Matisyahu’s fans are usually combat-boot clad, Afro-sporting, tattoed rockers, and in fact, quite a few of them turned up to hear him perform in Los Angeles Sept. 18 at the Saban Theater.
But the rest of the 1,400 ticketholders that night were proud members of the Orthodox Jewish bubble centered in Beverlywood: parents with toddlers, teens, rabbis and teachers from every day school and shul in the area. They came to listen, dance, and soak up the presence of the singer who is perhaps the world’s most famous music star who’s also shomer Shabbat.
In what had to have been the fundraising coup of the year, Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy – where many Shalhevet students attended elementary and middle school – had managed to book Matisyahu and fellow Jewish reggae star Elan Atias for what it called its “First Annual Charity Concert.” Tickets began at $18 – the value of chai — and were sold at school by junior Daniel Schwartz and SAC advisor Raizie Weissman.
The Shalhevet turnout was impressive and also included teachers Yossie and Batsheva Frankel and Noam Weissman. High schoolers were well represented with three full rows of YULA and Shalhevet students, laughing and singing together.
But the night belonged to music.
Zadik, a newly formed, nine-piece reggae band that bases each song on a Jewish prayer, opened the concert behind Elan Atias. Elan claimed the stage with a relaxed, confident demeanor and wearing a “Make Music for the People” t-shirt. It was the first time the band had performed this album, and the crowd eagerly answered Elan’s call to sing along with verses directly pulled from Kaddish, Ve’ahavta, and Aveinu Malkeinu.
Both Elan and Matisyahu are experienced singers: Elan headlined for the Wailers and has collaborated with Gwen Stefani, while Matisyahu joined with the pop star Akon to record “One Day”, a song that can often be heard blasting in teens’ cars and bedrooms across the city.
Watching Elan onstage in a floppy hat, with yellow, green, and red lights flashing proved the depth of Bob Marley’s influence. Songs like “Ve’ahavta” showed he has a strong, melodic voice of his own, while his stage presence and songs epitomized the mellow vibe Marley made famous.
While onstage, Elan – who lives in Beverly Hills – would wave to his son and wife in the audience or point to people he recognized. Between songs, he’d beg the crowd to get up and dance. While it took the majority a while to warm up, there were toddlers dancing in the aisles the whole time and the front four rows of the audience were on their feet.
As Zadik finished its last song, fans flooded the stage to cheer and try to grab Elan’s hand.
By the time Matisyahu began “Jerusalem,” the entire theatre was standing, dancing and singing along. He ended with “One Day,” a song that promotes social justice and equality, and obviously a fan favorite judging from the screams and applause that accompanied the opening verse. He then pulled a dozen screaming, smiling children — including Shalhevet senior Yonah Nimmer and sophomore Justin Nemanpour — onstage with him for a grand finale.
Earlier he had also sung “Sunshine,” a happy inspirational track that could easily become a summer anthem.
Reggae music is famous for being relaxing, but the Sunday evening concert maintained a high pitch of excitement from start to finish. Kids nearest the front flooded the stage, reaching for a hand, leg, anything of the pop star’s that they could say they had touched.
Matisyahu then made those screaming, smiling kids’ night by pulling them onstage to sing the finale with him. Parents snapped pictures on their phones – something that generally isn’t allowed at concerts, but that cemented this one in everyone’s mind as an evening that was as much about family as fundraising and fun.
“It’s gotta be plain to see the power of you and me, my family, brotherly…How beautiful it is,” went the lyrics to Zadik’s song “Hinay Matov.“
How right they were.
