I recently watched the Beastie Boys concert DVD, Awesome; I Fuckin Shot That! and watched it over the weekend. If you don’t know the background of this concert film, let me give you a brief synopsis. The Beasties played Madison Square Garden, their home turf, in 2004. On that night’s performance, they picked 50 people sitting in various locations around the arena and gave them a video camera to film the concert. They told the lucky 50 that they could shoot whatever they wanted as long as they did not turn off their cameras. At one point, one of the 50 goes to the can, and true to instruction, does not shut off the camera. We see a stream of urine hitting the toilet, yeah! The Beasties then took all of the footage along with some that they shot and spliced it together to make a great concert film.
Even though the footage is good, I think you have to be a Beastie Boys fan, which I am, to watch this. When I was sixteen years old, Licensed to Ill was the soundtrack of my life and I’ve been a fan ever since. One of the highlights of the concert for me was the absence of a particular song. “Fight for your Right (to Party)” was not part of the setlist! It has always annoyed me that when popular radio chooses to play a Beastie Boys song, 99.99% of the time it’s this annoying song that really doesn’t sound like any of their other songs. I say 99.99% of the time because the other day when K and I were driving in the car and we actually heard “No Sleep til Brooklyn” on the radio. What a shock!
The coolest part of the show was the encore. The Beasties use service elevators to pop up in various audience locations, including the nosebleed sections, to perform songs in the middle of the crowd. In the commentary, the band says that they wished that they could have done that for the whole show, even though their bodyguards didn’t like it.
Giving the cameras to the audience really captures the party on the floor. You get shots of various people, including Ben Stiller, really getting into it. If only for one night, you can let go of your cares and have fun; the beauty of the concert experience.
As for the extras on the DVD, the band commentary is good. Check out the fan segment to see the crazy costumes people wore to the shows. Slipknot, System of a Down and Jack Black all make guest appearances in the special features section. The day in the life of Nathaniel Hornblower is only for the hardest of hardcore David Cross fans. It’s a little funny in the beginning but goes on way too long.
If you are fan of the band, this DVD is a must. --J
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