The Beastie Boys @ Brixton Academy

Disclaimer: I attended this gig on the evening of my 22nd birthday so i apologise for any lack of detail or thorough description of events as i had consumed a plethora of alcohol beverages so my memory of the night is slightly hazy but what i remembered was fucking good.

The moment when 3 lounge-suited, grown-up teenagers bounced on stage after a mesmerising display of how turntables should be used by Mix Master Mike was one that i had been waiting ever since i stole my brother's copy of The Sound Of Science and bounded about my bedroom to the sound of Skills To Pay The Bills And Sabotage and i think its one i'll never forget.
Kicking proceedings of with a full band version of one of their early punk tracks, which i'm guessing most people weren't that familiar with, you could tell that the Boys weren't going to make this just a Big Hits setlist. They continued with tracks from The Mix Up, their new instrumental album, which didn't really impress, but then that all too familiar bass line of Root Down dropped in and the crowd went crazy. At this point though i was still getting used to the venue as i had been to a gig in such a large space for over a year, i had to come to terms with the fact that i wouldn't been staring Adrock in the face. It was a shame because in this period they played Sure Shot (full band version) as well and although i danced my ass off i still wasn't feeling it.
It wasn't until they kicked into Check It Out after a slightly overlong instrumental section that my head finally cleared and i could comprehend what was going on. I was seeing my teenage heroes at last, all the times i'd danced and sang along to this tracks while listening to Licence To Ill or To The 5 Boroughs, this is what i'd been waiting for and it seemed that most of the crowd felt the same way. Tunes like Shake Ya Rump, Time To Ill and Brass Monkey(!) sent the fervent audience wild and the floor was awash with dance steps and pointed fingers.
The instrumental sections provided much needed breaks from dancing and although they weren't very compelling, when Adrock, MCA and Mike D stepped up with another classic, they were made all the more worthy by the lull before. The last half hour of the set was tremendous as they unleashed all their biggest hits. Sabotage's huge guitar riff and shout-along-ability and the robotic rhythm of Intergalactic forced an already knackered birthday reviewer into last gasp dance frenzy to get all i could out of the last notes of the performance and then they were gone.
Me...i was left breathless, sweaty, wanting more, but a very happy birthday boy.

The Beastie Boys - Check It Out (Cadence Weapon Voldo Remix)
The Beastie Boys - Sabotage

cheers to intricatetom for the photo