Fan report on the Exit Festival

Beastie Boys with an Exit Festival publicist in Serbia. Mark must have been on the bus.

We were very pleased to receive an email from a fan who attended the Beastie Boys performance at the Exit Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia. Ana provided the kind of detailed review we like to read.

She writes:

The performance was great! It's not just my opinion; everybody agreed Beastie Boys were the best performance at Exit 07. Their setlist was similar to the one at the Open'er Fest in Poland -- pretty much in the same order, plus they played "Suco de Tangerina." People loved the new stuff, and I must say it sounds even better live!

The Boys were funny as usual, especially Adam Horovitz, who was drinking beer on stage, and Mike D. Mike started the show with apologizing for not coming to Serbia sooner and finished the show with a toast in Serbian. (He tried to say "na zdravlje," but I don't know what he said or I didn't hear it right.) Mike also wished the audience a good time at the other shows at the festival, mentioning Snoop Dog, Wu-Tang Clan, Lauryn Hill, and even Robert Plant. He turned to Horovitz and said, "You know, that guy from Led Zeppelin." He didn't mention The Prodigy.

Mike also said something about many people coming to the festival to meet others and asked Horovitz if he had met anyone there. Horovitz ignored him, but when he repeated the question twice, Horovitz replied, "Not yet. Maybe after the show." Mike said, "Ok, see ya at the afterparty at Motel 6."

Besides their brilliant performance and the crazy atmosphere, I'll remember this concert as the first one in which I couldn't get to the first row. It just wasn't possible! You and Midzi (with your injuries) crossed my mind at one point, during "Egg Raid on Mojo," when I lost my sneakers in the crowd! You can see in this photo, where the dust is in the air, is where I was standing for the show. I'm telling you, it was total chaos!

I saw one interview with the band on national television in which Mike said that he's not afraid of anything -- except oversized microphones. Yauch made funny faces with his fingers on his head, like horns or rabbit ears, while Horovitz chased away invisible flies. When asked about Live Earth and the environment, Yauch presented his idea of generating power with people who ride bikes at the gym. When asked about the difference between a Gala Event and a regular show, Mike replied that they drink better champagne and dress better at the Gala Events.

Ana reports that all the performances at the Exit Festival, including the Beastie Boys performance, were streamed live at www.exitlive.tv. She hopes to track down a recording of the show and share it with the fan community.