caps, flannel, and hoodies. When he emerged it was at first as a reluctant performer, one who seemed cold and stiff onstage for the opening portions but warmed up as the show went on.

The set featured much of what you can hear on his records: reverb, pedal delays, resonant synths. But most songs seemed to follow a formula that would surprise those introduced to him on Shake Off the Dust…Arise or Live at Stubbs. This pattern consisted of: a trance introduction into a laid back beat [nothing surprising there] and then…a hard rock guitar solo climax from out of left field about two or three minutes into the song.

Given that Matisyahu has made a concerted effort to, in his words, evolve his music from its roots reggae beginnings perhaps this should have been more expected. But it felt massively out of place and somewhat grating in the middle of a stage where lethargic bass and drums were playing, like a problem child seeking attention in a class of otherwise well-behaved kids. If you strip a good reggae song to its roots, it was probably built on the foundation of steadily repetitious bass, drums, and synths, with a light guitar touch. Extended guitar solos, especially those in the key of Guns n’ Roses, harsh the mellow, man.

Whether he wants the label or not, Matisyahu is perhaps the best-known non-Marley reggae musician in the world, partly because he crafted an album’s worth of solid reggae songs early in his career, with one or two arguably great ones sprinkled in. Also he was the only person to do it while wearing a fedora and sidecurls. The mellow grooves his early songs slipped into emphasized his lyrics and vocal prowess. He’s a respectable rapper and has a gift for delivery; one of the most frustrating aspects of the performance was his continued deferral to a backing band that wanted to play Sublime or Soundgarden more than Matisyahu, or at least it seemed that way at times. However this didn’t seem to bother those attending, which seemed to consist of the strange brew of stoners and Jewish families.

Matisyahu brought a couple belated Hanukkah presents in the form of two newer songs that followed the aforementioned formula. He tempered the crowd’s enthusiasm for these when they buzzed into excitement at his announcement, saying “We’ve been playing them for six months so you’ve probably heard them before.” Still it gave an excuse to mention the giant disco style dreidel that hung above him rotating, occasionally shining focused light so bright into audience members eyes it might make someone want to kick a photographer in the face.

Obviously Matisyahu has gone through some major changes recently, parting with both Hasidism and the beard that symbolized it. Those changes have, at least to some extent, been reflected by a musical trend away from the roots reggae that brought him to fame. Personally I think that’s unfortunate (the music part, religion is his business) but many in the crowd seemed not to mind.

Previously in Live DC:

• 5/22: LiveDC: Spirit Animal @ Red Palace
• 5/22: LiveDC: Astra Via @ Black Cat
• 5/22: LiveDC: Father John Misty @ Rock & Roll Hotel
• 5/22: LiveDC: Drive-By Truckers and Lucinda Williams @ Merriweather
• 5/22: Photos: Summer Camp takes the "Ladies of Town" Drag Show
• 5/22: LiveDC: Penguin Prison & Class Actress @ RNR Hotel
• 5/21: LiveDC: James Morrison @ 930 Club
• 5/21: Photos: Que Sera L'Anniversaire @ Napoleon
• 5/21: LiveDC: La Sera/ Beach Week @ Red Palace
• 5/21: LiveDC: The Black Keys & Arctic Monkeys @ Merriweather Post Pavilion