All up, nothing but a fun show celebrating a bit of delicious and precious hip hop.
For a regular Tuesday night out in Perth, Chevron Festival Gardens was packed out again as old school hip hop heads, young guns, curious folk and true Beastie Boys fans gathered together to witness the aural onslaught of mashed-up beats, samples, commentary and interviews associated with the legendary American hip hop crew's second studio record, Paul's Boutique. Put together and performed by British DJs – Food, Cheeba and Moneyshot – the night was truly one dedicated to the iconic lads and their fans. Original vinyl samples, audio-commentary and a cappella performances were interwoven into a delightful soundtrack celebrating the 1989 record. It was a perfect night to reminisce over the crew's great career, and one which the DJs dedicated to the late Adam 'MCA' Yauch, the founding member of the Beastie Boys.
Although the show didn't live up to expectations visually (I'd somewhat anticipated an AV show similar to that of EGO, Samplogy or DJ Yoda), with only a couple of Beastie Boys' video clips on display, but otherwise a repetition of the words “25 years of Solid Steel”, you pretty much knew what you were in for and for that reason, the night was a winner.
Samples from Bob Marley's Could You Be Loved and Sly & The Family Stone's Dance To The Music got hands in the air but it was the Beastie Boys' Super Disco Breakin' and No Sleep Till Brooklyn that really got everyone pumping. But all applause and hand-bopping was saved for the encore when the Boys' hit tune, Intergalactic, shot through the speakers. And, as if that wasn't enough, final track for the evening Sabotage induced a semi-circle pit with arms flailing and moshpit madness ensuing. All up, nothing but a fun show celebrating a bit of delicious and precious hip hop.