Matisyahu

In all of his studio albums, Matisyahu has made a hallmark of daring creativity, and has demonstrated a unique ability to integrate diverse musical influences into his sound. He never plays it safe. Every album is a new musical, and spiritual exploration; and because of this, he has sometimes disappointed his more genre-oriented fans who tend to pine for the "good-old-days" when he seemed to be a reggae super-star and Jewish icon. But no true artist can live in a box, any more than every fan of one period in an artist's life can follow them into the next. In the end, the artist creates for those who can hear the deeper melody, changing and evolving through each period, the same melody that haunts them and has to be delivered from within.
Matisyahu fuses the contemporary styles of reggae, rap, beatboxing, and hip-hop in general, with the more traditional vocal disciplines of jazz's scat singing and Judaism's hazzan style of songful prayer. The New York Times Kelefa Sanneh wrote that "His sound owes a lot to early dancehall reggae stars like Barrington Levy and Eek-a-Mouse."
His love for Reggae started from the fact that his mother's sister married a man from Barbados and that is where his cousins were raised. Every time he would visit, he started paying more attention to their music. That was the first time he remembered hearing reggae and liking it. After that, he got into Bob Marley. He then went to see Israel Vibration and claims that they changed his life. He fell I love with the heaviness of the music, the meditative quality, and the spirituality of the lyrics with all of the Old Testament references which to him, seemed like the full package. The Chicago Tribune's Kevin Pang described a Matisyahu performance as "soul-shaking brand of dancehall reggae, a show that captures both the jam band vibe of Phish and the ska-punk of Sublime." Coming from his Jewish background and compounding his use of the hazzan style, Matisyahu's lyrics are mostly English with more than occasional use of Hebrew and Yiddish.

An orthodox Jewish man reggae rapping alternative rock songs. What?! Normally this would never fly, but somehow Matthew Paul Miller made it work. Better known as Matsiyahu (his Hebrew name), he has taken all the things he loves, and made it into a unique sound.
Because of his unique sound, his live sets are just as interesting as his music. The show starts with the stage going dark, and then instrumental noise, yes, noise. Then strobe lights start to slowly flash giving a small glance at the band. Almost instantly, the noise turns to the beginning of “Crossroads,” as smoke rises and the crowd quiets in complete anticipation. Matisyahu walks out from the side of the stage and then the music picks up and the crowd goes completely wild. He is clad in complete orthodox Chassidic clothing, long beard, and yarmulke, definitely not something you would have imagined had you not known who he was and just listened to his music.
He performed a fourteen-song set, most of which came from his “Shake Off the Dust” and “Youth” albums. What was most surprising was that the guy has a pretty good singing ability with a really wide range, in addition to his rapping skills.

Matthew Paul Miller better known by both his stage name and Hebrew name Matisyahu is an American reggae rapper and alternative rock musician. It is perhaps as unbelievable as it sounds yet this level of intrigue has drawn people from around the globe to Matisyahu's often evocative and interactive live performance.

It goes without saying that seeing an artist perform live is a great way of seeing if they can carry the sound of their recording into a real world setting. Miller's sounds are ones of utter contrast yet he does manage to perform them with a great amount of skill and they do sound absolutely note perfect when compared to the albums. He is a jovial personality onstage telling the audience crazy stories about his travels and how he came to discover hip hop and what drew him to it from his conservative upbringings. He demonstrates real freestyle ability on 'One Day' and 'I Believe In Love' proving that perhaps we should all step outside our comfort zones from time to time as the outcome can often be one of success.

I was looking forward to your concert for weeks but once I arrived I was truly disappointed! I never thought you could put on such a disappointing show and I feel terrible for all your fans last night including myself. For two hours you spent more time connecting with your band and letting them have instrumental solos for most of each song and then you spent the rest of it beat boxing into the mic. If you truly looked out into the audience you would see the confusion and boredom on your fans faces. We came and paid money to hear YOU SING your amazing songs and listen to your awesome voice but we didn't get any of that. If you really read these reviews I hope you make some major adjustments to your set, sing for your fans, and give a shit about putting on a great song. Don't let's fans see you LIVE and regret it! I left thinking "man, this guy used to be great". It's too bad bc Portland didn't get to see the artist we all thought would show up.

Very disappointed fan!

I bought the ticket 2 months in advance, as it was always my dreams to see him and to listen to his songs at a live show! I was so excited, the concert took place at an amazing venue - The Vets, Providence, RI. The souns was really good, for me it was a seat on the balcony so I could see everything, but there were also places in front of the stage where people could stand up and come up to the stage. The concert began with a local singer / songwriter, then an intermission for 30 minutes, then the set of Matisyahu with a short break. The musician was great!! He started with "Close my eyes" and the fans were absolutely happy! most songs were extended with instrumental breaks and beatbox. Sometimes mysterious, sometimes energetic, but all in all absolutely awesome!

Amazing show! The vibe was on point! Great set, great openers, just all around awesome music that you could feel in your soul!

Meeting him at the Post Show Kickback was an added bonus!I've been listening to him since middle school, I'm 31 now and this was my first time seeimg him im person and chatting with him. He was so attentive to everyone he spoke with at the meet & greet!

Come back to North Carolina soon! Maybe even the Fayettevill/Fort Bragg area? ;)

Haven't seen Matisyahu perform since his chasidm years. Show was disappointing. He lacked energy. He didn't engage at all with the crowd other than shaking hands throughout the show. He didn't talk or even acknowledge the audience. There was too much filler music as he just stood on the stage. I had high expectations because he's a talented musician. But it seems his energy is gone. He did play some classics and the crowd was really into it.

The concert was definitely enjoyable! The sound effects brought the whole concert to life. The guitarists were very good, and the drummer was superb, bringing in unconventional instruments for sound effects for the songs. Finally, Matisyahu was wonderful, interacting with the crowd and even singing a song the crowd wanted him to. A wonderful experience and well thought out.

Matis never disappoints....it's that simple. I wasn't sure what to expect in an acoustic show. I liked the idea of a more "stripped down" performance. And did he ever deliver! There is no comparison between recorded and live beat boxing. It was phenomenal. He is an artist who truly appreciates his fans, and showed us love throughout the night. As did we for him....

It was amazing!!! High Quality Reggae and Dub!!
Prabably, if Matisyahu return i will go to see!
The best beat box in the world. Please return soon!!!!
Cine Jóia is very small but the sound is very good.
The negative point is the little breack they did in the show, about 15 minutes.
Because of this, the public did some noise and screamed to come back.