Photo: Philip Andelman

Well, the Beastie Boys new album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, is finally out, and the reviews are streaming in. Although the majority of reviews are positive, the consensus seems to be it is good, not great. The album is receiving an average rating of four stars out of five.

Below are a few select comments from reviews:

"[Hot Sauce Committee Part Two] is exactly the Beasties album that the public has been salivating for, and more — not just a return to form, but a masterpiece on the level of '80s classics like their raucous debut Licensed to Ill and the staggering sample odyssey Paul's Boutique."
-Matt Diehl, Los Angeles Times
Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)

"...Beasties sound exactly like themselves, cutting loose without straining to fit anyone else's idea of relevance...they make no effort to accommodate or even acknowledge any of the latest hip-hop trends. Instead, we get the sound of master musicians in their comfort zone, doing everything their own way."
-Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

"The Beasties' weird, wise-cracking spirit shines brighter than it has in years…the top five or six tracks here are on par with the band's best work…the Beastie formula sounds vibrant, cohesive and, yeah, still saucy."
-Patrick Foster, The Washington Post

"The earnest social commentary that was slipped into Beasties albums like To the 5 Boroughs in 2004 and Hello Nasty in 1998 has virtually disappeared on Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. Now Beastie Boys are back to their longtime staples of boasting and name dropping, particularly New York City locations and all sorts of food..."
-Jon Pareles, The New York Times

"Many of Part Two's tracks are reminiscent of early Beastie Boys...The album is a return to form that still manages to be innovative and ridiculously fun."
-Megan Gibson, Time

"[The album contains] grimy keyboards, grimier vocals and sparse beats that sound like they belong on a demo rather than a major-label release. In contrast to the polish of much mainstream hip-hop, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two sounds like a crusty mix tape...That's not a bad thing. On the contrary, it's a refreshingly understated return to long-ago form by one of hip-hop's most venerated groups."
-Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune
Rating: 3 stars (out of 4)

"...much of the album, while usually loud, is surprisingly minimalist — in good ways (the spliced samples and spacious beats of "Long Burn the Fire") and bad (the dub instrumental "Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament," even the driving "Make Some Noise" is studded with holes and lacks a real chorus). It's still a good party, just maybe not worth fighting too hard for."
-Thomas Conner, Chicago Sun-Times
Rating: 3 stars (out of 4)

"...this is the Beasties Boys at their most vital, engaged and surprising...While drum loops remain a staple, Hot Sauce Committee is also the most organic mix yet of their hip-hop and musician sides. The result? From staggering grooves to jams that could soundtrack the future robot wars, don't expect the expected here."
-Neala Johnson, Herald Sun (Australia)
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

"...a party album that's as good as 1998's Hello Nasty.… Hot Sauce Committee Part Two finds the Beasties on marvellously carefree form, scattering references to food, microphones, Bob Dylan, Lee Majors and other pop-cultural detritus..."
-Kitty Empire, The Guardian
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

"Time has not dulled Mike D, MCA and Ad-Rock's devotion to the old-school hip hop aesthetic of big beats and braggadocio."
-Basem Boshra, Montreal Gazette
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

"The Beasties are back with a 16-track album full of squelchy beats, tossed-off jokes and on-point rhyming..."
-Jason Lipshutz, Billboard

"Hot Sauce is a lot like Daniel Craig's übercool James Bond — another stripped-down return to a franchise's best virtues after a decade or so of wandering the desert. It took a little time, but the Boys are back with a license to ill."
-Kyle Anderson, Entertainment Weekly
Rating: A-

"The sound of the Beasties here is catnip for those who still revere their late 80s/early 90s output: vocals are drenched in reverb...while the tracks fuse live instrumentation and samples...delivering tracks alive with ideas and chaos and funk and noise and groove..."
-Stevie Chick, BBC Music

"[Hot Sauce Committee Part Two] is a vibrant mix of live instruments and samples, blending the '70s-funk vibe of The Mix-Up with the Beasties' hyper-verbal wordplay as emcees MCA, Ad-Rock and Mike D ping-pong rhymes back and forth, with occasional help from guests."
-Eric R. Danton, Hartford Courant
Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

"All the staples are present: wonky electronics, hardcore punk/rap crossovers, a daft routine about the name Larry, a funky instrumental, a rap battle with Nas, magnificent beat-making."
- Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, Financial Times
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

"...there's no radical new direction: HSCP2 might have been lifted out of any period in the trio's history from 1990 onwards — with jubilant old-skool synth squiggles and absurdist rhymes about the sort of topics nobody but the Beasties would think of covering."
-Simon Price, The Independent (UK)

"Hot Sauce is rooted in the good-time party-rocking rhymes and dusty grooves of old-school hip-hop, though the group finds ways to expand its sound without deviating from retro fundamentals."
-Nathan Rabin, AV Club

"[Hot Sauce Committee Part Two] sounds fuzzy, the songs are kinda rough, and there doesn't seem to be any ambition to make a hit — their focus seems to be simply aimed at having fun. It's as if the Beasties are revisiting their Check Your Head and Ill Communication days, minus the massive singles."
-Eddie Fleisher, Alt Press
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

"...with the production obscuring the scarce hooks, the impact of the trio's still-ample wit gets blunted. Lacking the detailed soul-searching that's always given the Beasties' pop-culture onslaught wisdom and depth, Hot Sauce merely simmers when it needs to boil."
-Barry Walters, Spin
Rating: 6 stars (out of 10)

"The record's appeal is largely nostalgic...Hot Sauce Committee Part Two begs the question: can you be nostalgic about nostalgia?...[It] sounds like a record out of step with the world."
-James McMahon, NME
Rating: 7 stars (out of 10)

In the end, it matters very little what critics think and say about the album. They are not the ones who buy the Beastie Boys music and see their shows. What matters is what fans think about the album. So what do you think? Do you love it, hate it, or feel ambivalent about it?

Book Review

DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop
By Cey Adams with Bill Adler
Collins|Design
Book release date: October 14, 2008

Cover illustration: "Lust" by Mike Thompson, 2005

Over the Beastie Boys three-decades musical career, no visual artist has been associated with the band more closely and longer than Cey Adams. Adams has continually contributed to the band's visual image and maintained a close friendship with them. His longevity as a professional to whom they turn for graphic needs and as a friend whom they want near when recording and touring is testament of his being an extraordinary artist and a nice guy.

Among Beastie Boys fans, Adams is a legend. It is no exaggeration to say that he is as well known and admired in the Beastie Boys fan community as MCA, Adrock, and Mike D are. (Some fans argue that Adams is the fourth Beastie.) Like his goofball musician friends, Adams exudes an ineffable charm and humor that appeals to everyone who meets him.

As a visual artist, Adams has designed album art, logos, tour merchandise, and promotional material for the Beastie Boys and countless of other hip-hop musicians. If you're a huge Beastie Boys fan, you're probably familiar with Adams' story because it intertwines with the band's story.

Adams started out working for Russell Simmons at Def Jam Recordings, where he co-founded a visual design firm and handled the graphic needs of the bands signed to Def Jam. Designing material for artists like Beastie Boys, Run-DMC, De La Soul, LL Cool J, and Public Enemy earned Adams' respect not only from the hip-hop music community, but also from the visual world (i.e., fine art community) and corporate America. His work in hip-hop music lead him to be sought after by companies like Adidas, Coca-Cola, and Nike to design their advertising campaigns.

[Click to enlarge.]
Beastie Boys logo design by Cey Adams

Adams spent almost two years compiling DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop. In November 2007, he gave hip-hop fans a preview of what DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop was about when he spoke to Format magazine [DEFUNCT SITE]. Some time after he conducted the interview, Adams discarded his idea about having some of the musicians with whom he has worked, including the Beastie Boys, contribute essays to the book.

"The musicians already get too much attention and credit," Adams explained. "I wanted the book to be about the artists and their work."

And, indeed, that's exactly what Adams' book is about: art. With DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop, Adams and his co-author, Bill Adler, have created a serious book about hip-hop art and design that proves it deserves to be respected and appreciated as much as any other art genre or form.

[Click to enlarge.]
Billboard graf design by Faust

"Graffiti artist Faust really crushed this little campaign, which was limited to the neighborhood in Brooklyn where Chris Rock grew up. They hired Faust to spray paint right on the billboard. That's the cool thing about graffiti; it's a one-shot deal with no room for fuck-ups. It's guerrilla marketing for real!"
—Cey Adams in DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop

Adler, who was the director of publicity for Def Jam Recordings and Rush Artist Management in the eighties, introduces DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop with a description of what the book aims to achieve. He writes:

"...hip-hop has been every bit as important to the visual world as it has been to the music world. Self-identified hip-hoppers have had significant success in virtually every aspect of the visual media. The sum of their work has changed the way the world looks. This book is an attempt to see the world anew, through a hip-hop lense, and identify these changes."

Adler currently runs Eyejammie Fine Arts Gallery in New York City. His role with the book was cheerleader and editor, helping Adams to chose the artwork as well as find fitting contributors to write the text.

Artists whose work is featured in DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop are from the old school and new school — artists like Dalek, Nika Sarabi, Mare 139, Haze, Shepard Fairey, Morning Breath, Lee Quiñones, Revolt, Lady Pink, Angela Boatright, and Gregory Bojorquez — just to name a few. Something all of the artists featured in the book have in common, other than being highly regarded by Adams, is they all work in a variety of media. This fact is something Adams feels is important to emphasize because it gives these artists credibility in the visual world. They have both street cred and gallery cred.

Artists featured in the book whom Beastie Boys fans will recognize are Sunny Bak, Glen E. Friedman, Bill McMullen, Ricky Powell, and, of course, Cey Adams.

The artwork alone in the book is enough to impress anyone who would thumb through its pages; however, it's the artwork plus the accompanying text that makes the book essential. Seven essays — one each about street art, album art, art in advertising, video and film, cars, sneakers, and fashion — provide a concise story and history of how art and design have played a role in developing and popularizing hip-hop culture. Among those who contribute essays are Sacha Jenkins, the editorial director of Mass Appeal and co-founder of Ego Trip magazine, and Michael Gonzales, urban journalist and fiction author.

DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop is a beautiful book, filled with page after page of visually stunning art. Although the book will beautifully dress any coffee table, it's much more than a cool art book. It is so informative and educational in the history of hip-hop art and design that it presents, it could easily be used as a primer for art school students and a reference book for art critics now and in the future.

DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop is available on bookstore shelves now.

********
Cey Adams and Bill Adler will be signing their book, DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop, at Hue-Man Bookstore in Harlem on Tuesday, October 14, beginning at 7 pm. On Thursday, October 16, they will be signing their book at Barnes & Noble in Brooklyn, beginning at 7 pm.

If you would like to purchase a signed copy of DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop but can't travel to Harlem or Brooklyn for the in-store book signings, send an email to bill [at] eyejammie.com and request a signed copy. Adams and Adler will be offering only a limited number of signed books at Eyejammie.com, so don't delay with your request if you want one. Payment will be accepted via PayPal.

Photo: Mic to Mic. Click on the photo to view a photoset of pics from the show.

"You girls don't look like you'd go to a hip-hop show."

The doorman at the Highline Ballroom -- a large, black man in a faux-fur purple coat -- eyed my friend and me inquisitively as we exited the venue after watching DJ JS-1, Mix Master Mike, and Rahzel perform.

"How am I not hip-hop?" I asked the doorman.

He lifted my Dr. Who-esque scarf with a limp wrist and rolled his eyes in good humor.

"I'm not from around here," I laughed. "And I don't front."

He bowed to us and laughed.

I have had the pleasure of seeing Mix Master Mike perform solo before, but never in an environment and with an audience like that at the Highline Ballroom in New York City on March 5. The audience was comprised of major hip-hop heads: young men wearing their hoodies over their heads, who studied the turntablists performing on stage with extreme concentration and scrutiny. My friends and I -- major Beastie Boys heads -- were a minority in the audience.

DJ JS-1 began the show with an impressive DJ set. If Mix Master Mike ever decides to retire, Beastie Boys need to call this guy. DJ JS-1's style is very similar to Mix Master Mike's -- a lot of cutting and scratching and incorporating of old skool rap samples.

Later, when DJ JS-1 introduced Mix Master Mike to the audience, he called the Beastie Boys' DJ "his idol" and raved about Mix Master Mike's abilities. "You're in for something special," DJ JS-1 warned the audience.

For Mix Master Mike's set, my friends and I moved to the front of the stage, the exact same spot we had the previous night at the Beastie Boys show at Terminal 5. After our disappointment with the sound at the Beastie Boys show, we were elated with how excellent the sound was at the Highline Ballroom. Mix Master Mike sounded supreme.

Dressed in a Clash t-shirt, Mix Master Mike walked on stage and struck a "I'm the master" pose (arms folded and chin up) before beginning his hour-long set. It is almost impossible to describe what and how Mix Master Mike performs. Watching him perform is like watching a Nascar race. Your eyes can only follow the cars but not understand what the drivers are doing to make the cars move as they do.

Watching Mix Master Mike perform, I thought, "Dang, he really holds back when he's with the Beastie Boys!" What Mix Master Mike does with the Beastie Boys is only 2% illustrative of what he's capable of doing as a DJ. I hope the Beastie Boys know how lucky they are to have a DJ of Mix Master Mike's calibre on their team.

Mix Master Mike's set at the Highline Ballroom was completely entertaining and inspiring. Halfway through the set, a b-boy battle broke out on the floor that drew everyone's attention away from the stage. It's not often you see people breakdancing at a live concert. (At least, I don't see it often!) I imagine inspiring a b-boy battle is one of the biggest compliments a DJ can receive.

My favorite part of Mix Master Mike's set was a section in which he mixed and cut the Beastie Boys "14th Street Break" (from The Mix-Up). My friends and I howled with delight at what he did with the song! Beastie Boys need to forget about a vocal version of the album with other artists and let Mix Master Mike do his thang to the album. It was IN-CRED-I-BLE!! One of the reasons I delayed writing this review is I hoped to find video or audio of this moment of the show. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to locate any video or audio. The following video, recorded at Mix Master Mike's show in Fayetteville, Arkansas, is a fair representation of his set at the Highline Ballroom:



Probably only major Beastie Boys fans would recognize how much of the Beastie Boys Mix Master Mike incorporates in his solo sets. Sometimes it's just a single word sample by Adam Yauch or a goofy noise made by Mike Diamond or Adam Horovitz, but you recognize it. Mix Master Mike has a DJ style that seems improvisational, like he's making everything up as he performs; however, I'm fairly certain that's not the case. I think he's a master because he knows what he's doing in advance and has planned for it.

DJing is an art that is intimidating and a challenge to write about, unless you are a DJ yourself. Most DJs prefer spinning than writing, so it's rare to find informative or insightful reviews of DJ shows. In my search for other reviews of the Highline Ballroom show, I was only able to find one other review at Open Season NYC.

I don't profess to know a heck of a lot about the art of DJing; I only know when I like what I hear. What I heard that night at the Highline Ballroom from DJ JS-1, Mix Master Mike, and Rahzel (a huge teddybear of a man who beatboxes with charm and humor) was fantastic. If you have the opportunity to catch any of these performers live, do it! And try to write about it because these artists deserve to be written about.

If anything shines through in my review, I hope it's my admiration and respect for the artists.

Audio Technician - DJ JS-1 featuring Immortal Technique, Lifelong, and Mix Master Mike (from Ground Original, 2003) (4.14 MB mp3 via Savefile)

Please check out the rare Mix Master Mike album download posted at Wall to Wall.

Click on the photo above to view a photoset from the show. All photos by Mic to Mic.

When it was first announced that Beastie Boys would be performing at Terminal 5 in New York City, I checked out reviews of the venue because I wasn't familiar with it. Terminal 5 is a newish concert venue, located in a section of Manhattan filled with car dealerships. It used to be a nightclub. Many reviews about the venue said the same thing: it is horrible place to experience live music. None of the reviews, though, prepared me for how truly horrible it was.

Choosing a spot directly in front of the stage at any show can be a trade-off. You might sacrifice sound for sight. You have to decide in advance what you prefer: being close to the action or hearing the band. (Silly me, I like both.) There shouldn't be a trade-off, but it happens in some venues that aren't designed properly for live music. Such is the case with Terminal 5.

My experience on the front rail at the Beastie Boys show at Terminal 5 was disappointing, only because I know what the Beastie Boys should sound like live (i.e., awesome). It was heartbreaking to stand in front of the stage on Tuesday night, see the Beastie Boys with their mics in hand and smiles on their faces, and not to hear a single song or word from them with any clarity. The sound wasn't just a little bad; it was completely undistinguishable. Their banter was muffled wah-wahs (imagine a trombone muted with a toilet plunger); their rhymes were lost in space. When they picked up their instruments and played, it got even worse. The venue created a strange echo effect that made the band sound as if they were not playing in time. The sound was so bad that sometimes it was difficult to discern what song they were performing.

My friends and I looked at each other in disbelief at how bad the sound was, but then we remembered we know the words and we can hum. We were at the show to see each other as much as we were there to see the band. So we shouted the rhymes aloud and hummed with the instrumentals, making the best of it. The enthusiasm of all the fans singing aloud and the band's energy helped diminish our disappointment with the sound.

I wish I could relay stories about the silly things the Beastie Boys said and did at the show, but I can't do it because I didn't hear what they said. I believe I heard them say the word "Oscilloscope" a few times. Mike talked to the audience quite a bit during the show. I'm sure what he said was silly because he had that goofy, I'm-about-to-crack-up smile on his face as he spoke, but I didn't hear one word of it. Some band silliness took place when a fan passed a drawing of Mike to the band on stage during "Check It Out."

Beastie Boys looked good! They followed the casual Friday dress code even though it was a Tuesday. Mike wore a vintage blue sweater that made him look like a white Sammy Davis Jr. Horovitz went for the sexy businessman look -- a suit without the tie and jacket. Yauch dressed ultra-casual in a red Original Penguin classic polo shirt and slacks. Money Mark dressed similarly to Yauch, in a black Original Penguin polo shirt and slacks. Alfredo Ortiz was perhaps the best dressed, looking like a crazy Blues Brother in his black hat, white dress shirt, thin tie, and sunglasses.

The highlight of the night was the performance of "Rhymin' & Stealin'." It's a song that the Beastie Boys haven't performed for more than a decade until 2007, when they played it at a few select shows on their tour. The audience at Terminal 5 went wild shouting "Ali Baba and the forty thieves!"

Mike forgot his rhymes more than a few times over the course of the show, but it was no big whoop. The big hair and snazzy sweater made fans overlook the flubbed rhymes. Horovitz had some equipment failure that delayed "Remote Control" from starting for 8 minutes, but all he had to do was flash his magic smile at the audience to set things right. Yauch, the constant perfectionist in the band, stopped one song, wheel-up style, to begin it properly when he wasn't happy with the way it sounded. The fresh finger during "Check It Out" was doubly sillified with feet in the air too. (When Yauch puts his foot in the air, you know that they're having a good time.) Weirdest thing of the night was people crowd-surfing to "Triple Trouble." Umm..."Triple Trouble"?!

Contrary to what other reviews of the show say, the venue was not filled with "die-hard Beastie Boys fans." It was filled with people who could afford the pricey ticket. I know when I see my brothers and sisters. Sadly, many of you were not in attendance. The crowd was mellow for a Beastie Boys audience. Crowd-surfing and moshing were minimal and not the angry type.

Was I disappointed with the show? Yes. Terribly disappointed? No. Do I still love the band? Of course. Do I still think they are one of the best live acts you can see anywhere? Absolutely. Do I blame them for the crappy venue (generously donated by The Bowery Presents)? No, of course not. Will I ever see a show at Terminal 5 again? Absolutely no way.*

My friends and I agreed that we cannot be too critical of the show. It was for a very good cause. We all were very happy to see the band again. They were in good spirits and brought the boogie like they always do. It's not their fault the venue sucked balls. Having fun with my friends and seeing the Beastie Boys smile and have fun on stage erased the negative sound issue.

There's no place better than New York City to see the Beastie Boys perform, and there's definitely no band as fun and energetic as the Beastie Boys.


*Unless it's the Beastie Boys 'cause I'm stupid for them

Book Review Ad Rock by Ari Marcopoulos (Nieves) Paperback, 32 pages of black and white photography The purpose of a photography book on a single subject is normally to (1) reveal something about the subject (i.e., provide insight into the person's personality or lifestyle), (2) illustrate a history of the subject (i.e., tell the subject's story), or (3) showcase the photographer's skill and adeptness at photographing the subject. Given the photographer's history and personal relationship with the Beastie Boys, as well as his years of experience as a photographer, I expected Ari Marcopoulos' book Ad Rock to do all three things. Instead, the book fails to do any of those things.

When I learned about Marcopoulos' book, I hoped that it would attempt to reveal something about Adam Horovitz, the man (as opposed to the artist). The book title, however, is Ad Rock—not Adam Horovitz—and it does not give away any secrets or shed any new light on the man. There are no surprising photos of Horovitz doing something unexpected or with someone unusual. There are no intimate photos of him with loved ones, except for two photos of him with ex-wife Ione Skye, which don't garner the same emotional response if the relationship had endured. Horovitz is presented in Ad Rock as we are accustomed to seeing him: with Adam Yauch and Mike Diamond, in the studio, in rehearsal, and on stage. When the setting of a photo doesn't tell me anything about the subject, I look to the details within the photographs. Again, the details fail to tell me anything I don't already know about Horovitz: he is an animal lover (there are two photos of him with his dearly departed dog Freddie); he's a multi-instrumentalist and producer (there are photos of him with his guitar, a sampler, and behind the mix desk); and he's a bit goofy (there is a photo of him kissing the Adrock doll). No surprises. Nothing new. In fact, several of the photos in Ad Rock were also published in Marcopoulos' 2001 book Pass the Mic: Beastie Boys 1991–1996.

The photos in Ad Rock are not organized by date, so a history or progression of Horovitz as an artist isn't presented. No photo captions, dates, or text help to explain the photos. Does Marcopoulos think it's not important to identify the people in Horovitz' life? Am I supposed to know who all the people are? (I recognize Mike Watt, Ione Skye, Money Mark, Eric Bobo, and, of course, Yauch and Diamond.) The photos do not represent Marcopoulous' best photos of Horovitz. You can see better photos of Horovitz by Marcopoulos on the Beastie Boys' official web site (he took all the very stylized photos that rotate on the main page now) and Pass the Mic: Beastie Boys 1991–1996. Many of the photos in Ad Rock are out of focus and oddly framed—some even seem to be printed from damaged negatives or have been purposely damaged for artistic effect.

In dramatic contrast to most of the photos, one portrait of Horovitz taken to promote the Beastie Boys' 2007 album The Mix-Up (which was also published in The New York Times) illustrates Marcopoulous' technical proficiency as a photographer today. The portrait makes you think of how much photo technology has advanced since Marcopoulous began photographing the band and illustrates how Marcopoulous has grown as a photographer. Likewise, the portrait of Horovitz, decked out in a nice, shiny suit (instead of a T-shirt and jeans) and holding a guitar, also makes you think of how Horovitz has advanced as a person and an artist. So, Marcopoulous doesn't reveal any secrets about Horovitz, tell Horovitz' story, or show us his best photos of Horovitz in Ad Rock. What's the point of the book then? Something was missing. I decided what might be missing was my fault—that I don't know enough about the photographer—so I researched him. The one comment about Marcopoulous that I read repeatedly was on his ability to be accepted by his subjects. Like a National Geographic photographer, Marcopoulous shoots his subjects in their natural habitat without interfering and altering their behavior. This information didn't help me understand Marcopoulous' choice of photos, their layout, or his decision not to narrate the book. Frustrated that I wasn't "getting" the book, I turned to other people's photos of Horovitz. In my review of others' photos, I realized what was bothering me about Marcopoulous' book: it lacks timely insight. I don't believe Marcopoulous knows the Adam Horovitz of today. I assumed (it seems incorrectly) that Marcopoulous has been a continuous insider, someone privy to Horovitz' true character over the years. I now believe that's not the case. Perhaps Marcopoulous knew Horovitz and the band well back "in the day," but I'm not convinced he knows anything about them today. Two people whose photographs I referred to for comparison were Cey Adams, who has been friends with Horovitz since before Beastie Boys formed, and Jamie Billett, who was the band's video operator during the Beastie Boys 2004 Pageant tour. Billett's and Adams' photos were published on the tour blog at Beastieboys.com and instantly delighted fans because they revealed the band as they are (i.e., goofy) and the way fans want to see them (i.e., goofy). Billett's photo of Yauch on the banana phone, Diamond wearing a clown's nose, and Horovitz wolfing down a hamburger are infinitely better photos and more pleasing to look at than anything in Marcopolous' book because they reflect the three men today. Adams' photos of his friend are in unique and personal settings (on an airplane, with his brother, etc.) and are evidence to Horovitz having other sides. Both Billett's and Adams' photos say to me, "I really know Adam Horovitz. This is who he is." Sadly, I don't feel that from any of Marcopoulous' photos in Ad Rock. Marcopoulous' photos leave me alienated and unimpressed. I don't feel that the photographer considered who would want to look at the photos.

Marcopoulous shows no understanding for what Beastie Boys fans like with his book. A blurry photo of records? A photo of a video screen in which Horovitz and Yauch are blurred together? Is that what I, as a Beastie Boys fan, am supposed to like? I don't think so. And I don't think I'm alone in my taste. I like the banana phone, the clown nose, the funny faces, and the goofy attitude. Marcopoulous photos in Ad Rock lack personality, intimacy, and illumination on the subject—all things photographs should accomplish. In the end, I think Ad Rock does a disservice to Adam Horovitz because the photos make him appear single-faceted—like all he is a musician. You don't have to know him personally—or see other people's photos of him—to know that there must be more to him than what you see on stage and in the studio. On the upside, the book does successfully project one positive theme: what you see is what you get. Clearly, Horovitz is comfortable in his own skin and doesn't feel the need to dress his personality when he's on stage or in front of a camera. Marcopoulous' book is not horrible; it simply lacks depth into the subject. Marcopoulous is a skilled photographer with an interesting history and approach to his subject; however, he just doesn't show what the average Beastie Boys fan is interested in seeing—at least not today. I am a huge fan of Pass the Mic: Beastie Boys 1991–1996. Marcopoulous' photo of Mike Diamond and Tamra Davis in that book is one of the most touching photos of a couple in love that I've ever seen by any photographer. There are many memorable and fantastic photos in Pass the Mic, which makes Ad Rock even more disappointing. What happened between then and now? The only answer I can come up with is the photographer and subject's relationship has changed. They aren't what they used to be to one another.

There is only one photo in Ad Rock that captured my interest. And it's not Horovitz who is interesting in the photo—it's Yauch. The photo shows Horovitz reading and Yauch napping on the floor of a packed airport lounge. It's an interesting photo because it's rare to see Yauch with his guard down. Priced under $20, Ad Rock is worth getting if you are a Beastie Boys collector. However, if you expect to learn something about Horovitz from the book or see him like you've never seen before, you will likely be disappointed with Ad Rock.

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.

Similar to our compilation of fan reviews of The Mix-Up, I have compiled what the music press are saying about the new album. This was a major undertaking, as the music press tend not to express their opinions concisely. I did my best to edit the superfluous.

The Mix-Up is a sweaty, '60s soul package so smooth it's subliminal -- like swallowing your own spit. Woven tight with fuzzyliscious grooves and beats that'll have you reaching for an afro pick, the album has all the enthusiasm of a neighborhood basement jam session with musicians that have actually been around the block a few decades."
-- Erin Glass, San Diego Union-Tribune
Grade: 4 stars (of 5)
Recommended songs: B for My Name, Off the Grid

The Mix-Up is the first time the threesome have sat down to make a purely instrumental record, and it's a shame they don't do so more often...[The Mix-Up] reveals a much more refined band who have mastered their art.
-- David Watkins, South China Morning Post
Grade: N/A
Recommended songs: Electric Worm, Off the Grid

[The Mix-Up] is laid-back, good-natured, and sounds as if it was a lot of fun to make...Quite possibly a record whose subtleties will be revealed with time.
-- David Peschek, The Guardian
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: The Rat Cage

There's much to snap a finger to in the snazzy grooves and sharp pick-up funk of "The Melee" and "Off the Grid"...The Mix-Up has the look and feel of a contractual obligation ahead of a world tour.
-- Jim Carroll, Irish Times
Grade: 3 stars (of 5)
Recommended song: The Melee

12 rap-less tracks do groove, holmes, but they also blur together, and offer few surprises. It's the sound of the Boys kickin' back, picking up their instruments and jamming it out - no muss, no fuss.
-- T'cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette
Grade: 3 stars (of 5)
Recommended song: Freaky Hijiki

The Mix-Up is all about groove and texture, sometimes at the expense of hooks...It's a different sound for the Beasties, to be sure, and one that places all the emphasis on their impressive instrumental chops.
-- Eric R. Danton, Hartford Courant
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: N/A

This fresh batch of tunes certainly has its goofy charms...it's hard not to be amused by the Beasties' groove-smitten, stiff-wristed take on funk, jazz and psychedelic sonics...[Beastie Boys] are having fun. And so are we -- up to a point. Alas, it isn't long before the trippy evocations ("B for My Name") and subverted funk jams ("Electric Worm") are followed by grooves and drones that aren't nearly as appealing.
-- Mike Joyce, Washington Post
Grade: N/A
Recommended songs: B for My Name, Electric Worm

[The Mix-Up is] a cool and groovy funk-lounge-dub affair that Austin Powers would surely dig...This is a music-only set featuring the surprisingly tasty playing of Mike Diamond on drums, Adam Horovitz on guitar and Adam Yauch on bass, and sizable contributions from keyboardist Money Mark and percussionist Alfredo Ortiz...The tracks draw you in with oodles of engaging atmosphere without going anywhere in particular.
-- Larry Katz, Boston Herald
Grade: B
Recommended song: B for My Name

[The Mix-Up is] low-fi, hazy and lightweight...For rappers, these guys can sort of play...They're riffing on the same retro grooves that might, on another album, serve as samples; you could call them the Uncredible Bongo Band.
-- Nate Chinen, New York Times
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: Suco de Tangerina

The rather homogenous sound washes over you but in a good way: each carefully constructed track has a robust groove at its core.
-- Killian Fox, The Observer (London)
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: Suco de Tangerina

Beastie Boys are not content to be the finest white rappers in the world. Every so often, they want to remind us they're musicians too. So they set up their gear, start jamming and slap together funky Latin-jazz instrumentals like these. If you have a blaxploitation flick in need of a soundtrack, this is your lucky day. Otherwise, not so much.
-- Darryl Sterdan, Toronto Sun
Grade: 2-1/2 stars (of 5)
Recommended songs: Suco de Tangerina, The Rat Cage

What's the use of a Beastie Boy who doesn't rap? The Mix-Up answers the question with a set of instrumental songs on which the trio, better musicians nowadays than they are rappers, indulge their enthusiasm for wah-wah guitars, funky organ licks and dubby basslines. With long-time collaborator Money Mark lending a hand on keyboards, the results are inconsequential but oddly enjoyable. The one-time rap delinquents have found a role for themselves as purveyors of high-quality background music.
-- Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, Financial Times (London)
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: N/A

Mike D, Adam Horovitz and Adam Yauch have dropped the mic and picked up guitar, bass and drums, returning to the jazz-tinged instrumentals explored on Check Your Head and The In Sound From Way Out! Even then, such jams worked best as interludes between vocal attacks, rather than stand-alone pieces...For fans only.
-- Luke Bainbridge, Observer Music Magazine (London)
Grade: 2 stars (of 5)
Recommended song: N/A

Overall, [The Mix-Up] is pretty good, though it's easy to imagine you're listening to one of those '60s albums knocked out in spare studio time by session men waiting for Ritchie Blackmore to finish his incantations...This is an entertaining, if inessential purchase for funk rock fans and habitual marijuana users.
-- Eddy Lawrence, Time Out
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: N/A

It is an ambitious set that, thanks to the trio's enthusiasm and way with a groove, they just about pull off.
-- Music Week
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: N/A

The grizzled wiseacres' second wordless disc reaches back to hip-hop's prehistory for a dozen lightweight psychedelic funk instrumentals -- the sort of thing the Boys might have dug up on a mildewed 45 for a sample back in their Paul's Boutique days. But they don't quite have the rhythmic mojo of the circa-1970 obscurities they're imitating here, and many tracks are exercises in texture (dub bass! sitar noodling!) that fail to develop into actual tunes. Who'd have guessed that a Beastie Boys record could be too subtle?
-- Douglas Wolk, Entertainment Weekly
Grade: C+
Recommended song: The Melee

The Mix-Up finds the Beasties indulging their love of '70s funk, dub reggae, post-punk dance bands like ESG and blaxploitation film soundtracks...The playing is excellent, the production style is suitably vintage and the music is at the very least pleasantly distracting. Yet they sound like they're improvising a film soundtrack instead of writing jams that hold up to repeat listening. There's a serious paucity of riffs or hooks or any kind of melodic development -- it all sounds like they're waiting for someone else to take the lead. Which, for such a band of brash iconoclasts simply seems, well, mixed up.
-- Michael Barclay, Canadian Press
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: N/A

[The Mix-Up] has shades of the 1996 compilation of instrumental tracks from Check Your Head and Ill Communication, The In Sound from Way Out!, but lacks the edge of those older tracks and the sense of discovery that made the comp and source discs so exciting. The Mix-Up is very polished and, in some cases, the B-Boys dub up or sitar things up, but they never crank it up. Yet they seem comfortable away from the cultural foreground, producing very nice background music.
-- Matthew Pioro, National Post
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: N/A

[The Mix-Up] is pleasant enough...[but] the grooves never seem to go anywhere...The dominant player throughout is Money Mark, and it's probably no coincidence that, like his own albums, The Mix-Up has the characterless quality of those late-Sixties albums of incidental TV music that some find so ironically cool nowadays.
-- Andy Gill, Arts & Book Review
Grade: N/A
Recommended songs: Suco de Tangerina, Electric Worm

[The Mix-Up is] a mixture of fuzzed-out funk and mutant R&B...A minor addition to the Beastie Boys canon, then, but cool driving music for hot summer evenings.
-- Mark Edwards, Sunday Times (London)
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: N/A

For the most part, The Mix-Up is devoid of new ideas -- a collection of dull, derivative, self-indulgent noodlings largely untouched by quality control.
-- Chris Elwell-Sutton, London Evening Standard
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: N/A

You can just see them, the "guys", who happen to be a world-famous hip-hop outfit well into middle age, jammin' like a bunch of kids who've just discovered dope, Tropicalia and the wah-wah pedal. They describe the 12 instrumental tracks as "post-punk" but it's more Austin Powers than Gang of Four. One for completists. And backpackers.
-- Phoebe Greenwood, The Times (London)
Grade: 2 stars (of 5)
Recommended song: N/A

Freestyle funk workouts. [The songs] get a little samey.
-- Cameron Adams, Herald Sun (Australia)
Grade: 3 stars (of 5)
Recommended song: Off the Grid

The Mix-Up is a kind of admission of obsolescence. Not that it's bad. Tossed-off, underdone, monotonous, unfinished and redundant maybe, but not bad.
-- Zach Baron, Village Voice
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: N/A

Their instrumental style is a hybrid of jazz, funk and rock, heavy on bongos, organ and wah-wah guitar...The album has a loping, groovy vibe, but like a just-for-fun jam session, it doesn't really go anywhere. It meanders around then blends into the background. There's no question Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D. have grown musically, but they're at their best when they use words too. Their crafty, smart-and-silly lyrics are a big part of their charm, and a few rhymes might have made "The Mix-Up" more than background noise.
-- Sandy Cohen, Associated Press
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: The Rat Cage

Funksome, noir-ish and tinged with hints of subtle experimentation, it is surely just the job to put on the car stereo if you mysteriously find yourself night-driving through a large American city in 1974 with the suspicion that you are being followed by the cops.
-- John Harris, The Guardian
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: Off the Grid

The Mix-Up is all-instrumental, digging into the familiar organ-heavy lounge funk of Check Your Head and Ill Communication. Yet it's poignant, because the Beasties play their old grooves like they realize how bad people miss them and how high their stock remains despite so many years away...It's definitely fun to play loud on a sunny afternoon.
-- Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone
Grade: 3 stars (of 5)
Recommended song: N/A

[The Mix-Up] is a dozen instrumental tracks that border on noodling, but with just enough funky breakbeats to keep the album from turning into a complete snooze-fest...[It's] a bleary-eyed brew of tremolo guitars and organ swells...An album for Beastie Boys completists only.
-- Chris Macias, Sacramento Bee
Grade: 2-1/2 stars (of 5)
Recommended song: N/A

It's all new material and it's all good -- even without the boys' attitude-filled raps...There are solid slow beats and heavy repetitious echoes that make it futile to fight against the blissed-out leanings of the music. There are licks of '70s-sounding disco and jazzy guitar that would make Beastie Boys a dreamy contemporary fit at any jazz festival...The Mix-Up stands up easily to close listening, but would also make great background music for a dinner party among old friends who once relied on Check Your Head as reliable weekend rager music.
-- Amy O'Brian, Ottawa Citizen
Grade: 3-1/2 stars (of 5)
Recommended song: N/A

The boys drop the vocals and the samples, delivering a cool soul-funk instrumental album that's just begging to be remixed and sampled.
-- Rob Thomas, Wisconsin State Journal
Grade: Gottahaveit
Recommended song: N/A

[The Mix-Up is] an all-instrumental record that, in a way, goes back to their roots as actual musicians more than rappers. But if this is a Beastie Boys calibration, it's one worth getting into. Heady organs, thick bass, endless break beats and everything from funky horn samples to a ghostly sitar run throughout the record, taking you on an enjoyable - albeit far from revolutionary - ride...Anybody who ever put past Beasties' instrumentals like "Ricky's Theme" on a mix will definitely dig this disc.
-- Staten Island Advance
Grade: N/A
Recommended songs: Freaky Hijiki, The Cousin of Death

The Beastie Boys' monopoly on N.Y.C. rap-cat instrumental funk has been smashed to pieces by far tighter units like the El Michels Affair and the Budos Band. The Beasties sound rusty by comparison: Mike D's percussion comes across like he's randomly trying to find new beats between the one and the two, while MCA plays bass like he's following the rhythm through the wall of the next room over...The majority of the record seems intended as an extension of their Latin-, funk- and jazz-hued early-'90s instrumental jams-though aside from the atypically clean-sounding opener "B for My Name" and the monstrous Money Mark keyboard workout "The Cousin of Death"...As the product of a few guys screwing around with lo-fi dance-rock, it's diverting enough.
-- Nate Patrin, OC Weekly
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: N/A

There's nothing as exciting or feral as the distorted, propulsive beats of, say, "So What'cha Want" [on The Mix-Up], but it's at the very least interesting, if not at all exciting. Though every track is a variation of the same organ-laden, spacey, stoner-funk jam, and the instrumentation is competent at best, the Beasties maintain their knack for expertly crafted soundscapes, and every track could be the foundation for an excellent, if mellow, rap track. While the Beastie Boys have been neither boys nor particularly beastie for over a decade, at least The Mix-Up is exactly what its title suggests.
-- Greg Chow, Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
Grade: B
Recommended song: N/A

This smooth, all-instrumental move is more quaint than innovative. And Diamond, Horovitz and Yauch's drums, guitar and bass still sound rickety...But it's a charming, slinky racket they've Mix-ed with keyboardist Money Mark and percussionist Alfredo Ortiz - one with some new tricks...Sweet stuff this. Fightin' for your right to chill.
-- A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer
Grade: 2-1/2 stars (of 5)
Recommended song: N/A

A great album by the Beastie Boys that doesn't involve one word, rapped or otherwise? Yup. This totally entertaining, all-instrumental CD celebrates the soulful, funky pre-punk influences that first inspired the definitive New York hip-hop party group...The accent is on the sort of organ-fueled lounge funk familiar to fans of such Beasties classics as Check Your Head and Ill Communication. And it's a great bash.
-- Fred Shuster, Daily News of Los Angeles
Grade: 3 stars (of 4)
Recommended song: The Melee

[The Mix-Up is] a scrappy collection of head-nodding, organ-heavy grooves made for headphones. Unlike The In Sound from Way Out!, this feels like a real album. It starts off fairly mellow, with percolating keyboards and Latin-tinged beats. By the middle, we're in the deep end of the pool of funk, with "The Electric Worm" and the rocking "Off the Grid." It's shmoove sailing from there. Admittedly, my brain isn't wired to hate a new Beasties album, but The Mix-Up is easy to love.
-- Robert Benziker, Santa Fe New Mexican
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: N/A

Influences from dub, jazz and punk can be heard on The Mix-Up, making it tough not to like, especially if you're a fan of the Beasties' 1996 release The In Sound From Way Out! The mashing of styles creates some funk-flavored, soul-filled Muzak suited for a dentist's office where Bootsy Collins is the receptionist and James Brown is the man working on your molars.
-- Travis Hay, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: Off the Grid

The Beastie Boys -- once innovators in rap and hip-hop -- have done the unthinkable on their latest release: They've wandered squarely into mediocrity. Easily their most uninspired album to date, The Mix-Up reveals Beasties who have lost the plot and disguised their malfeasance as an instrumental album.
-- V. Marc Fort, Austin American-Statesman
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: None -- "Save your 99 cents."

Composed of low-end-heavy jams that reference the Meters, tropicalia, '70s funk and porn music (sometimes all at once) and zero words, The Mix-Up is thematically sound and feels like a comprehensive piece instead of a self-indulgent scheme. There are moments of thick, bona fide groove (the down-and-dirty "Off the Grid" chief among them). But stylistic aspirations aside, with the Beastie name on the cover, it's hard to listen without (sub)consciously seeking out the places where rhymes could go.
-- Jeff Vrabel, Billboard
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: N/A

[The Mix-Up is] proof that the Beasties' obsession with retro cop shows goes far beyond that glorious video for "Sabotage". Inspired by the likes of Mongo Santa-maria and David Axelrod, it's dominated by Latin-infused soundtrack jazz - perfect for walking around pretending you're a Seventies hoodlum played by Isaac Hayes.
-- Simon Price, The Independent on Sunday
Grade: N/A
Recommended song: Suco de Tangerina

Though the album's modesty is appealing, [The Mix-Up] is the sound of a group treading water. The mid-tempo, interchangeable grooves might occasionally get you nodding your head, but do you think even Mike D knows the difference between "The Rat Cage" and "The Kangaroo Rat"? Background music for alphabetizing your vinyl collection.
-- Alan Light, Blender
Grade: 2-1/2 stars (of 5)
Recommended song: Electric Worm

12 greasy funk instrumentals saturated with '70s blaxploitation atmospherics, fuzzy Eastern undertones, and garage-band Farfisa courtesy of the invaluable "Money" Mark Nishita...The result is destined to serve as chic background music for countless dorm parties thrown by people who'd never think of picking up a Meters or Booker T. & The MGs album...[The Mix-Up is a] satisfyingly uneven, agreeably overreaching hodgepodge of sounds and styles à la Hello Nasty or Ill Communication.
-- Nathan Rabin, The Onion
Grade: B
Recommended song: Off the Grid

[The Mix-Up] is repetitive, two-dimensional and couldn't involve more noodle if The Mars Volta played their local Wagamamas...The Mix-Up finds the Beastie Boys with nothing much to say, in more ways than one.
-- Julian Marshall, NME
Grade: 4 stars (of 10)
Recommended song: N/A

View a slideshow of the pics from the Gdynia Gala Event by clicking on the photo above or go to Flickr to see the photoset.

For our last show of the European tour (at least for now), Midzi and I -- and a bunch of other fans -- were treated to an unusually long set at the tent stage at the Heineken Open'er Festival. The show clocked in at about 1 hour 50 minutes. I suspect the band performed a longer set than usual as a thank you to the fans who stood in the rain and mud to watch them perform on the main stage the previous night.

Special guests on the side stage during the Gala Event included Tamra Davis with Davis and Skylar. Let me tell ya, Tamra and Mike made some cute babies! Those boys are adorable. They wore special headphones to protect their little ears from the "noise" their daddy and his friends make.

Everyone in the band, except Adam Yauch, seemed to be in really high spirits during the show. We're not sure what Yauch's problem was, but he seemed cranky and distracted to us. It might have been due to some technical difficulties. At one point during the show, his amplifier malfunctioned and the audience was subjected to constant bass reverb. We were standing close to one of the bass speakers on the ground, and our legs were vibrating. We thought it was funny; Yauch did not think it was funny. His mic also wasn't working properly. We couldn't hear his vocals throughout the entire show.

We could, however, hear Adam Horovitz very clearly. He was a dynamo for the Gala Event, telling stories, dancing, and showing the audience that he was having fun doing his thang. Midzi and I decided it's the band's attitude and general fun play that separate the hip-hop sets from the Gala Events. In an interview for the Heineken Open'er Festival newspaper, Horovitz even stated that it's the Gala Events at which they have the most fun. (We'll be posting that interview soon.)

For the introduction of "Ricky's Theme," Horovitz told another Ricky Powell story (there must be a million of them!) -- this time about Ricky selling pot. "He used to sell pot," Horovitz corrected himself.

Later in the show, Horovitz apologized for not speaking Polish and for the band's waiting 12 years to return to Poland. Horovitz asked Money Mark to come to the front of the stage and provide a toast to Poland. Mark held up a glass and said, "Na zdrowie!" which delighted the audience. Horovitz repeated Mark's gesture and words.

As I've said in the past, you can always count on Michael Diamond for some goofy talk. At the Gala Event in Gydnia, Mike directed all his goofy comments toward Horovitz.

"How many friends do you have on Myspace, Adam?" Mike asked Horovitz. (It seemed to be an inside joke.)

"I don't know. Be my friend? Please?" Horovitz begged the audience.

Toward the end of the show, Mike told the audience that he and Horovitz had been arguing about ratatouille. He explained that he felt bad about the argument and asked Horovitz to forgive and make up with him in front of the audience.

"Gimme a hug," Mike requested.

"Can't we just shake hands?" Horovitz answered. Mike shook his head no and gave Horovitz an exaggerated hug. (Damn my hands and camera for not working fast enough to capture the hug!)

During a break between songs, someone in the audience threw a roll of toilet paper on stage. Horovitz looked at it and said with a goofy grin, "Thank you for the toilet paper." Yauch looked out into the audience and gave them a WTF? shrug.

When the band returned to the stage for the encore, with champagne glasses in their hands, someone in the audience got Horovitz' attention and called him to the floor. To everyone's surprise, Horovitz jumped into the audience and went to the fan. We couldn't see what happened on the floor. We only saw Horovitz being pulled out of the audience by Beastie Boys security, who was shaking his head at Horovitz disapprovingly.

At show's end, Midzi and I were both happy that the European tour ended for us on a such high note -- a great setlist, a great environment, and no injury. The only victim of the Heineken Open'er Festival were our shoes, which we had to pitch because the mud destroyed them.

Michał Parucki, a fan who attended both Beastie Boys sets at the Heineken Open'er Festival, submitted a number of photos to us. I didn't take any photos during the hip-hop set because of the rain, so I appreciate Michał's sharing. View a slideshow of Michał's pics by clicking on the photo below or go to Flickr to see the photoset. The first seven photos are from the hip-hop set and the remainder are from the Gala Event.



Photos

"Mother. Fuckin'. Beastie Boys."

I must have cursed Beastie Boys a hundred times yesterday. I cursed them because I like them so much that I stood for hours in the rain and mud to see them perform their hip-hop set at the Heineken Opener Festival in Gdynia, Poland.

"I bet they're in a warm room, wearing dry socks and drinking hot drinks," Midzi snarled in the early evening, as our clothes became completely water-soaked from the rain.

"Mother fuckin' Beastie Boys," I cursed.

"Damn Beastie Boys," Midzi muttered.

It's a good thing that at a festival called the Heineken Opener, they serve Heineken -- because the beer kept us going when we were miserably wet and cold. If it were my decision, I would have skipped the set and gone back to our lovely and warm rented house near the sea, but it wasn't my decision. My Polish friend had her heart set on seeing her favorite band in her own country. Nevermind that she has been fighting a cold. Nevermind the pouring rain and muddy field. She was going to see the Beastie Boys if she had to crawl through the mud.

Before heading to the festival grounds, we went searching for rain gear in Gdynia with little luck. The stores had been cleaned out by other festival goers. I managed to score an umbrella, which was a lifesaver later in the evening, and Midzi purchased large garbage bags to serve as rain wear.

As we began to fashion rain clothes out of the huge garbage bags, we laughed at how ridiculously stupid it was.

"We are dressed to impress!" Midzi laughed.

"Mother fuckin' Beastie Boys making me wear garbage bags!" I cursed and laughed.

It seemed that the rain was going to stop before Beastie Boys went on stage, but the weather was just teasing us by starting and stopping the rain repeatedly. It rained throughout most of the evening.

When Beastie Boys finally came on stage, Midzi and I scrunched up our noses in disgust when we saw Adam Yauch wearing a warm winter jacket.

"Mother fuckin' Beastie Boys!" I yelled aloud, as I pulled my stuck foot out of the mud.

My opinion of the show is greatly different than Midzi's. For me, it was one of the weakest Beastie Boys sets I've ever seen. For Midzi, however, it was a fantastic set. We agreed that our opinions are a matter of concert experience.

I thought the band were sort of sloppy. They didn't get their shit together until midway through the show with "Off the Grid." The first half of the set was full of flub-ups, with the band stopping and restarting many songs.

"Wheel up!" Mike yelled, trying to infuse some humor into their mistakes. When you're standing in the rain and mud, the last thing you feel like is laughing at mistakes. The mistakes probably would have been funny to me if I hadn't been freezing my ass off and standing in the mud wearing garbage bags.

Standing back from the stage, Midzi and I were able to watch the video show that accompanies the band's set. We're not sure if we missed these videos previously because we've always been so close to the stage, but we think the videos and animations might have been new to the tour last night. Some of the animation looks to be the work of Bill McMullen, particularly a robot animation for "Intergalactic."

The setlist was very similar to all the other hip-hop shows the band have performed in Europe. It's disappointing how predictable the hip-hop sets are. Even Midzi, who has only seen two hip-hop sets ever by the band, was able to accurately predict the songs and the order in which they would be played before the show began. The band seem to be saving all their creativity for the Gala Events -- which I'm totally cool with because I am 100% a Gala Event gal.

When the band came out for the encore, they were all carrying hot drinks.

"Is that a hot toddy?" Yauch asked Horovitz.

"Why, yes it!" Horovitz replied.

Midzi and I looked at each other and knew what the other was thinking. Mother fuckin' Beastie Boys!

Midzi was very happy when Horovitz spoke some Polish. "Na zdrowie," he said, holding his drink in the air. (It is a toast, equivalent to "Cheers!")

Last night's audience was pretty tame because of the rain and mud, but people seemed to enjoy the Beastie Boys set. The Hello Nasty songs received the most enthusiastic response. Midzi's song pick was "Pass the Mic," and mine was "Off the Grid."

Today's Gala Event is in a tent. We checked it out yesterday. The ground is muddy.

Videos

Bong-Bong/Bing-Bing routine and Electric Worm
Body Movin'
Super Disco Breakin'
Super Disco Breakin' and Brass Monkey
Sabrosa
Egg Raid on Mojo and 3 MCs and 1 DJ
3 MCs and 1 DJ
Ch-Check It Out
MMM Interlude
Sabotage

View a slideshow of the pics from the Paris Gala Event by clicking on the photo above or go to Flickr to see the photoset.

It has been difficult finding time to post photos and write reviews about the shows in Europe. The Beastie Boys devised a tour schedule that is completely crazy. They have so few days off that I find it hard to believe that they're enjoying any of their time in Europe. Midzi and I are enjoying little beyond the shows. If we're not at a show, we're traveling to the next. We skipped Turkey, Greece, Hurricane Festival, Southside Festival, and Werchter Festival so we could have some downtime and relax.

The lack of downtime for the band has been showing somewhat in their performances. They look physically exhausted on stage some of the time. The crew seem just as tired. There have been times when I looked to the side stage during a show and saw crew members struggling to keep their eyes open. I feel bad that the band and crew are working so hard. They should be having some fun.

Four days have passed since the Gala Event at Le Bataclan in Paris. As I posted previously, the show was super magnifique! I love seeing shows in Paris because when French fans love a band, they show it. I also like seeing shows in Paris because I've never been hurt at one in France. French men are unique in that they recognize and appreciate that women are not built like they are. The French men standing behind Midzi and me at Le Bataclan were very nice and watched out for us. Merci beaucoup!

When you don't have to spend your time fighting off meatheads during a show, you can hear and enjoy more of the songs. That's exactly what I experienced at Le Bataclan. After being disappointed with the standard setlist at Le Zenith the night before, I was really pleased that Mr. Yauch (aka Mr. Setlist) assembled a setlist with an interesting flow. It was the first show so far in Europe that began with a hardcore track (i.e., "Time for Living").

The French audience's enthusiastic response to the songs seemed to pump up the band. The show was high-energy and filled with many humorous moments. In his introduction to "Ricky's Theme," Adam Horovitz talked about how the band would go to smoke weed -- "Marajuana cigarettes," Horovitz clarified -- at Ricky Powell's cat-filled apartment. "It smelled like cat pee and weed," he told the audience.

Horovitz had funny one-line responses to fans yelling song requests.

"Egg Raid on Mojo!" a fan yelled.

"Ask and you shall receive!" Horovitz replied with a devilish grin.

"Open Letter to New York City!" another fan yelled.

"I appreciate that song request, but not today," he told the fan.

Midway through the show, Horovitz decided to add a song to the set. After "Ricky's Theme," he pow-wowed with his bandmates and then announced to the audience that they had an extra song.

"We have a free song for you. I mean, I know you paid to see the show -- most of you, that is," Horovitz said.

A fan interrupted by yelling, "Oh, yeah!" implying he had paid a lot to see the show.

A puzzled Horovitz replied, "What do you mean 'Oh, yeah'? I have to feed my dog, you know. This song is not on the setlist, but I like it and want to play it. It's called 'Suco de Tangerina.'"

"Song for the Man" was a song that saw a lot of funny audience participation. The French fans sang Money Mark's organ part instead of the lyrics. This song was particularly fun for Midzi and me after seeing how the Cologne audience reacted to this song (i.e., booing).

Because of the small size of the venue, the crew were unable to hang the potato chip lights/video screens, so the lighting was different. Yauch's setlist was lit by a small standing camp light. When Horovitz saw it on the floor, he picked it up and started singing "I Like to Move It" (by Reel to Real [video at youtube.com]).

"I like to move it, move it! I like to move it, move it! You like to move it, move it!" Horovitz sang and danced while holding the camp light in the air. The lights in the house went down and Mike joined Horovitz in the song. Yauch stood to the side and laughed at his two goofy friends.

More goofiness was witnessed when the band returned to the stage for the encore. Mike wore a towel as a cape. He announced that he was "Captain Poo-Poo." Holding a glass of champagne and talking animatedly to the audience, Mike spilled his drink in front of Horovitz, who laughed at his friend's inability to keep his drink in his glass because he was talking so much.

Earlier in the show, Mike explained to his bandmates and the audience that his expression for stopping and restarting a song was called "Wheel up!" (He did this after flubbing up and stopping one of the hardcore songs.) He asked the audience to chant his expression with him. "Wheel up!" he yelled, pointing his finger upwards in the air. Yauch and Horovitz laughed at how stupid it was.

The show ended with Horovitz giving a heartfelt introduction to "Sabotage." He told the audience, "We are all here now. When you're feeling low, remember that we had this moment together."

Videos

Live at PJ's
"Wheel Up!" (intro to The Maestro)
3 MCs and 1 DJ
Sure Shot

Photos

View a slideshow of the pics from the Cologne Gala Event by clicking on the photo above or go to Flickr to see the photoset.

The Cologne Gala Event was both Midzi's and my favorite show thus far because the sound was perfect! It was the first show that we heard every person in the band. At all the other shows that we've attended, we haven't been able to hear vocals for at least the first three songs and not hear Mix Master Mike throughout the entire Gala Event shows. For a long time, we were wondering what the heck Mix Master Mike was doing at the Gala Events because we couldn't tell that he was contributing anything. To our surprise, we learned at the Cologne Gala Event that he contributes quite a bit.

Before the show, as we waited to be let into the venue, we noticed the makeup of the crowd standing behind us was a bit unusual for a Beastie Boys show. The majority of the audience was at least 25 years old and up. Midzi and I thought that a mature audience might mean a sophisticated show, but after the first song, we realized something was very wrong with the audience. I'm not sure what was going on. I suspect the audience was ill-informed and thought they were coming to a hip-hop show. There's no putting it delicately: the audience sucked balls. They booed the band during some of the instrumentals. We looked around us and thought, "What the hell is wrong with you people?!"

The audience sucking balls was a true shame because the band were in high spirits. They came out with a lot of energy and spunk. Adam Horovitz was especially frisky. Midzi seemed to think he had enjoyed a few beers before the show, but I think he can be frisky without any influence. Even the normally stoic Adam Yauch was acting goofy.

For the first 20 minutes of the show, I felt the band were walking through their set, like they simply wanted to finish the show, hop on the bus, and get to the next city. The audience's strange, negative reaction to the instrumentals, however, seemed to be a challenge to them -- and they decided to take the challenge and do something special with the show. What could have been the worst show ever turned into something unique.

Despite the audience sucking, Horovitz spoke kindly to the audience frequently and tried to "soothe the beast." Before "Ricky's Theme," he spoke about how the song reminded him of a summer's day in which they would go to Ricky's lemonade stand. It was B Boys story time.

Horovitz also addressed the audience's constant chanting of "Ali Baba and the forty thieves." (The "Rhymin' & Stealin'" chant is what made me think the audience was ill-informed about the Gala Event.) With one eyebrow raised, Horovitz slyly said, "It must have been a big hit here." He told the audience that they would play it the next time they come to Cologne. (I don't think there will be a next time in Cologne.) He attempted to explain how the Gala Event was "something different," but the audience either didn't understand or didn't want to understand.

Horovitz took time to introduce each member of the band, pointing out where they were from. "Gardenia, Manhattan, Manhattan, Brooklyn, LA, and...?" He stopped and gave Mix Master Mike a questioned look, as if he wasn't sure what the proper answer was. Mix Master Mike answered "San Francisco."

There were some song flub-ups, which they handled in typical B Boys humorous fashion. They had to restart "B for My Name" because Yauch was playing the wrong song. "My mistake. I was playing the wrong notes," he apologized with a grin. Horovitz stopped "The Gala Event" and requested a do over for reasons that were unclear to us. The performance of "The Gala Event" was complimented with a mirrorball light show. We saw the same thing in Berlin, but thought the mirrorball was unique to the venue. It seems to be a permanent addition to the Gala Event.

"Futterman's Rule" was my favorite song performance of the night, followed by "The Maestro." Again, a lot of it had to do with being able to hear the songs properly. Midzi's picks were "So What'cha Want" and "The Maestro." We both enjoyed "The Maestro" because most of the song was performed directly in front of us to our delight. Nothing beats Diamond and Horovitz being goofy and playing off each other.

Yauch gave us the extended dance version of the "Gratitude" intro that we hoped for and were very pleased to hear again. It adds a little umpfh to the song. The extended intro seems to be exclusive to the Gala Event.

At several points, Yauch goofed around, playing the "Sweet Leaf" riff. Midzi and I were more amused by Yauch's hair than his bass antics. His hair was sticking in the air for the first quarter of the show. Yauch also entertained us with his kung-fu moves. (See above photo.)

The usually very talkative Michael Diamond was strangely silent for most of the show, except to say that he thought Horovitz looked good in his blue shirt and what a bold fashion statement it was. At a later point, Mike mentioned the message board, saying that people were talking about Mix Master Mike's sexy legs. Huh?

The surprise of the night was a performance of "Song for the Man" -- which I had strangely mentioned to Midzi the day before that I'd really like to hear. We really like and respect that the band can pull a song out of a hat. Surprises are what we hoped the Gala Event would be about.

When the band reached the end of the set, Horovitz began his typical introduction to "Sabotage" being dedicated to a certain someone, when he was interrupted by boos and whistles -- and not the nice kind of boos and whistles. A mischievous look came over his face and he made the decision that the band would do another instrumental. I got the distinct impression that the extra instrumental was thrown in as "punishment" for the idiots who kept demanding something other than what they were getting. The extra instrumental was "Honky Rink," which Horovitz did a kind of scatting through. We couldn't make out what he was saying. When the song finished, Yauch stepped to the mic and finished the "Sabotage" dedication that Horovitz had begun.

The lighting for the Gala Event has been evolving with each show. The band are using strangely shaped lights/video screens, which I've been calling "potato chips" because that's what they look like to me: big Ruffles and small Cheetos. For the Cologne Gala Event, we noticed videos being displayed on the screens for the first time. Also new to the Cologne Gala Event were police lights in Mix Master Mike's booth.

Photos

Hot Sauce: Dang, that show was hot -- in two ways! We were sweating buckets.

Midzi: I'm surprised that Berlin is so much hotter than Barcelona. Yauch never took his jacket off through the show last night, did he?

Hottie: No, he didn't work up a sweat like Horovitz and Diamond. I think that he should work up a sweat. The one thing that the Gala Event is missing for me is Yauch. He needs his own song with vocals or something. Horovitz has his songs, Diamond has his songs, Yauch needs his songs.

Midzi: He barely speaks to the audience or to Mike and Horovitz.

Hottie: He only speaks with the bass. Was "14th Street Break" a premiere last night?

Midzi: I don't know, but it was a very good song to open the show with.

Hottie: The Berlin crowd was pretty cool.

Midzi: You could see that they were real fans. People came to enjoy the show. They came for Beastie Boys -- except for the one guy who yelled "Fight for Your Right."

Hottie: They get that at every show. It has to wear on their nerves. I liked when the one guy in the audience requested "Get It Together." Horovitz said, "That's a good one. We should consider it." And then he mumbled and said, "Get It Together" and the audience thought he was introducing the next song. He realized what the audience thought and said, "No-no. Q-Tip is not here."

Midzi: They have performed that song without Q-Tip in the Ill Communication era.

Hottie: The way the setlist was organized, it made the show feel heavy on the instrumentals even though they didn't play any more instrumentals than they normally play.

Midzi: Fucking rain...

Hottie: Beastie Boys are probably cursing the rain right now too. I hope our friends arrived in Paris without any weather delays.

Midzi: I hope it doesn't rain on them at the Hurricane Festival.

Hottie: Did the band have the camera equipment at the other shows?

Midzi: I remember at Sonar, before the band entered the stage, I thought Horovitz had two microphones. I didn't know that one of them was the camera. Yesterday he acted like he didn't know what it was.

Hottie: I didn't notice any of the screens at Sonar, except for that one -- and we shall never speak of that.

Midzi: All the band have their own cameras, but you don't see that they are cameras. Horovitz made funny faces to the camera. [laughs]

Hottie: Honker shots! The camera had the fish-eye effect...I wish it would stop raining. I felt the band were a little low on energy last night. Their tour schedule is a bit crazy.

Midzi: I hope they get some extra sleep during this fucking rain in Berlin. Yauch looked like he was sleepy on stage.

Hottie: Being sleepy at shows is usually our problem. Maybe Horovitz gave him his cold. Hey, "Gratitude" was missing the long intro last night.

Midzi: Yes. Too bad, because it sounds good. I liked it.

Hottie: Documad is going to be surprised to learn that we did not start the queue for the show. Three guys were there before us.

Midzi: But you were the first to the rail.

Hottie: Of course. And that's what matters. [laughs]

Midzi: I appreciate that the band were security-conscious last night and addressed the crowd to calm down at certain points -- with Horovitz even giving instructions on how to dance without hurting someone.

Hottie: And he demonstrated how to do it!

Midzi: At one point, I noticed the security guys gathered on the left side of the stage in front of Yauch. Two of them were trying to reach into the crowd -- it was during "Remote Control." The band stopped playing. They all walked forward to see what was happening in the pit. It turned out that some guy lost his glasses. Horovitz was like, "Ahh, man!" They stopped the show because they thought shit was happening, but it was just some guy losing his glasses.

Hottie: Hey, I didn't get hurt last night. It was because I was wearing my lucky Australian crocodile necklace.

Midzi: I think the rain is letting up. Let's get out of the hotel.

Hottie: Ok. We'll finish this later. I only uploaded a portion of my photos to Flickr. I'll make them public later.

Photos





Audio

Audience recording of show