Comedian Lizzy Cooperman at Jewlicious 6.0 (photo by David Miller in The Forward)
Yonah and their gang had a very good time at Jewlicious 6.0 held in Long Beach last week. The LA Jewish Journal has covered it, and included an interesting clip of WBC world welterweight boxing champion (and rabbinical student?) Yuri Foreman giving a brief boxing lesson to the tall and fit Matisyahu at this year’s festival.
From Ryan Torok’s Jewish Journal article:
His [Matisyahu’s] 45-minute set was the final performance of the festival, though he had made surprise appearances over the weekend. On Saturday, he joined comedian Smooth-E for a parody of “King Without a Crown.†He could also be seen walking with his family in the main hallway, gym, auditorium and the several event rooms of the JCC.
During the concert, one of Matisyahu’s children, dressed in a Superman costume, went up to the stage and said, “Hi, Daddy.†To which his famous father replied: “Hi, Superman,†a simple, normal exchange that captured the spirit of the weekend.
Adam Weinberg, music director for the festival, reinforced that there should be no preaching at the festival—that attention, instead, should be on the music. “I think music should speak for music’s sake,†Weinberg said.
Weinberg, also a musician, accompanied Matisyahu on acoustic guitar, as did Dave Holmes, a member of Matisyahu’s band.
Matisyahu spoke afterward about how strongly the performance resonated with him. “When you have an audience listening, taking the journey with you, it’s pretty special,†he said. “For some reason, we seem to be having these kinds of performances at Jewlicious shows.â€
There’s also some more coverage in The Forward, where Gordon Haber finds some flaws with the festival, but still asks to be invited back next year…which perhaps tells us a little about just how flawed it really was. Our own Rabbi Yonah, co-founder of Jewlicious Festivals, responded to and corrected some of Haber’s assumptions, but I found Yonah’s report on the survey of the people attending Jewlicious 6.0 more fascinating. Here are the details he provided about the make-up of the 900 or so people in attendance:
How do you define your Jewish affiliation?
Unaffiliated 8.3%
Other 9.7%
Reform 30.6%
Conservative 34.7%
Orthodox 16.7%
Seems fairly representative of the Jewish community at large, if one excludes the unaffiliated which make up about half of American Jewry these days.
UPDATE: More Jewlicious 6.0 videos from Jewish Journal
i did not know matisyahu had a son!
Heh, it’s an just ice creame dish that looks like a serving of spaghetti with tomato sauce. Here are a few pics. It’s a children’s (and philosophy professors’) favourite.
We’ve got great ice cream over here because of the more recent immigrants from Italy.
Froylein, can you get Greece to go bankrupt first so that I can have a pastry and tea in Europe without emptying my son’s college fund?
I’d give you all the pastries and teas your heart desires.
I have to admit that the photos of your baking prowess are impressive. My guess is that I’d try to work something out with ck and Yonah.
I’d try to lure Muffti over, too. I’d offer him spaghetti ice cream; he’ll be so happy.
Ah, so Muffti’s a gourmand. 🙄
Keep that ice cream as far away as possible from me please.
Middle, would you attend a festival in Europe?