Taking a shower under the rain is always fun, but it’s even more fun when you are watching a great artist perform. Matisyahu is a reggae/rock/hip hop artist who’s orthodox Jewish beliefs do not interfere with his praise for peace. He reminds more of Bob Marley because beneath a lot of the incomprehensible lyrics (which there were a lot of last night), lies a message about peace. Here is one of his videos and the final song of last night:

The crowd was filled way before 9:30 when the show was scheduled to begin (I was standing in the long line to get in at about 7:30 and waited about half an hour) at the LiveCity event in Yaletown.  By the time I was inside the Quebecois band Malajube began to play, and although they started off pretty slow, by the end they had the audiences attention and people were jumping up and out and pulled up into the crowds. By 9:30 I saw people of all ages around me: at my right I had a group of middle schoolers that must have been 14 tops (they still had braces and awkward looking haircuts… which is also the reason they don’t serve alcohol inside – be warned), and to my left I had an elderly woman with fake red colored hair, who eventually sang the lyrics of “Jerusalem” with all her heart. I don’t know how she followed him, as he sings differently in person and changes his tempo a lot. I didn’t like his performance that much, but by 10 pm I realized I wasn’t there to see Matisyahu, I was there because this was a once in a lifetime experience. I heard more than 10 languages that night, and by the end of the show, that was what is was all about. People from all over the globe came halfway across the world to see him sing about peace and unity, and although everyone cheered for either Canada or Poland or Belgium, everyone in the end was chanting with him the lyrics to the video above: stop with the violence/down with the hate/one day we’ll all be free/and proud to be/under the same sun. I think that’s what made the event worthwhile, that even if it was just for one hour, the event became a microcosm of what the Winter Games are about: World Unity.

Photo by Phillip Jeffrey

After “One Day” Matisyahu left and the fireworks and water show began, and I was blown away. If you haven’t seen them yet, please do, it’s worthwhile and technically impressive. The big screen shows clips from the events, and praises the extra-human achievement the athletes do everyday, but also emphasizes on people cheering on the streets. Seeing all those people genuinely happy can only make you love the Winter Games even more.  And even if we are not winning Gold Medals, we are still winning just by being in this great city. I recommend the show to everyone, as it is beautiful and simply heart-warming.

By the way, please follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/mariofas.