One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how quickly you can help recall some of your favorite memories of concerts past via the magic of YouTube. Somehow I was stumbling through a set of videos and I got into the mood to see if any good Beastie Boys clips ever surfaced from the first time I caught them back in 1998 on their Hello Nasty tour. I was still in high school at the time and it was my older, cooler friends that were going to be taking me out to O’hare Airport’s neighbor, Rosemont Horizon (when it was still called that), and we got front row in the seats on what would have been great sight-lines for many a portion of the show thanks to their revolving LP stage setup.
But perhaps more memorable for me was the Mix Master Mike intro, as he dropped into the Rush classic, “Tom Sawyer,” way early in the intro and started scratching, cutting and mixing it with his hip-hop flavor. At the time, I was deep into the music of Rush and falling in love with the idea that while my friends tended to be unimpressed by the band and the idea of their music being rather uncool to like, I was feeding off of their energy and absolutely loved discovering that band. Then Mix Master Mike basically dropped it for me, like he knew that one suburban kid in the audience would be amped on having a hip-hop show start with a serious rock/rap mashup feel.
The above video is from the next year but same tour and same stage setup; this is a pretty close representation to what I remember hearing live. Anyone see this tour and remember this nonsense? So rad.
Just got an email from the Beastie Boys this morning with the subject “HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM.” Inside was a link to the Beastie Boys homepage, where a video is now shown with Adrock and MCA sitting behind a mixing board. Quickly the video turns somewhat somber and “heavy” as Adam Yauch (MCA) describes that he was just diagnosed with cancer in a gland in his neck. The announcement goes further that it seems to be good news in that the cancer will be treatable with surgery, but as a result the Beastie Boys will have to push back the release of their new album and cancel some dates in the near future.
I was really looking forward to seeing them in their headlining spot at Outside Lands this year, but obviously the man’s health needs to take serious priority. Let’s all think good thoughts and wish him and the band a speedy recovery.
I didn’t have time to get this posted yesterday but there are some highlights from Bonnaroo 2009 scheduled to air on FUSE TV tonight at 9pm EST. I’ll be following the Alpine shows but if the stream is down this will be a good alternative.
Don’t forget to tune-in to FUSE TV tomorrow night, Saturday, June 20th at 9PM EST, for the Fuse Fest: Bonnaroo 2009 premiere where you can see performances by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Beastie Boys, Phish, Snoop Dogg, Coheed & Cambria, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and more. Also, online at http://fuse.tv, music lovers can download free music from this year’s Bonnaroo bands including Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver, Elvis Costello, Phoenix, as well as view exclusive photos and videos from the 2009 and 2008 event.
I’ve heard a lot of people dish heaps of negative gripes on the new Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, but there’s one thing that nobody can deny — The Roots. Their power as a backing band may not be immediately obvious, but if you watch the show more than once you’ll see that this band is going to carry the show to at least a few seasons or so. I can’t see why anybody wouldn’t like it, actually (unless you totally hate Jimmy Fallon, then I guess it makes sense).
At any rate, The Roots played backup for the Beastie Boys’ appearance on Memorial Day, where the band plugged their new album called Hot Sauce Committee and their re-issue of Check Your Head.
I’m instantly more psyched that they’ll be headlining Bonnaroo right before Phish, as well as headlining one of the nights of Outside Lands, which I’ll inevitably be in attendance for. I’ve seen them plenty of times before but I feel that they’re a bit recharged with some of the enthusiasm that seems to be popular for certain bands these days. I’m also reminded of an old Trey Anastasio quote where he hoped Phish could be the type of band like the Beastie Boys, one that could take a break for a few years and then come back completely reinvented. Seems like a cool coincidence that they’ll actually be sharing a stage in two weeks at the ‘Roo.
If you missed 30 Rock last night like me, you missed a star-studded cast and a tribute song dedicated to all the extra kidneys out in the world that are just waiting to be donated to folks in need. READ MORE
The lineup for the Austin City Limits music festival down in Austin’s Zilker Park was just announced yesterday. The three-day fest will go down Oct. 2nd-4th and will feature tons of music, food, comedy, dust, heat, portojohns, drugs, booze and everything else we all love about music festivals. Read on for the lineup.
Tickets will go on sale Sunday April 19th at 10am PST via www.SFOutsidelands.com, and the festival’s presale for Visa and Visa Signature cardholders will take place April 15-18th. Visa cardholders will get advance access and limited time “eager beaver” pricing for three-day passes. Visa Signature cardholders also get exclusive access to VIP three-day passes during the presale. A significant portion of every ticket sold will directly benefit San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Department.
Pearl Jam
Dave Matthews Band
Beastie Boys Incubus
Black Eyed Peas
M.I.A
Jason Mraz
Ween
The Mars Volta Thievery Corporation Modest Mouse Band of Horses TV on the Radio
Dead Weather
Atmosphere
Tom Jones
Silversun Pickups
The National
Q-Tip
Brett Dennen
Built To Spill
Mastodon
Raphael Saadiq
Calexico
Os Mutantes
Midnite
JJ Grey & Mofro
Kinky
Deerhunter
Lila Downs
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
The Dodos
Bettye LaVette
Dengue Fever
Heartless Bastards
The Dirtbombs
Lenka
Akron/Family
John Vanderslice
Matt and Kim
Portugal. The Man
The Morning Benders
The Duke Spirit
Zee Avi
Blind Pilot
SambaDa
Ryan Bingham
West Indian Girl
Extra Golden
I just realized I was a little late to post on this, but check out the new Rock The Vote’s Ultimate Get Out The Vote Rally announced with Beastie Boys and Tenacious D in the swing state of Colorado. I’m glad they’re trying to do something at least. Election Eve – 11/3 Rock The Vote’s [...]
The Beastie Boys just announced that they’re going out on tour to remind people to vote ahead of the election. This seems to be a common theme these days. Beastie Boys have confirmed selected dates through the crucial swing states of the upcoming election. Joining the band in various markets will be Sheryl Crow, Ben [...]
I didn’t have time to get this posted yesterday but there are some highlights from 
.
