Matisyahu’s Hasidic days are over, but his music remains spiritual and his fan base Jewish as evidenced on Wednesday night at the Wiltern Theatre, where the musician headlined a concert billed as “An Evening with Matisyahu.”
Clean shaven, his grayed hair tied into a ponytail and dressed in a baggy plaid poncho-looking shirt, skin-tight jeans and dark-blue Converse, Matisyahu began the well-received performance with “Reservoir.” The song off his latest studio album, “Akeda,” contains a lyric that, much like the artist himself, blurs the biblical and the contemporary.
“Moses is on his way downtown,” Matisyahu sang, appearing vulnerable onstage at the Koreatown venue during a performance that deftly blended reggae, rock and hip-hop and ambient sound textures.
The two-set concert featured memorable tunes such as “Jerusalem,” “King Without a Crown” and “One Day” but, for the most part, the set list featured more obscure numbers from the artist’s now decade-old career.
The communal vibe was underscored by Matisyahu inviting Los Angeles rapper Kosha Dillz and Pico-Robertson singer Yehuda Solomon of Moshav Band onto the stage late in the evening, the two joining Matisyahu and his four-piece, touring band, comprised of guitarist Aaron Dugan, drummer Tim Keiper, keyboardist Rob Marscher and bassist Stu Brooks onstage. Dillz improvised a rap over the tight-knit band’s spacey grooves and Solomon sang nigun-like vocals.
The crowd-pleasing “One Day” made up the encore, and Matisyahu segued from it into a song featuring a similar chord progression, that is, a cover of the Bob Marley classic, “No Woman No Cry.” During the song, he signaled for a young, male audience member, who was wearing a kippah, to climb onto the stage and, then, before anyone could say “Matis,” dozens of 20-somethings were onstage, taking selfies with the singer and with each other and rocking back-and-forth to the music. Together, Matisyahu and his fans helped close out the evening with a message of unity.
Spotted in the pit was actor Kevin Weisman (“Hello Ladies”), a supporter of Bet Tzedek and others organizations, Jewish and non-Jewish, according to imdb.com.
Those seen in line on the sidewalk at Wilshire boulevard, outside the venue, and inside the lobby just before the 8 p.m. concert started included Friends of ELNET California director Jonathan Boyer, educator Batsheva Frankel and L.A. Russian Jewish Young Adult Network leader Eric Fihman.
As demonstrated by the number of news articles regarding Matisyahu’s religiosity, his headspace is always of interest, but, for those hoping to gain some insight into where the artist’s mind is these days, the music would have to do, as Matisyahu kept in-between song banter to a minimum.
When he wasn’t singing, he was jumping, gliding and sliding around the stage, evoking something in-between the dancing Chabad rabbi and the Michael Jackson moonwalk.
Always moving to the tempo of his own beat, Matisyahu keeps journeying, but he isn’t going anywhere.
