The weave being performed during "Root Down"
"It is HOT in herre!" exclaimed Mike Diamond to the audience at the Central Park Summerstage last night. The humidity level in New York City was at an all-time high. The audience and band were drenched in sweat before the first song was performed.
"I took the A train uptown," Diamond shared. "The air conditioning wasn't working too well today." His comment garnered hoots of agreement from the audience. Travel in New York City was difficult yesterday because many train lines were closed due to flooding from a storm the night before. The trains that were working were packed full of hot and sweaty people. It was miserable to travel.
Everybody knows that New Yorkers love to talk and hear about themselves. Beastie Boys' banter throughout the show was geared to the New Yorker ego. Adam Horovitz shouted out names of the boroughs and surrounding cities, asking if anyone from there was in attendance.
Before performing "Egg Raid on Mojo," Adam Yauch told the story behind the song.
"Mojo was a bouncer who wouldn't let us in a club. So we threw eggs at him," Yauch said with a devilish grin on his face. The New York audience showed their approval of the band's form of justice by hooting and hollering.
Later in the show, Yauch took a break to change his shoes in front of the audience. He explained that he had forgotten them in Boston. The mere mention of the rival city elicited boos from the audience. When Mike told the audience that the people in Boston boasted that they're a dancing city, more boos were heard.
For the first time on the current tour, Beastie Boys performed "An Open Letter to NYC." Mike dedicated the song to Adam Horovitz' brother Matthew and the 2,000 fans who were listening to the show behind the gates.
Setlist
Time for Living [video]
Gratitude
Root Down [video]
Triple Trouble
Sure Shot
Shake Your Rump [video // alternate video]
Live at PJ's [video]
Remote Control [video]
Egg Raid on Mojo [video]
B for My Name
Super Disco Breakin'
Time to Get Ill [video // alternate video]
An Open Letter to NYC [video // alternate video // yet another video]
Pass the Mic [video // alternate video]
Brass Monkey [video //alternate video]
Electric Worm
Shambala
Off the Grid [video]
Tough Guy
The Maestro
Body Movin'
Skills to Pay the Bills
3 MC's and 1 DJ [video]
Check It Out [video]
So What'cha Want
MMM Interlude [video]
Intergalactic [video]
Heart Attack Man
Sabotage
Press
Photos
10 comments:
28 songs...awesome. and an open letter to nyc, for obvious reasons... still, it deserves it's place!
"Open Letter" didn't sound too hot, I'm sad to say.
Man, "Off the Grid" was the one song I REALLY wanted to hear that they didnt play, so on my way home from the Boston, show, I had to turn it up really loud and roll my window up.
I will say this, it certainly did not feel like they were just phoning in their performance, it felt extremely personal and they had us crackin up multiple times.
Actually, contrary to what I commented about their phoning the shows in...One thing that didnt sit well with me was how almost identical the show was the other day to the show in New York that they recorded for the "Awesome..." DVD. Even when Mike D does the whole finger thing during CH CH CH Check it out...And the set list was nearly identical. What do you think?
It's hard for me to comment on the shows because I've seen so many shows that I know what a REALLY GOOD show is. I hate to say when I think a show is lackluster because I don't want people to feel that they saw less of a show. Ya know?
For me, the hip-hop sets on the current tour have become too standardized. On the Pageant tour, they varied the setlist frequently. Even if it was only one or two songs they changed, it was different every night. Now I can predict with 99% accuracy what the band are going to play and the order in which they will play the songs. They have become predictable. (Ouch! I hate saying it, and I wouldn't want someone to say that about me.) Mr. Setlist Man used to be able to surprise us, but it seems like he's not even trying anymore. And that makes me sad for all fans.
The Gala Events, on the other hand, have a different dynamic and offer more surprises. I'm definitely a Gala Event gal. I'm disappointed that they didn't schedule more in the U.S. The Gala Events were the best shows in Europe.
I'm willing to dismiss their attitude and work at the hip-hop shows by saying it's due to the non-stop tour schedule. Plus, it seems to me like they're doing shows that they think the people want to see, not the shows that they want to play. They should play what they want and not care if someone gets pissed because they didn't hear "Intergalactic."
"They should play what they want and not care if someone gets pissed because they didn't hear ..."
WORD!
not everyone who goes to the shows would have seen previous set lists or been to previous shows on the same tour. in fact, it's probably a small percentage. therefore, you could argue the majority of people - fans - won't know what's coming.
There are a lot more people who go to multiple shows than you might think. I see the same faces at shows often.
The only reason I'm a Beastie Boys is because of their live show. If I only listened to their albums, I wouldn't be half the fan I am.
The live show is where it's at! :)
About them playing what they want, i guess that's true, but then again people are paying to see the show and the majority want to hear the hits and the songs they are more known for.
Like Hot Sauce they need to change their hip-hop set to make it more exciting. You know like starting the show with Sabotage or ending with Heart Attack.
'The only reason I'm a Beastie Boys is because of their live show. If I only listened to their albums, I wouldn't be half the fan I am. '
Amen to that :)
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