Matisyahu - Live at Stubbs
If I can sum it up, this one is based on one word ... this word sometimes gets us in trouble, this word sometimes gets the best of us, this word to stop this blathering is curiosity. I guess I was wondering why this one gets so much play on Star, well I personally wonder no more ... the eMusic free music bonanza begins
Matisyahu - Live at Stubbs: B/B+
Has the world ALREADY forgotten that there was a little band from Long Beach called Sublime? Or, on the other hand, is it just that Sub like so many other bands prematurely departed leaving us with very little to go on in a way, but much of it good ... that we want to fill that void with similar sounds.
I think that it may be very easy to draw the inevitable comparison on first listen that the vibe is very reminiscent of Bradley's band ... heck, the delivery is eerily similar to him as well. In fact, I think it's really hard to ignore the similarities, I personally find it real difficult to separate the two.
So here's my impressions in short ... if you really liked Sub (we most certainly do), you are really going to like this. In fact, you will be very troubled by the eerie similarities that abound. Yes, we can all be music critics and state the obvious that the emcee here is fundamentally Jewish in appearance and material ... but man, when you close your eyes, sometimes you can be fooled by it.
All that musical confusion aside, there are some tremendous numbers here like, "Chop Em Down", "Heights", "Close My Eyes) (all very remiscent of the LB style), "King Without a Crown", and "Exaltation" are the strong cuts. I think that "Refuge", "Aish Tarrid" and "Fire and Heights" are particularly strong, and aren't in an obvious Long Beach style. Ref is a bluesy reggae with a great message; AT is just great reggae/dub ... whereas FandH is 1970s style instrumental jam rock. He also does a surprisingly good "Beat Box" ... didn't see that one coming, not in 8 million years, it's not Rahzel level, but still amazingly good, and he does a mean WB rap (makes me almost wonder what would happen if he wasn't so good at laying down the LB sound)
And top to bottom it is a great listen. What I really appreciated was that Matis stayed away from the temptation to murder the Jamaican MC dub style, what so many local bands here apparently do not fear and commit audible murder with each breath. I really liked the positivity and the spiritual lyrics as well and the general upbeat tone of the music.
So if you have that free offer from eMusic, have some iT credits, or have some money burning a hole in your pocket ... you could do worse if you like the style of Sublime, LBAS and Short Bus, 311, etc. We think this one is a bit short on originality, but the musical style that it carries forward is certainly worthwhile.
So it's not the most original stuff we've ever heard ... it still is quite the fun changeup, shake things up listen ... greatest live album since KISS Alive??? Who buys live albums, anyways besides us ... and it seems as if Matis puts on a great show, too band he would perform here at the boycotted Pipe