Last night's Beastie Boys show at Rams Head Live
The Beastie Boys may be best known for their brand of sharp, stinging hip-hop, but the Brooklyn trio has a surprisingly diverse discography.
Last night's choppy, spontaneous performance at Rams Head Live was a tour through the group's 30-odd years together, from the early hardcore punk to the more recent instrumental funk jams to the inevitable rap hits.
The surprise show, a warm-up for the group's Bonnaroo performance next week, had plenty of rough spots. There were false starts, missed cues and whiffed lines. But all of that came secondary to the fact that one of the biggest rap acts of all time was playing to a club that holds a mere 2,000 people, give or take. Here's a link to some more pictures from the show.
At one point, a guy standing on the first level turned to a gal next to him and said, "Can you believe it? We're, like, 10 rows from the Beastie Boys!" My thoughts exactly.
Mix Master Mike warmed things up for a couple minutes by spinning a few bars of "Misty Mountain Hop" by Led Zeppelin. Then the three Beasties hit the stage, and the 90-minute set officially started with a super smooth rendition of "Root Down."
Mike D, MCA and Ad-Rock -- all still scrawny, pale faced and spunky -- wore short-sleeve button-down shirts and rapped into hand-held mikes. Mike D and Ad-Rock were really animated, at times, running through some choreographed dance moves. But MCA looked removed, and at times, disinterested, in the set.
"We are the Beastie Boys from New York City," they announced after a couple songs. Like they needed an introduction.
Four metal stands wrapped in string lights were set up on stage. During the show, the lights flashed intricate, colorful patterns in time with the music.
After about 30 minutes of hits such as "Skills to Pay the Bills," and "No Sleep Till Brooklyn," the Beasties launched into a couple punk tunes before grooving out on instrumental jams like "B is For My Name."
When MCA missed his cue on "Ch-Check it Out," Mix Master Mike stopped the song and MCA apologized, drawing boos from the crowd. They started to do the track over again, but stopped it after less than a minute. Whoops!
The Beasties kept the momentum going pretty well over the course of the night by mixing up the funk, punk and hip-hop. A mosh pit formed during punk tracks such as "Tough Guy," and most of the crowd on the lower level was going nuts during the encore of "Intergalactic" and "Sabotage."
Sure, the set had its fits and starts, but all in all, the Beasties put on a dynamic performance. It was definitely a show to remember.
(Photo by Sarah Kickler Kelber)
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
The show was absolutely fantastic! Even though they flubbed the start of "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" and MCA forgot some lines, and Ad Rock just didn't sing a line or two from "Sabotage" at the end, it was still worth it to finally get to see them perform. I've been a fan since "Licensed to Ill" came out and last night was my first opportunity to see them. And it was a great venue to see them perform. I could do without the $6 beer prices though. The bartender told me that "I'ts cheaper than at the stadium" but that didn't make me feel any better.
I dug the instrumentals and the punk songs but I would've liked to heard a few more cuts from "Paul's Boutique". If memory serves me correct they only played "Shake Your Rump" from PB. The only song played from "Licensed to Ill" was "No Sleep..." They definitely focused their set list on "Check Your Head" and "Ill Communication".
But I will agree with Sam in regards to MCA being disinterested. He was definitely way more subdued than Mike D and Ad Rock. I couldn't get over how skinny Mike D was.
And I was proud of my hometown for sticking up for their name when Mike D said they've always referred to Baltimore as "Balltown". The crowd had to correct them and let them know that we prefer "B-more".
The lighting on the "tiki huts" on stage was amazing and I thought they sounded solid on their instruments. I had no idea that MCA could play the upright bass too. I thought that was pretty wild.
In conclustion, thanks to whoever made this show happen. I can finally say I got to see the B-Boys, and in an intimate setting!
Posted by: Cardwell | June 10, 2009 9:24 AM
Interesting that there has been no talk on the Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction show considering that Merriweather was bursting at the seems with people.
Posted by: Paul | June 10, 2009 9:38 AM
I agree that MCA looked very disinterested last night. In fact, rarely did he even smile. At a certain point during the show, I stopped watching AdRock and Mike D and just watched MCA because he seemed so flat. I'll be interested to read what people write about the show in Asheville to see if it's the same there. Hopefully this was just an off night and not the fire going out for him at the start of a final tour.
BTW, Bal-Town? Who would think that is a good nickname anyway?
Posted by: Jeff | June 10, 2009 9:38 AM
You're right Sam, definitely a show to remember. The Biz was icing on the cake for sure.
A comment on the choppiness: the Beastie Boys are always choppy live. Even when they've been touring for a while they miss stuff sometimes. Yeah, MCA did lose his place, but it wasn't a big deal. Regarding MCA's demeanor on stage, he mostly hangs back like that and always has. It is fitting that he is the bass player. The three of them have well established stage behavior: Mike D is goofy, Ad Rock dances in his own unique way, and MCA hangs back. In my view MCA's smooth lyrical style makes up for his seeming lack of engagement. My favorite B Boy is Ad Rock, so I don't have any particular reason to defend MCA, but it wasn't unusual. Given that they haven't played in a while, they seemed pretty tight to me. They are welcome to play warm up shows in "Ball Town" any time.
Posted by: Chris | June 10, 2009 9:44 AM
I'm really disappointed I could not get tickets - but this sounds like it was a really neat experience - it was a concert but also a warm up - so I'm not sure you should be disappointed by the fits and started.
Posted by: Michael S | June 10, 2009 9:55 AM
Amazing show! I was on the second-tier balcony about 8 feet from the stage. I thought the variation in their setlist was excellent. I've always been a fan of their instrumental songs and they didn't disappoint. I was surprised by the amount of punk songs they played though. As far as MCA's "disinterest", I think that's just his style. He looked the same way on that Jimmy Fallon performance. After all, he is 45.
Biz Mark doing Bennie and the Jets was an added bonus, haha....
Posted by: NR | June 10, 2009 9:58 AM
Do they just sing to tracks? i.e. no one playing distortion guitar on No Sleep?
Posted by: pinbuoy | June 10, 2009 10:18 AM
hey, I am checking out the show in Asheville tonight and wondered if anybody could tell me when they started the set for the Baltimore show?
Was there an opener?
Posted by: Question | June 10, 2009 10:29 AM
Pinbuoy, they sang to backing tracks for most of the rap tunes, then picked up live instruments for the punk and funk songs. They did, however, play guitar/drums/bass on "Sabotage" during the encore, which was sick.
Question, their set started at 9:15 p.m. and the opener was Biz Markie. I'll post about his rather hilarious set later today.
Posted by: Sam Sessa | June 10, 2009 10:36 AM
@Question,
Biz Markie came out for about 20 minutes or so and wasn't too impressive. I think he might have had technical difficulties because he mainly seemed to be playing Bob Marley "Legend" with some old school rap/hip hop thrown in. It looked like he was just playing songs from his iTunes and he did a little beatbox here and there and at one point showed off his "air guitar" skills to a Michael Jackson song (Beat It perhaps?) I think he did some mixing and scratching on a few clips that he played.
As Sam said, MixMaster Mike came out after Biz and was amazing. He only played for maybe 5 minutes before he introduced the Beastie Boys. I think it was around 9:15 when they came out.
Posted by: Cardwell | June 10, 2009 10:38 AM
what the Beasties need to do is knock it off with the early stuff, their voices are shot. They need to take In Sounds from Way Out and The Mix-Up on a symphony hall tour WITH Mix Master and the city's (where ever they play) orchestra.
Posted by: JMGiordano | June 10, 2009 10:48 AM
It was a perfect mixture of Beastie Boys career. Punk, jam, hip-hop and rock. Loved every second. Too bad Rams Head was so crammed.
Posted by: Me | June 10, 2009 10:52 AM
I am simply- JEALOUS.
Posted by: Matthew | June 10, 2009 11:13 AM
Yeah what about the NIN/Jane's Addiction concert last night! It was awesome. Merriweather was packed. Great crowd. All acts were excellent!
Posted by: BaltBabs | June 10, 2009 11:17 AM
I wasn't at the show last night (although I wanted to be) but I remember the whole Ball-town thing from when they played Virgin Festival. We thought it was odd then as well but at least they're consistent.
Posted by: Reada | June 10, 2009 11:39 AM
For anyone who didn't get tickets, don't worry, the show was terrible. I'll give them a break because it was a warm up, but the show was horrible. The casual beasties fan would only recognize about 6 songs from the 2 hour set. In fact, the only song played from the first album was No Sleep til Brooklyn. This is the third time I've seen them live and it confirmed what this lifelong Beasties fan found out the first two times, just listen to the record. They are not good live. In fact, they're a huge disappointment
Posted by: Mark | June 10, 2009 12:06 PM
This article should have been about the memorable JA/NIN show last night. Last time I saw these 2 bands together was the first Lollapaloza 18 years ago. Unlike the BBoys these were polished acts. Both bands sounded phenomenal and Janes sounded exactally like the record. Sold out crowd, great energy
Posted by: Rex | June 10, 2009 12:12 PM
I was there last night and it was great to see some of the MS crew... Sam, Zink, Queen et al.
First off - Big Ups to Queen who alerted me that tickets had gone back on sale yesterday via phone. Picked my pair up at 2pm and was stoked to go.
As for the warm up... The Biz was having issues with his setup. No iTunes, but he was using Serato Scratch to run things. It seemed to be something with the turntables. If you have ever tried to scratch on top of a folding table you will know what I mean.
Although the jams were great, they did suck the energy out of the crowd. I was also disappointed not to hear "Hey Ladies' or "Brass Monkey.' Hearing 'Bennie & The Jets' live was well worth the price of admission.
The crowd was a perfect size - and you could always get a drink. It's great to see Ram's Head getting these kind of acts and having the community support them. The artists all seem to comment that the venue and staff are a class act. This makes all the difference.
Posted by: eCommerce Consultant | June 10, 2009 12:44 PM
Thanks Queen! Fun times.
Posted by: jason | June 10, 2009 1:35 PM
The casual Beastie Boys fan should consider becoming a more avid Beastie Boys fan. Last night was amazing.
Posted by: Kevin | June 10, 2009 2:16 PM
I had a blast at the show last night. Sure it was rough around the edges but like stated, it was a warmup show. Great energy in the room last night and i was happy to be a part of it
Posted by: Another Mark | June 10, 2009 3:26 PM
The NIN/Jane's show was pretty crowded, but FAR from a sell-out. That said, it was still a great show
Didn't go last night, but have seen the Beasties several times over the past 15 years and (sorry Mark) they are a phenomenal live act.
MCA has been pretty mellow on stage for a long time. He's not disinterested, that's just how he rolls!
Posted by: Dave the wave | June 10, 2009 4:04 PM
Winning tickets from 98Rock and being front row for the Beastie Boys started my summer off perfect. I enjoyed every part of their play set, just a small bit disappointed that they did not play "Brass Monkey". But "Benny and the Jets" was a definite surprise. I think that they are getting better with age. I enjoyed their instrumentals and their new songs that they played. One to remember.
Posted by: colin | June 10, 2009 4:10 PM
Glad everyone could get tix due to my alert. I feel like poo today though. Had a blast last night!
Posted by: queen_colleen | June 10, 2009 4:26 PM
My situation is almost identical to Cardwell...been listening to the Beasties for over 20 years. Have had conflicts in the past and missed shows but finally got to see them live. What a great place to see them too. As someone else said, MCA is always laid back, my buddy even called it that he would come out chewing bubble gum.
I do wish they would have played more Paul's Boutique and maybe Brass Monkey. Biz was so-so as the opener, but doing "Bennie n the Jets" was classic. "The Biz vs The Nuge" was huge!!! As far as NIN/JA...go somewhere else haters.
Side note...I heard that RHL could fit 1900 to 2000 but only sold 1600 on purpose (whether told by the BBoys or whatever). That made it pretty d#mn nice.
Posted by: Slavko | June 10, 2009 6:36 PM
"For anyone who didn't get tickets, don't worry, the show was terrible. I'll give them a break because it was a warm up, but the show was horrible. The casual beasties fan would only recognize about 6 songs from the 2 hour set. In fact, the only song played from the first album was No Sleep til Brooklyn. This is the third time I've seen them live and it confirmed what this lifelong Beasties fan found out the first two times, just listen to the record. They are not good live. In fact, they're a huge disappointment"
Mark - lay off the [profane word] - you are crazy
Posted by: the kid | June 11, 2009 12:25 PM
This sucks.
Posted by: Anon | July 20, 2009 11:45 PM
sorry.
http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=421763>1=28102
This really sucks.
Posted by: Anon | July 20, 2009 11:46 PM
It does....this floored me yesterday. I don't like this getting old thing.
Posted by: Sturmy | July 21, 2009 8:45 AM