This was TDH's second visit to upstate NY, and they were even better than the first. Busting out rhymes from their new album, 'Cabin By the Sea.' Duddy B and Dirty J killed it with their laid-back, SoCal stage presence. Their vocals sounded stronger than last too, however maybe they were just drowned out by the sold out crowd. I have never seen that venue SO crowded, not even for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros! Regardless, they deserved their spot on that broken down stage that upstate NY loves so much. I won't spend too much time blogging about how awesome they are, my love for them, and how they are the perfect summer concert, but I will say, "read my previous blog about them and check out their new album!" Oh to be a surfer girl/yogi living in the California sunshine with Duddy...one day. ;)
Matisyahu graced the stage prior to his set to join TDH's to perform their single together, 'Dance All Night.' We did, until we fell. Sweaty dancing, too. My friend and I maximized every square inch in order to rock out properly. Bang!
For those who don't know Matisyahu, he is reggae/alternative rock musician known for blending his traditional Jewish themes into his music. His story is quite interesting and the timeline of events that lead him to where he is now it fascinating in comparison to the lives of your typical pop/rock star. I'll let you Wiki that on your own and instead I will rip on him for being a TOTAL sell out. Don't get me wrong, his beat-boxing and rhymes were on point. His dance moves were groovy and his stage presence was dead sexy, BUT, he was cleanly shaved and donning faint, blond tints in his hair. This swagger is the COMPLETE opposite of the Matisyahu look we all know and respect. His long beard got the boot about a year ago, claiming his look was more of an "alias." Here is his Twitter post, from 2011, reporting the news:
"No more Chassidic reggae superstar. Sorry folks, all you get is me...no alias. When I started becoming religious 10 years ago it was a very natural and organic process. It was my choice. My journey to discover my roots and explore Jewish spirituality—not through books but through real life. At a certain point I felt the need to submit to a higher level of religiosity...to move away from my intuition and to accept an ultimate truth. I felt that in order to become a good person I needed rules—lots of them—or else I would somehow fall apart. I am reclaiming myself. Trusting my goodness and my divine mission. Get ready for an amazing year filled with music of rebirth. And for those concerned with my naked face, don’t worry...you haven’t seen the last of my facial hair."
With that, I say, "bullshit," Matisyahu, aka Matthew Paul Miller (if that's even your real name.) I think that LA$ is looking pretty nice to a white rapper with blond tips, but that is just my opinion. I also feel this way because of his lack of thanks to my favorite radio station last night. As ya'll know, I'm a huge fan of WEQX The Real Alternative. Although I came across Matisyahu's music on my own, EQX was the station to share most of his collection not just his #1s. EQX was the station that made me enjoy him. Where am I going with this? Last night he made it a point to thank a couple other stations in the capital region and LEFT OUT EQX. What da what??? It was strange, especially because I was expecting Jeff, Amber or Duncan to jump on stage and to my surprise he completely disregarded this awesome INDEPENDENT radio station.
Blond tips, no beard, no respect. Epic disappointment in my eyes.
The music though, the music was fun. He is dang good and no one can take his talent away from him. I'm glad I can tuck that show away in my memory as a super fun, summer dance party!
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| Matisyahu casually hanging from the celing rafters. |
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