It's Miller Time... Matisyahu Miller

Just another yahoo in Brooklyn, right? Well, not quite, the yahoo in question, Matisyahu, brought his traveling band of Hasidic reggae artists to Brooklyn Arena this past Thursday. Okay, that's not true, Brooklyn Arena doesn't exist, but if it is built I'd like to think that Matisyahu will fill it. I've followed him since his music debut a few years back with 'King Without A Crown.' He's since come back and showed us that he's not a gimmick and certainly not a one hit wonder. NBC even picked his hit 'One Day' as their anthem for the Vancouver Olympics. Not bad for a Jewish kid from New York.

Matis, as he's known to his true fans, came out to a huge cloud of smoke. No, not that type of smoke, although there was plenty of cannabis floating in the air. The stage was filled with smoke, so much so that it was difficult to see the 6-4 singer. This, however, was an intimate venue. When I say intimate, I mean I was leaning against the stage and Matisyahu had to step over my jacket to go back and forth on stage. 'Hey Matisyahu, a little less of the stepping on of the fingers, okay pal?" One might say, where there is smoke, there is Matisyahu. He came on wearing his jeans and leather jacket. Sidebar here, when he started out, on the scene, he would come on stage in full Hasidic regalia: the suit, with the hat, and the tzis tzis. People would stare in disbelief and then he would start beat boxing. Either he got permission from the Grand Rebbe or he just decided jeans were more comfortable - or both.

He did an interesting mix, and it's really his own thing now. He's now a talented reggae artist who happens to be a Hasidic Jew. Nice transition indeed. I recognized 'King WIthout A Crown' and 'One Day,' the rest of it is all sort of a blur, he just weaves from one song to the next. This concert, part of his Festival Of Light Concert series in Brooklyn, featured a giant spinning illuminated dreidel over head for the kids to enjoy. It also featured a giant menorah, which Matisyahu lit to the delight of the crowd. As Little Kim might say, if she were Jewish, 'Get your menorah's up!" If she were Jewish she'd also go by 'Lil Rebecca, but that's another story.

So check out Matisyahu on matisyahuworld.com and see when he's coming to a music hall near you. He mentioned that his giant spinning dreidel is available for weddings and bar mitzvahs. Well, he didn't, but it should be. Happy Channukah Everyone!