Matisyahu – House of Blues – Houston, Texas August 16, 2011
Concert Reviews
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Written by Daniel Barker
Aug 16, 2011 at 08:00 PM
I watched a 32 year old American born Hasidic Jew stage dive onto a crowd of his adoring fans who identify with the gospel he delivers thru a blend of rap, reggae, hip-hop, scat, and Hassan prayer. I searched for the words to describe the scene before me. As I rose my sights to the heavens above I found the answer before me.

The archway over the stage read “Unity In Diversity”.

On August 16th 2011, Matisyahu brought The Dub Trio with him once again to Houston’s House of Blues. The Dub Trio consists of Stu Brooks-Bass; Joe Tomino-Drums; and DP Holmes-guitar. The four flooded the floor with an audial array immaculately conceived in the mind of Matis.

So conceived in fact, this foursome is on tour to support a third live album – “Live At Stubb’s Vol. II”. Not too many rappers are worthy of three live disc trust me. “Live At Stubb’s Vol. II” was recorded almost a year to the date of tonight’s show. It was released on my 37th birthday, February 1st, 2011.

When I go to a Matisyahu show I leave it all at the door. The crowd is always interestingly inviting as the warm smell of The Holy Weed rises in the air within the smoky light. To me, nights like these serve as a time warp into the future where information has left ignorance impotent.

I give into the flow and/or swagger that Matis brings. He has a style all his own and honestly would be a sin for me to even try and label in a language as terribly sterile as English. The song highlight for me was “Sunshine”. As a former beat-boxer myself, I must say that Matisyahu is the best I have ever heard. Undoubtedly inspired by The Fat Boy’s Human Beat Box all as much as Abraham and Moses. Now that is Unity In Diversity. Coexist Bitches.