Bling Bling in the ATL

So my sister and the boy left town today. My sis to Boston for R&R; the boy to Berlin for a funeral.

Last night we all went to a Matisyahu concert - thats Matis to the left. He is - thats right - the hasid-from-white-plains reggae star you've all heard about.

Why was I there? Two words: guest list. One of my sister's buddies did his thesis on racial others in music - and scored a job as tour producer by interviewing Matisyahu. Su-eet.

Anyways, it was an interesting show. There was the usual hippie/urban indie contingent, as well as a handful of rabbis and teenage hasids whom you don't normally see at the Roxy on a Monday night.

Matis had an absolutely gorgeous voice - it was a pleasure to hear a concert sung so well. And he was really nice to his band. He gave them a lot of play, and walked to the back of the stage to really share the spotlight with the drummer and the guitarist.

All the same... he's a Jew singing reggae. There was something strange going on. The lyrics are not exactly, 'you gotta fight for your right to party' ... more like, 'god lift me up' which the boy says is a direct translation of aliyot? - which kind of means, send me to Israel?? I dunno. I forget, I was really tired after the show when we talked about it. Anyhow, the boy was definitely a little perturbed. He said it was the same as a Christian rock band and that Matisyahu was using his beard and hat for its iconic status - which I have to admit is probably right.

Maybe so. There was definitely a reggae-religious element to the music, and I felt like Matisyahu was getting a lot of respect from the crowd as a religious figure - someone who deserved a little deference because he ... was so spiritual in his lifestyle. At the same time, I didn't get the impression that anyone who wasn't already hasid was going to walk out of that place determined to embrace orthodox judaism - or that there was any call for that. At most, there was a priest-role being played... Matis was some sort of conduit, or he brought a spiritual presence with him.

Anyhow. Interesting show and I snagged a flyer. Alright, back to work now...

- Ms. Bling