arts & entertainment
East Side, West Side
Matisyahu returns to Michigan for two concerts.
Don Cohen
Contributing Writer
M
atisyahu's newest album, Live at Stubbs,
Vol. 2, released this past February, has him
back in Austin, Texas, at the music and
barbeque venue where he recorded his 2005 break-
through, Live at Stubb's. That recording put him on
the map as the world's favorite black-hat Chasidic
Jew — singing, rapping and beatboxing about
HaShem to reggae beats.
Last month he played in Hawaii and Israel and
began a nationwide tour that brings him to Detroit
on Sunday, July 10, and to Grand Rapids on Tuesday,
July 12. That Matisyahu is swinging his tsitsit in
Western Michigan and Maui, as well as in New York
and Los Angeles, should remove any doubts — if
anyone still has any — that he is some kind of nov-
elty act.
Matisyahu (nee Matthew Miller) turned 32 a week
ago. His metamorphosis from nonobservant Jew and
Phish tour devotee to the guy who charts songs about
Jerusalem, Jewish history and Mashiach (the Messiah)
is pretty well known by now And each year, Matisyahu
leaves Matthew further behind.
While in Jerusalem this month, the musician
sat on a panel on "Jewish Identity: The Young
Generation vs. Ancient Tradition" at the annual
Israeli Presidential Conference hosted by Israeli
founding father and octogenarian President Shimon
Peres. Paired with comedian-actress Sarah Silverman
and prominent academics, the organizers must have
thought he would personify the nexus of both the
young generation and ancient tradition. But it didn't
quite work out that way.
"The presidential conference was a little weak:' said
Matisyahu, in a low-key phone interview on his way to
a tour stop in Cleveland. "It really didn't make much
sense to me, at least the part that I was in:'
Asked what he would like to share about Jewish
identity, he said: "I have nothing to say about it.
There are people who are doing it and people who
talk about it. I am Jewish identity — that's what
I am, that's what I foster, that's what I promote.
When somebody looks at me or people listen to my
songs — that is what I do. It's part of the fiber of my
being."
Matisyahu first visited Detroit in about 2000, he
said. He was a college student and looking for work.
"One of the first times I ever got paid to make
music was in Detroit at the auto show:' he recalled.
"This was before I was religious, and I signed on for
what I thought was a Volkswagen commercial. What
it was, however, was a Volkswagen slot at the auto
show for three weeks. I did the same song, eight, nine
times a day."
There have been rumors going around that
Matisyahu is moving away from Chasidism. He didn't
mince words setting the record straight.
"I have the feeling that people who say that really
have no clue about anything," he said, noting that his
2009 release, Light, is "based on two years of study-
ing one Chasidic story, 'The Seven Beggars' (written
by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in the early 1800s).
"My work and music today is as drenched in
Chasidus, Kabbalah and Judaism as it has ever been."
Matisyahu will
perform in Detroit
and Grand Rapids.
Matisyahu, with special guest Tea Leaf Green, performs
Sunday, July 10, at Saint Andrews Hall, 431 Congress, in
Detroit. Doors at 6:30 p.m. $25. (313) 961-8137 or
livenation.com .
On Tuesday, July 12, he'll be at the Intersection, 133
Grandville Ave., in Grand Rapids. Doors at 7 p.m. $25.
(616) 451-8232 or sectionlive.com .
All ages welcome.
sews
Nate Bloom
•tom Special to the Jewish News
16.
ine
Multi Talented Geek
-
Opening Friday, July 8, is the black
comedy Horrible Bosses. Jason
vow Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie
Day play three buddies who would
like to get rid of their terrible bosses
(Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell and
Jennifer Aniston).
They can't quit
their jobs so after
tossing back a few
too many drinks
they seek advice
about their problem
from a hustling ex-
con (Jamie Foxx).
Together, the quartet
Lindsay
devises a complex,
Sloane
but seemingly fool-
proof, plan to get rid of the bosses
permanently (as in dead). But things
don't quite go as planned. Lindsay
Sloane, 33, has a supporting role as
Stacy.
The script was co-written by John
Francis Daley, 26, now best known
au
34
July 7 . 2011
John Francis
Daley
for his co-starring
role as psychologist
Lance Sweets on the
hit FOX TV series
Bones. Daley has
written some short
films, but Bosses
is the first feature
he has penned. He
says, "When I'm not
acting, I'm writing
screenplays."
Daley began as a teen actor. Prior
to Bones, he was best known for
playing the lead character Sam Weir
on the teen-oriented comedy series
Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000).
Although the show was canceled
quickly for anemic ratings, it went on
to become a cult hit and is currently
being aired by two cable networks
(IFC and TeenNick).
Freaks co-creator Judd Apatow,
42, went on to be a famous director-
writer-producer. Two of Daley's co-
stars, Seth Rogen, 29, and James
Franco, 33, have made their marks as
both actors and writers.
Daley is the son of an Irish-Catholic
father, R.F. Daley, who is mostly a
stage actor, and a Jewish mother,
Nancy Daley, a piano teacher.
Visiting Israel
On June 27, actor Josh Charles, 39,
arrived in Israel as a guest of El Al
Airlines. He is now touring the coun-
try and visiting with relatives who
live in Israel.
This is Charles'
first visit to Israel.
He, too, began as a
teen actor. His first
notable role was
in The Dead Poet's
Society (1989).
The Baltimore
native
went on to
Josh Charles
show his talent in a
variety of parts, but
stardom eluded him until he got a co-
starring role on the CBS TV series,
The Good Wife. The show began in
2009 and gradually built a big audi-
ence. It's now arguably the smartest
drama on TV.
A rebroadcast of the episode of
the A&E network reality show Family
Jewels, in which
series star Gene
Simmons of Kiss
rock group fame vis-
its Israel, airs 10 p.m.
Tuesday, July 12, and
2 p.m. Wednesday,
July 13.
Gene
Simmons was
Simmons
born Chaim Witz in
Israel and moved
to America with his
mother, a Holocaust survivor, when
he was 7. His father remained in
Israel and remarried. Simmons' now
very elderly mother is seen early in
the episode.
You don't see much of Israel - just
places (a house, a cafe) connected to
Simmons' childhood. He picks up an
award from the city of Haifa for being
a successful native son and meets,
for the first time, with a half brother
and two half sisters - the adult Israeli
children of his late father's second
marriage. I
Contact Nate Bloom at
middleoftheroadl@aol.com .