Cityzen.tv: Live Review- The Beastie Boys

Listen Up All You
New Yorkers...
The Champ Is Here!

The Beastie Boys
@ Madison Square Garden
w/ Talib Kweli
Saturday, October 9th 2004
By Craig Cook

Let’s Get Ready To Rumble! Michael Buffer would have felt comfortable announcing the arrival of Mix Master Mike as he entered Madison Square Garden on Saturday, October 9, 2004 to usher in the Beastie Boys' exhilarating performance for the hometown crowd. Making his way thru MSG’s 1st tier seating while his image was broadcast on a huge screen above the DJ booth onstage, MMM held up a white label record with the words Get Ready! scrawled on them. Get Ready! was an understatement.

Fresh off the release of their open love letter to all things NYC, the B Boys said thank you to the city that spawned them personally. Sure they utilized the same stripped down staging from the rest of their U.S. tour, with MMM held in high regard, floating above the 3MCs like a mad puppeteer pulling sonic strings via remixed samples and loops previously un-tested yet seriously slick. And you could say that the first couple of songs were regular set favorites, nothing too special. That is until the B3 acknowledged the fact that they were indeed home, and that they had something that needed to be performed in order to make the hometown crowd know how appreciative they were for the sold out support that NYC has offered the Beasties for 10+ years. They let the beat drop, and the whole of Madison Square Garden realized in a split second that "Hello Brooklyn" was indeed a gift from the furious three to the hip-hop disciples gathered at the temple of B.

Another surprise immediately followed as Doug E. Fresh took the stage to lay down beat-box bravado on the first verse of "Time To Get Ill." Spitting out the clicks, booms and brash beats that only DEF can mouth, the intimate exchange between the Beastie Boys and Mr. Fresh left the crowd stunned and smiling.

The scenery changed after an MMM interlude in which he displayed some of the fiercest scratching and beat-juggling since IEMerge won the DMC Worlds a few months back. Sliding out from under the curtain, a stage set to resemble a Brooklyn lounge presented the Beasties for an instrumental set that included "Sabrosa," "Ricky’s Theme" and "Something’s Gotta Give." The Asian rope lighting and funky vertical light tube backdrop played in the eyes of the audience, and looking away from the scene left psychedelic images embossed on the retina.

In the Beastie Boys' ongoing attempt to poke fun at the Office of the President and encourage the youth vote, SNL’s Will Ferrell made a video-taped appearance, parodying the President. “Things have been really bad since I became President," said Mr. Ferrell in his best Texas drawl. After being corrected by a PA off-screen and declaring that he was “just getting [his] groove on,” the faux-Pres. restated, “Things have been really, really… really really good since I took office.” Hilarity ensued and laughter filled the stadium.

The show was being filmed for an upcoming DVD release by 50 fans who signed up on the BBoys website for a chance to take part in the show. The amateur videographers captured the action on Hi-8 cameras from all points in the arena. Some lucky enough to get press row access in between the stage and pit had smiles on their faces that getting hit by a subway car could not erase. That was just one way to bring the crowd closer to the action however. During the encore, the Beasties appeared in the audience on the second deck and dropped "Intergalactic" amidst thousands of screaming fans waiving their arms to the beat. The house lights went on and the MSG crowd thought that the show was over, but the Beasties appeared on the lounge set with instruments in hand one last time. After dedicating the final song of the night to our fearless leader George W. Bush, the Beasties segued into a rousing version of "Sabotage" that made the arena floor quake.

Set List:
Triple Trouble
Sure Shot
Root Down
Hello Brooklyn
Time to Get Ill (1st Verse)
(w Doug E Fresh)
All Lifestyles
Posse in Effect
Pass the Mic
Shake Your Rump
MMM Interlude
Instrumental:
Sabrosa
Ricky's Theme
Something's Gotta Give
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An Open Letter to NYC
Right Right Now Now
Paul Revere
Body Movin
3 MCs and 1 DJ
Brass Monkey
So Watcha Want
Check It Out
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Encore:
Intergalactic
Gratitude
Sabotage (Instrumental)