BEASTIE BOYS - PATRIOT CENTER, FAIRFAX

Somehow, I managed to underestimate the Beastie Boys. It might have been the two-hour traffic jam that I encountered on D.C.\'s outer Beltway on the way to the show, or the fact that I left for the show just an hour or so after teaching chemistry all day. Needless to say, when I finally got to the point where I was at my seat and the show began, I was slightly unimpressed.
Yeah, okay, they have the cool matching jumpsuits and break-dancing footage on in the background. But the last time I saw these guys they had a full-on revolving stage with all kinds of instruments, and the unmatchable Mix Master Mike in the center at some kind of a battle station. There were trap doors and all kinds of other stuff that let these guys have a free-for-all, Ted Nugent-style. Mike D. was riding a scooter around the stage, and no one got a bad seat because the stage was round!
This time, it was just the three of them with a couple of video screens in back, and Mix Master on the decks doing his thing. No round stage. No props. No instruments.
\"Are they just gonna recite lyrics all night?\"
They opened with some new stuff, did some old stuff-- a few new beats inserted here and there on some old favorites, and some neat video effects. Okay. Not bad.
They got off stage for a minute and left Mike to do his thing. I figured they were due for a costume change when the stage started revolving like a secret bookshelf in an old mansion. The three MCs-- plus Money Mark Nishita and Eric Bobo-- then proceeded to rock some instrumentals and Check Your Head material on a five-person mega-lounge set, complete with blue tuxedos and hanging lights in the back.
Afterwards, they switched back to more MC material. This time they hit it harder than before, and with another new stage configuration (not to mention another change into t-shirts with iron-on letters). They covered all the bases, but this time all the material was remixed and it was more obvious than ever that they had it together. The videos were out of control-- all kinds of new effects, including a bullet-time monitor that was set at the front of the stage to catch their midair poses. The last video, remote control mixing boards cruising the streets of NYC, was conceptually one of the strangest yet appropriate things I\'ve seen.
A good look at the equipment and technicians supporting this show was enough to convince me that they aren\'t joking about being scientists of sound.
They wrapped up the show and everyone started to go home, when the lights went down again and the three MCs appeared in the middle of the audience for an encore (surrounded by a couple tons worth of security beef), and were being videotaped while performing.
They turned up the lights, but a minute or two later the lights dimmed again. The lounge setup rotated back into place for a second encore (\"Gratitude\"), and a third (\"Sabotage\"), which was dedicated to George W. Bush. (Last time I saw them, it was dedicated to the Chinese government.) Mark Nishita got so into \"Sabotage\" that he was almost doing handstands on his keyboard! Seriously!
An extended crescendo of audio-visual assault. A triple encore. Triple trouble. Still the best performers I\'ve ever seen. Their time out of the spotlight was not put to waste. The only thing missing was \"The Biz Vs. The Nuge\".