Matisyahu @ The Beaumont

After Matisyahu and his bandmates had left the stage, I walked across the floor of the Beaumont Club trying to find my way out of the building. While trying to avoid the broken bottles, someone came up to me I had never met. He grabbed me, gave me a big hug and said “I hope I see you at Wakarusa!” We talked for a few seconds, his name was Russell, and it was exactly what I needed to take the edge off the evening.

A couple years ago you heard about the club in Chicago that was so full of people, there was a riot and people were trampled. Or, maybe you remember the Great White show where the pyrotechnics turned catastrophic (though there were no pyrotechnics at the Beaumont). This show walked that dangerous line. It appeared everyone was there except the fire marshal or a police officer. Had they been, there’s no way that many people would have been in there.

Of course, there were the bouncers at the Beaumont; not cops by any means, but they do dress like a SWAT team. They all walk around with a huge chip on their shoulder as if they were still angry about never having been asked to the prom or always being picked last in kickball. They are the most ruthless thugs in town and it’s a real problem. They threw out, literally, over a dozen fans during the night. The scary part—the part where you actually were concerned for your safety—was the thrashing among the crowd as they manhandled the fans on the way to showing them the door. It was like trying to steer clear of a high-speed car chase during rush hour in LA. The Beaumont Club owners and Matisyahu are very lucky that no one was severely injured during the show.

Now if you can look past that, and focus on meetings with people like Russell and random hugs from strangers, you can find a bright spot in a crazy night. The show lasted an intense 90 minutes and it was about 90 degrees inside. An hour into Matisyahu’s set, the ventilation system finally kicked on and the bouncers propped open the doors. Granted, most people had been in there for two plus hours at that point. Amazingly, I only saw one person carried out due to the heat.

Right now, Matisyahu (Matthew Miller) is everywhere, from Rolling Stone, GQ, MTV, and VH1 all the way to magazines in Jerusalem. His face, covered in a very orthodox-looking thick black beard, is unmistakable. In the current issue of Rolling Stone, it mentions that even Madonna wants a piece of the guy. It doesn’t sound like the meeting between the queen of pop and the king of all things Hasidic is set to go down yet; apparently it’s still in the planning stages. Given Madonna’s strong ties to Kabbalah, apparently Miller has to meet with rabbis and see if it’s acceptable within his faith. That’s what makes this story interesting: for a Hasidic Jew to be cast in the limelight is such an odd thing.

The Beaumont’s set list came from his two studio albums Shake Off The Dust…Arise and his new album (due out March 7th) Youth, along with his overwhelmingly successful live release Live at Stubb’s. He made it through a 12-song set with one encore, “What I’m Fighting For” off his new album. He said it was the first time they’d played it, the sort of news that’s a treat for any crowd to hear.

Sons and daughters of Abraham/Lay down to a higher command/Don’t be tricked by the acts of man/God’s wisdom revealed in a Holy plan.

When you read those lyrics and consider the size of the crowds that he’s drawing at shows as of late and all the media attention, his popularity becomes all the more baffling. Yet if you’ve ever gone to a Wakarusa, Bonnaroo, 10KLF or another like-minded festival, you probably found yourself thinking, “Man, if everyone listened to this music, the world would be a better place.” It’s a very hippie way of thinking, but it’s also true. By Matisyahu being everywhere and his music striking chords with the masses, it’s obvious that he’s found that he can make an impact. And I think that’s his motivation. That and he looks like he loves it up there on stage.

The majority of his songs were his usual reggae/rap mix. Starting with a slow musical build-up coupled with his trademark ethereal chanting, Matisyahu and his band tentatively stepped into each song. Any reggae fan would be familiar with the style and how he twists and bends his words to follow the flow of beats, but when he hits the rap and the beatbox in the middle of the reggae vibe, that’s where he shines. He’s on stage, black coat, black suit, black hat, thick beard, pogoing, jumping up and down, preaching his rhymes to the crowd about Moses leading the Jews through the desert and the parting of the Red Sea and the crowd is amped, arms flailing, jumping up and down and screaming.

Remember, we’re talking about the Red Sea here.

And that is what’s so intriguing…and somehow comforting. The more Matisyahu can work his way into the mainstream and take airplay away from all the crap out there, well, God bless him for it.

—Concert Chris

Setlist:
Youth, Exaltation, Lord Raise Me Up, Mist, Fire of Heaven/Altar of Earth, Aish Tamid, Close My Eyes, Beat Box, Freedom, Daughter, Warrior, King Without a Crown, What I’m Fighting For (Encore)