Last Friday I went to the Matisyahu concert at the State Street Theater. I had never heard of this artist before and knew absolutely nothing about him so I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when I went. I didn’t really enjoy the opening act of the show so I didn’t have very high expectations for the main act.
Matisyahu arrived on stage to lots of cheers and applause from the audience. He had a very powerful voice, which I was surprised by but I liked it even though I couldn’t understand a lot of what he was saying. It was a very laid-back atmosphere and seemed more like a garage jam out session than an actual concert but I liked its relaxed feeling. He mostly let the band play and didn’t actually sing that much, but I was really amazed by the band and I thoroughly enjoyed their performance. After hearing the opening group I wasn’t sure that I would stay very long but I ended up staying for the rest of the concert because I liked the band so much. However, I will have to look into Matisyahu more to decide if I like his music as I didn’t hear much from him and I couldn’t understand a lot of his lyrics.
An interesting thing that happened was that there were people protesting outside the venue on Matisyahu’s behalf in support of his pro-Israel leanings. It was slightly uncomfortable as one of the women protesting shoved flyers into my hands and I remember thinking “why does everything have to be politicized?” This was a reminder of the very strong link between politics and art. Politics affect the world that artists experience which is reflected in their work. It’s really rare that one can enjoy a work of art without considering its political aspects. While I may not have agreed with the protestors, its important to acknowledge the political implications of art.
That is such an interesting connection! I have definitely never thought of that before. It reminds me of the Muckrakers of the Progressive Era in the 1900s.
I never knew politics and art were related. I have always thought of art as an ambiguous, open to interpretation sort of thing. However, it does not surprise me that there is politics in art as politics have seem to become entangled in everything now days. By the way, what type of music did Matisyahu play?
I think this connection you found is very prominent in art but not acknowledged enough. Entire areas of art have been devoted to activism, and one example I can think of is the art during the 1960s that supported protest and relayed political messages. I think in a lot of ways too, the way people live their lives is political. If you think about your daily activities, your interactions, your thoughts, your conversations, many of them have a political connection. The way you live your life supports certain actions that connect back to politics and it is interesting to think about those connections .