Episodes
Thursday May 17, 2012
Beastie Boys' Last Hometown Gig
Thursday May 17, 2012
Thursday May 17, 2012
Over the last two weeks I have been mourning the death of Adam Yauch and reflecting on my favorite Beastie Boys memories.
The last time I got to see them perform live, and the last time they performed a hometown gig in New York City, was at the Institute for Music & Neurological Benefit held at Terminal 5 on March 4, 2008.
Because I was professionally blogging at the time, I was happy to discover a thumb-drive that still has detailed notes from the evening’s events.
(above: Beastie Boys get into battle formation one more time. Photo: doutback)
Here’s a look back at my last Beastie concert experience:
Mixmaster Mike arrived on stage first, and as he’s done for nearly a decade, loosened up the crowd with one of his signature turntable sonatas. Mike's casual wardrobe suggested that the Beastie Boys were not enforcing a strict dress-to-impress policy on this night.
Moments later, Mike D, MCA, and Adrock appeared on stage and answered their seemingly rhetorical question: So how we gonna kick it?
Gonna kick it root down!
Though pageant-wear was optional, Mike D decided to wear a powder-blue, double-breasted sweater; Adrock looked fabulous in a khaki-green collared shirt and fedora; and MCA kept it casually comfy in an un-tucked red polo shirt.
The Beastie Boys followed with "Flute Loop" and "Sure Shot."
MCA then dedicated "Shake Your Rump" to a guy who had Paul's Boutique stuck in his stereo for an entire road trip. Mike D pondered aloud, "Was it a tape or a CD stuck in the stereo?"
The Beastie Boys then headed for their instruments and began playing "Time For Livin'."
This is where the show hit the first snag of the night, as something went wrong with Adrock's guitar set-up. Since the hometown gig was a tune-up show for this weekend’s Langerado Festival, the technical glitch was probably a blessing in disguise.
Mike D tried to smooth out the situation by claiming, "Hey, we had to travel a long way tonight; we were downtown and we came all the way uptown."
After brining out another amplifier and an array of cords, Money Mark and a stage-tech deduced that Adrock's guitar had puttered out.
Game off.
Game on.
Between "Remote Control" and "Ricky's Theme" Adrock apologetically asked the crowd, "How much were tickets tonight? Seventy-five dollars? Hey, it's live entertainment."
Later in the set, per request by Moby, the Beastie Boys performed "Egg Raid on Mojo."
Throughout the night the Beasties didn't stray far from their comfort tracks: "Root Down," "Sure Shot," "Shake Your Rump," "Pass the Mic," "Body Movin'," and "Three MCs and One DJ."
They did, however, throw in a couple of treats: Money Mark appropriately sang lead on "Mark on the Bus" and Mixmaster Mike splendidly reworked "Rhymin' and Stealin'."
Continuing the tradition of fans displaying finger-themed artwork during the stop-down in "Ch-Check It Out" (where Mike D instructs the crowd to “watch the finger” as he cues Mixmaster Mike to drop a beat), I brought a handcrafted replica of Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam, altered with a nude drawing of Mike D.
After acquiring the artwork, MCA and Adrock told Mike to explain himself.
(above: MCA admiring Michelangelo D. Photo: Mic to Mic)
Colleting his thoughts, he improved, "New York's a very fashionable town. When I'm not performing, I got a family to feed. So sometimes to get a little extra cash, I pose for artwork like this."
A stagehand took the poster as MCA instructed, "Keep that one for the files. I'm going to hang it up with all the other naked pictures I have of Mike."
"What?!" questioned Mike.
MCA replied, "Yo, just go to IMDb to see all of Mike's work."
The Beasties closed their set with a strong rendition of "So What'cha Want?,” their tightest song of the night.
The encore opened with "Intergalactic” and ended with "Sabotage," highlighted by Money Mark randomly finding his way to the front of the stage during “Heart Attack Man” and frantically leaping in place throughout the duration of the song. After all these years, he still gets good air.
(above: He was GREAT, wasn't he?! Photo: Jason Bergman)
Set-List:
+ Root Down
+ Flute Loop
+ Sure Shot
+ Shake Your Rump
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+ Time For Livin'
+ Remote Control
+ Ricky's Theme
+ B For My Name
+ Egg Raid on Mojo
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+ Triple Trouble
+ Pass the Mic
+ Body Movin'
+ Rhymin' & Stealin'
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+ Off the Grid
+ Tough Guy
+ Lighten Up
+ Mark on the Bus
+ Sabrosa (w/ “Alright Hear This” bass interlude)
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+ Super Disco Breakin'
+ Three MCs and One DJ
+ Ch-Check It Out
+ So What'cha Want?
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+ Intergalactic
+ Heart Attack Man
+ Sabotage
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