I traveled two hours to see Matthew McConaughey the poet perform in Brooklyn with a little help from his friend Jon Bon Jovi. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Suzy Byrne/Yahoo News, Matthew McConaughey/Instagram)BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Matthew McConaughey is rarely at a loss for words - or catchphrases. But when he stepped onstage at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, N.Y., this week, he admitted he was nervous.
The Oscar-winning actor, 55, was performing to a crowd of approximately 2,800 on Sept. 16 to promote his new book, Poems & Prayers. He didn't want to do a typical bookstore press tour. Rather, he thought it would be a lot cooler if he did surprise pop-ups in parks, reading poetry while perched on a bench. Ultimately, he landed on a five-city "revival book tour," featuring performances by A-list musical guests.
Poems & Prayers is a collection of McConaughey's poetry written over 36 years, beginning when he was 18. They're about Hollywood, love, faith, fatherhood, exes, "carnal desires," sobriety, "f***ups," politicians, Porta Potties and aging. Some are written as actual prayers - starting with "Dear God..." - though he says they all are, writing, "My prayers are my poems are my prayers."CrownPoems & PrayersThe Greenlights author dedicates his new book of poetry to "the original dream, belief." $20 at AmazonThe book is his attempt to make sense of the world, which has been "tougher to do lately," he wrote in it. That's because "facts have become unreliably overrated" and people are out to prove that truth is "outdated" and honesty has become "a deluded currency." He rejects that, saying he wants to continue believing - in humanity, in himself, in the potential of people.
AdvertisementAdvertisementTo me, the poems are very much from the mind of McConaughey. A wild ride that's a little all over the place. Like the acknowledgements at the back of the book, which thank everyone from Bob Dylan to Hunter S. Thompson, King Solomon and Rumi and the entire Republic of Mali, Africa.
For night one of his experiment, where the laidback Texan and wizard of wordplay was joined partway through by Jon Bon Jovi, I found myself among McConaughey believers on a magical mystery tour of spirituality. I gave myself over to the church of McConaughey for what I can only describe as an opening sermon, where for about 15 minutes he paced the stage, preaching about belief being in short supply."I'm not only talking about belief in God - although personally I am seeking [more of] that for myself," McConaughey, already a bestselling author for 2020's Greenlights, which has sold over 6 million copies, told the crowd. "I'm talking about more belief in ourselves and each other and what we care about and tomorrow."For someone who's been a serious thespian, rom-com king, political tease and infamous bongo enthusiast, it felt like a new chapter in his ongoing reinvention - this time as a kind of spiritual hypeman.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"Who would you die for?" he asked at one point. People called out: "My mom," "My nephew," "Beyoncé,' "you!" He nodded, collected the answers, then turned them into a lesson: Those are the people you should start living for.
McConaughey's beliefs, politics and spirituality are hard to pin down - maybe on purpose. Whatever it was - book tour, church sermon, one-man show - it was unusual, but seemed sincere, as well as being, well, unmistakably him.
Fans - and families -gather at the Church of McConaugheyThe crowd was decked out in T-shirts with his Dazed and Confused character Wooderson, "just keep livin" slogans and plenty of orange University of Texas at Austin gear. Factor in his own Pantalones Tequila flowing at a lobby bar, and some audience members were loose enough to send catcalls down from the mezzanine. ("Read page 69!" someone screamed to the married father of three.)McConaughey's tequila brand had a pop-up station in the lobby of the historic building - and a Pantalones Tequila employee, outfitted in a cowboy hat and boots, snapped photos of showgoers at the step and repeat. (Suzy Byrne/Yahoo News)What brought people out? I took a lap through the theater to find out.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAmong the attendees were a multigenerational family roadtripping from South Carolina, a Brooklynite who recently had a personal revelation reading Greenlights and a Pennsylvania high school teacher who had school in the morning."I could listen to him talk about the way the wind blows," Courtney tells Yahoo.
She carpooled to the event from northern Virginia with her younger sister, Ashlyn, who was marking her 21st birthday, as well as their mother, Amanda, and her 75-year-old grandmother. Amanda spent around $240 to $280 for the four tickets, "and about $100 on drinks," including shots of McConaughey's tequila."I'm gonna freak out," McConaughey fan Ashlyn tells me before the show. "What am I expecting? I'm expecting Matthew to be Matthew. To share his words of wisdom. I loved Greenlights."Dayna (left), Jennifer and si