Matisyahu brought his reggae groove to The Mercury Lounge Monday for the Album Release Show of his new record Akeda.
As I entered the very intimate venue I was handed the new cd, which was a nice surprise . The small back room was almost festival-like, with a bunch of small groups sitting on the floor waiting for the show to begin.
DJ Mr. Green started (and ended) the night spinning a great mix of mostly old school hip hop and brought the crowd to their feet. By the end of his set security came on stage and asked everyone to move up tight to the stage to get the sold out crowd inside.
Matisyahu took the stage and the place went wild. His set list consisted mostly of songs off the new album, despite repeated requests from the crowd for some of his old songs, some of which he did eventually play. The new album has Matisyahu beat-boxing and rapping over great reggae beats. The more than hour long set ended with him walking and singing through the crowd on his way into the room backstage. But the night wasn’t over and he came back for a few more songs, ending the night with a bunch of fans up on stage for the final song.
Photos and Article by: Michael DiGiovanni
