Beastie Boys at the Connect Festival

According to NME, Beastie Boys gave the audience at the Connect Festival in Inveraray, Scotland, a greatest hits set yesterday. It seems Mike Diamond was in a good mood for the Beastie Boys' set. NME reports that Mike proclaimed Inveraray Castle as his "motherfucking castle." A blogger for The Herald writes, "Mike D kept talking about taking on 'the Duke' who resided in Inveraray Castle and taking him on in some sort of fisticuffs." Mike is so silly!

Setlist*
B for My Name [video]
Sure Shot
Root Down [video]
Brass Monkey
No Sleep Til Brooklyn
Remote Control [video of banter before song performance]
So What'cha Want [video]
Ch-Check It Out [video]
3 MCs and 1 DJ [video of banter before song performance]
MMM Interlude [video]
Intergalactic [video]
Heart Attack Man [video // alternate video]
Sabotage

*Incomplete

Opinion (via Blog Search)*
*Uncredited on purpose

"Shame the Beastie Boys have disappeared up their own arses and are only interested in playing self-indulgent jazz funk bollocks - a festival is an opportunity to play a memorable medley of your extensive back catalogue of classics, not to arse about playing widdly freeform 70's porno jazz funk. Disappointed doesn't even begin to describe it. We left half way through the set (along with several hundred other people!)." Ouch!

"i was really impressed by what i saw of their set, a "greatest hits" though it was. mca, ad-rock, and mike d have become very slick, in their tailored suits, and really impressed me with their professionalism. they were courteous to the crowd, energetic about their songs (even though most of them were well over a decade old), and happy to be there. i was quickly won over."

"Personally their acoustic stuff kinda dragged for me, although it was of a high quality. I find the Beastie Boys are better when they rely on the lightning fast hands of Mix Master Mike and the serrated tongues of MCA et al. Their brand of humour was, as always, present, with Mike D telling the crowd that although the Duke of Argyll was about, tonight, Inverary Castle was Mike D's Castle, much to the massive crowd's approval."

"Beastie Boys: I must say I was rather disappointed with them. I don't know what more I was expecting (I've seen them twice before so kind of know what they do) but following the majesty of the Jesus and Mary Chain, they sounded a bit like a novelty act. The best bit was Mike D threatening to storm the castle and take on the Duke, and claiming that their DJ had made the streets safe to walk by killing the Loch Ness monster."

"To finish off the night we had the BEASTIE BOYS!!! Storm the castle with Mike D!!! This was just spellbinding. I have wanted to see this band for years and I was a little apprehensive about how they would carry it off but they got it spot on. Perfectly mixing up their new instrumental songs with No Sleep Til Brooklyn, Intergalactic, etc. The whole place was bouncing along to their tunes, Mike D was playing the crowd perfectly, encouraging us to storm the castle at the end of the night, and Mix Master Mike just played the decks with skill. A perfect ending to the first night."

Press

The superstar rap trio the Beastie Boys played a lively, funny show, loudly demanding, "Is the Loch Ness Monster in the house?" in their nasal Noo Yoik accents.
--The Times (London)

[Festival director Geoff] Ellis said Friday night headliners The Beastie Boys had been particularly impressed with the lush surroundings.

During their set, the New York rappers threw down the gauntlet to the Duke of Argyll, whose ancestral home is Inveraray Castle, inviting him to joust, and threatening to storm the battlements, before emphasising they were joking.

The duke himself said he had "enjoyed the banter"...
--The Sunday Herald

Audio

Four-song FM broadcast