Back from the Sonar Festival

Midzi and I have just returned from the Beastie Boys set at the Sonar Festival. For the second time within a month, I was hurt at a Beastie Boys show -- this time by a crazy woman. And I mean, literally crazy. Security attempted to drag the woman out of the audience after she bit a man next to me twice, bit me, punched Midzi in the nose, and hit other people in our immediate area -- but the looney escaped them. She bit through my favorite Beastie Boys t-shirt, destroying it and my flesh. Midzi thinks her nose is ok, but my bite was severe enough that I had to see medics.

Midzi and I are in shock. We feel that we need time to think about the show. We think it was a good show. After I was attacked, I heard no songs. Midzi said it was difficult to focus on the show. I felt out-of-body, so I took a lot of photos because there was no escaping our spot on the rail. Oh, by the way, the crazy woman also broke my new digital camera that I bought for the European tour. Nice, eh?

We fuckin' can't believe what happened tonight. Fuckin'. Can't. Believe. We don't blame the band in any way.

Following are the songs we remembered being performed tonight (not in order):

Gratitude
Root Down
Pass the Mic
Egg Raid on Mojo
Tough Guy
Flute Loop
Triple Trouble
The Gala Event
Electric Worm
Ricky's Theme
Groove Holmes
Lighten Up
Sure Shot
The Maestro
3 MC's and 1 DJ
Body Movin'
Ch-Check It Out
So What'cha Want

MMM Interlude
Intergalactic
Heart Attack Man
Sabotage

Tomorrow we will have good things to say about the show. We're sure of it.

A big thank you to all the Beastie Boys fans in Barcelona who helped us and expressed such concern for us tonight.

18 comments:

1:31 AM Anonymous said...

Drat, I put it in the wrong place.

I hope you both mend quickly and have fun over the weekend.

2:00 AM Anonymous said...

Holy fucking shit!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Wasn't there anyone big enough/brave enough/strong enough to punch this bitch in the face? If I was there, I would've clocked that bitch in the face, woman or not. I'm not a violent person, but she deserved it and it would've been self defense.

I've been in situations where crowd members have taken my focus off of the show with stupid behavior, but this is on a whole new level. Unbelievable.

3:37 AM razmatazern said...

oh my gosh! that sounds horrible! i really hope both of you guys feel 100% better real soon.
i like hearing about when you go to the amazing performances much more than hearing about violent ones...hopefully i don't read about anymore violent ones.

thank you for updating us, despite the injuries!

5:34 AM paulbonardelli said...

wow, im in shock, that is 1000x worse than what happened at Sasquatch. I would have totally clocked the bitch in the face too. Bit through your tshirt? what the fuck was going on? Im sorry it ruined the show a bit...Cool to see the premier of The Gala Event...was it eerie? PS: any ed banger merch?

5:41 AM Hot Sauce said...

Pshabi, this woman attacked everyone in our area. The fans around me pulled her off of me. I was so shocked that I was being bit by a human being that I didn't know how to respond. I think I may have pulled her hair to get her to release my arm from her mouth.

I don't know why she attacked people. I guess she was trying to get to the front rail and was taking down everyone in the process.

Do I need to hire my own personal security to attend a Beastie Boys show? I see hundreds of bands in concert every year. This shit NEVER happens at any other band's shows I've been at. It makes me wonder if I'm in the wrong audience, listening to the wrong band. Do you know how sad that thought makes me?

Midzi and I are not going to the Beastie Boys show tonight in Greece, btw.

5:51 AM Hot Sauce said...

Paul, I checked at the merch stand. Sorry, no Ed Banger t-shirts.

I feel really bad that I missed seeing DJ Medhi and Justice. We planned to stay and dance to both sets, but we couldn't after what happened. We were supposed to meet Top 10 and Xavito during Justice's set.

6:08 AM Anonymous said...

I am sorry you ladies were hurt. What happened to you is unbelievable and unacceptable.

Do Beastie Boys have any security staff?!

7:14 AM Anonymous said...

that's some insane shit. human bites are some of the most dangerous bites you can get. I hope they gave you the right treatment for it.
I hope this is the last weird thing happing at these shows.

9:29 AM Anonymous said...

Ouch...I hope everything turns out ok. Good luck!

12:54 PM Anonymous said...

My god, that is insane. I would expect to get shoved around and bruised and etc at a gig, especially at a festival, but bitten and purposely attacked? No way. Do you know if that woman got arrested? I hope she got kicked out of the festival entirely for that behaviour. A rough crowd is one thing, outright assault is another.

Festivals seem to attract some strange types sometimes... I've enjoyed the few festivals I've been to so far, but I can't deny I've had some bizarre and horrible experiences as well.

I hope the damage she did isn't too great and you still manage to have a good time on the rest of your tour. Good luck!

2:01 PM Anonymous said...

and may all noses be well and safe...

5:44 PM Hot Sauce said...

Joan, Beastie Boys have one security person who supervises local security. It's probably not sufficient security for the kind of people the band draw at festivals. What did the band refer to them as? Meatheads? Yeah. Those people.

Local security had their heads up their asses at the show. Shit was happening right in front of them and they didn't notice. I saw the Bboys security guy come out and yell at them at one point, but I didn't see anything change after that.

Friis, Midzi says her nose is fine. I thought she might get a black eye, but she only is bruised down her arms and knees from when she was pushed against the rail (I have that too). We expected those bruises.

6:37 PM Anonymous said...

Wow- This is a freak event. I hope they increase security for EVERYONE's safety. I don't think that its very good "PR" for the tour if you know what I mean.

Take care of yourselves.

7:08 PM Anonymous said...

this shit should not be happening. beastie boys need to make sure the fans are ok.

i hope you don't give up on the tour because of what happened. get well soon.

12:32 AM Anonymous said...

I had no idea the Beastie Boys have only one security person. Are you sure about it?

I was planning to go to the shows with a female friend but after reading your experiences I think I will talk my husband into going with me.

9:18 PM Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness! That's fucked up! I hope you feel better now!

it's an accident people shouldn't start to freak out either.

5:12 PM Unknown said...

Was she a skinny woman with long, blonde curly hair and a blue-ish sleeveless top? At the Friday/instrumental show? Think she was the woman sitting next to me at the side, leaning on me heavily, waving her arms and hitting people before wandering into the crowd doing a mad, scary dance. Great show though

6:01 AM Hot Sauce said...

Yes, Elisa, you described the bitch who bit me.

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