Matisyahu played to a packed out crowd at Huntington’s Paramount Theatre on Monday night. Orange County, CA’s The Dirty Heads opened up the night, with their blended brand of reggae/hip-hop/rock.
Touring in support of his new album Spark Seeker, Matis and backing band Dub Trio opened with the first track off the new album titled “Crossroads”. Later in the set, he revisited Spark Seeker with a trifecta of “I Believe in Love”, “Sunshine”, and “Live Like a Warrior” to quite the raucous crowd, at one point stage-diving into the arms of welcoming fans.
The evening saw Matisyahu play these new tracks, while delving into his catalogue with cuts like “Jerusalem”, “Time of Your Song”, and the ultimate crowd pleaser “King Without a Crown”. His ability to fuse beat-boxing, scat singing, and the Hazzan style of songful prayer allows him to stretch out songs with the talented Dub Trio, which is quite evident when looking at an eleven-song setlist being stretched out to roughly two hours worth of music.
Ending the set with “One Day”, Matis brought elated fans on stage to sing-along and revel in the chance to share the stage with the artist. With a big grin on his cleanly-shaven face, Matis embraced fans and ended the set in high fashion, before coming back out for a “Youth” encore.
It was a great show, and anytime the Paramount is as full as it was last night, it is safe to say that the energy will be through the roof. This venue is starting to pick up the pace with getting some major acts to come through here, and it is great to see. It’s an incredible venue, and should be on everyone’s radar starting now.
By Chris Meyer
Setlist: Crossroads, Jerusalem, For You, Time of Your Song, Motivate, I Believe in Love, Sunshine, Live Like a Warrior, King Without a Crown, One Day
Encore: Youth
Check out some incredible photos of the show by L4LM’s Brent Eysler here:
Click here to purchase Matisyahu’s Spark Seeker http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/spark-seeker/id530027293