Beastie Boys at Montreux Jazz Festival



Everyone in Montreux must be partying instead of blogging and posting their photos because we've had little luck finding photos, reviews, and articles about the Beastie Boys show at the festival yesterday. The Gala Event at the festival takes place today. Maybe we'll hear from fans after today's show.

Setlist*
Egg Raid on Mojo / B for My Name / Shambala / The Maestro / Tough Guy [video montage]
Yauch dedicates Egg Raid on Mojo to Dave Parsons.
Sure Shot [video]
Pass the Mic [video]
No Sleep Til Brooklyn [video]
3 MCs and 1 DJ [video]
So What'cha Want [video]
Intergalactic [video]
Sabotage [video]

Photos




*Incomplete

4 comments:

3:15 PM Spiffy D said...

What would be totally frickin rad is if this show eventually is released as a part of the high quality "Live at Montreux" DVD series. I have the Parliament Funkadelic one from a few years ago and it's beyond the realm of kickass. Best song: BOP GUN.

---- Damian in Seattle

8:15 AM Darryl said...

I was there. To be fair, I'm not a huge BB fan, but love live music and try to see lots of shows for bands I may not usually listen to...

I haven't seen them before, so I don't have much to compare it to, but it felt sloppy and lower energy than I had expected. I only know half a dozen of their tunes, but even I could tell that they messed up at least a third of the songs they played... sometimes it was obvious that they were coming in at different places, sometimes they were exchanging looks that can only mean "this is NOT the chorus...", and on a couple occasions they actually stopped a song midway to try it again. Damian, there were a lot of cameras in evidence, so I was wondering if they would be releasing this, but with the huge number of mistakes I would be surprised if it gets released...

I was also not really impressed with their prowess instrumentally, and I'm glad that I opted for the traditional hip-hop show rather than the instrumental one the next night. The drumming was sloppy but funky, but the bass and guitar were pretty weak. Maybe it's their punk influence, and they're determined not to care, but it was a whole lot different than I'm used to seeing at Montreux.

Maybe I'm just bitter that they didn't play "Hey Ladies".

In any case, they were a whole lot better than the opening band, Spank Rock, which may have been one of the worst shows I've seen.

So, the Beastie Boys were okay, but not spectacular. I was hoping for more, am glad that I went to see them, but wouldn't go again.

9:50 AM Hot Sauce said...

Thanks for your honest opinion, Darryl. I'm sorry that the Beastie Boys did not deliver for you and that you did not enjoy the show. Like you, I'm all about the live concert experience. One of the reasons I am a Beastie Boys fan is because I think they're a great and entertaining live band, something that isn't always true of many successful recording artists. They have their bad nights though. Frankly, I think they overbooked their European tour -- too many performances and not enough days off. They're exhausted.

It's too bad that you didn't see a Gala Event because they're the shows to see. I think the band enjoy the Gala Events more than the hip-hop shows. They get to do what they want. It shows in their performance.

RE "Hey Ladies": They have NEVER performed the song live. :D

7:11 PM Darryl said...

Never? I guess I feel better that I didn't just see them on the one night they decided not to do it!

With art, it's always a question of who should be the judge of if it's any good or not. I fall into the elitist camp... there is some art (and some music) that I know a lot about, and I'm in a good spot to determine if it's a good example of what it is. There's some that I don't, though, and it's entirely possible that I went in with wrong expectations... not too high, even, but just looking for the wrong stuff.

In any case, I am glad I went. I enjoyed it, and though I had hoped to be blown away by these guys who really are legends, it was still a fun show and a good night...

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