Beastie Boys

Awesome: I Fuckin' Shot That! DVD (2006)

Scott

Any normal person can sneak a Sony Handycam camcorder into a concert, video tape the show, encode the video on their Intel iMac, then upload it to thepiratebay.org -- the unauthorized bootleg.

Almost every band has a live DVD available in the music video section of Best Buy -- if not, it's being edited on a Power Mac G5 as we speak -- the authorized video.

No one has combined the two for an authorized bootleg….

Until the inimitable Beastie Boys combined the raw feel of a crowd's perspective with the talents of an intuitive top level production team, Nathaniel Hornblower's Oscilloscope.

On October 9th, 2004 a combination of HD, DV, and Hi-8 camcorders filled the hands of 50 energized concert attendees at a sold out show within the legendary Madison Square Garden. Their mission was one simple task: film the Beastie Boys while they perform a stunning set list that featured hits "Sure Shot," "Pass the Mike," "Paul Revere," "Brass Monkey," and roughly twenty more classics. The cameramen had only one rule, never stop filming! The result: Awesome: I Fuckin' Shot That!.

The footage is grainy and amateur; the angles are relatively ghastly while the cameras sway back and forth in and out of focus. The sincerity of it all is amazing; it truly feels like a concert DVD! As someone who has never had the pleasure of seeing the Beastie Boys perform in a live setting I must say this hour and a half long recording makes me feel as if I was standing in the crowd that evening -- my shirt soaking in sweat and my rap finger in the air as I erupt with the rest of New York spitting every word to "Paul Revere."

New York's favorite sons appear a bit more like your older uncle these days, but that hardly hinders their presentation. On stage they are as quick and agile as in 1986 when "Fight for Your Right to Party" debuted on MTV (that song, surprisingly, does not make the set list). MCA, Mike D, and Adrock rarely skip a beat as they bob and weave across the massive stage. Not that they need the support, but having Doug E Fresh beatbox on "Time to Get Ill" definitely pumped the crowd up a notch, too bad they couldn't drag DMC on stage though.

The Beastie Boys are not shy to hooking their devotees up, this DVD no exception. The Awesome: I Fuckin' Shot That! 2-disc compilation is loaded with extras. Nothing is left on the cutting room floor as a cappella vocal tracks, band commentary, Ben Stiller rapping, and alternate angles are available, not to mention a hilarious David Cross skit, "A Day in the Life of Nathanial Hornblower." Also, if you cannot handle the unrefined cinematic experience, you can view the HD version as an added bonus.

This is the quintessential concert DVD, leaving ever other live disc seem like a paltry Video of the Week.