When I first saw Matisyahu on Jimmy Kimmel Live two years ago (yes, that's right, Jimmy had him 2 years ago), I thought, neat, but this is a real gimmicky artist here. Then, over time, I saw his name pop up a bunch of the jam band scene. He even did some shows with Trey from Phish. Things got a little more interesting for me then, but still, no real spark or connection or anything.
Recently, the radio stations caught on to him and he went from zero to sixty very quickly. Suddenly shows are selling out at larger venues, etc. I got a kick out of this, since I had seen him so long ago on Kimmel and now he was the hottest commodity on the market. I dug "King Without A Crown" when I heard it on the radio, but still, thought this guy was still a gimmick act.
Well, recently one of his shows showed up on bt.etree.org, the bittorrent part of the etree network, where all sorts of legally taped shows are posted. I said, what the heck, let's see what this guy is really all about.
Well, color me impressed. This guy and his band really have some skills. I've been listening to the CD I made a ton lately and really getting in to it. He's got a number of great songs and a band that just rocks. The most amazing part is that he does some old school beat boxing on one of the tracks and just lights it up. Then his band jams out for a bit and really show their skills.
I have definitely become a fan :)
