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John Nichols - Blade Staff Writer They came. They saw. They demanded that women throw their bras at the stage. Anyone who expected the Beastie Boys to turn suddenly mature for the Toledo slot on their spring tour had to be sorely disappointed by last night's show at the Sports Arena. From the moment the New York rap group hit the stage, its three members were on their worst behavior. They used words that would shock your mother. They threw gallons of beer at the audience. They brought two women on stage to bare their breasts and had a caged go-go dancer undulating through the entire show. In short, it was a parent's nightmare. If you guessed that the mostly teen-age audience of several thousand loved every minute of the show, you were absolutely right. The Beasttes have never claimed to be serious characters. From the beginning, the former hardcore punk group has offered audiences an often sleazy but never boring brand of entertainment. Last night, they showed that their act - which took shape on the Manhattan club scene - translates well to the big stage. Like many rap groups, the Beasties are backed by a disk jockey playing records, rather than a standard band. With no musicians to take up the slack, the three rappers and assorted female friends were the sole focus of attention. They kept the generally enthusiastic audience with them throughout their hour-long set. It was not so much the music, since the songs seldom strayed from the format on the group's hugely successful first album. "Licensed to Ill." Instead. it was the mad antics of King Ad-Rock, MCA, and Mike D that held the crowd cheering. The audience came prepared. King Ad-Rock asked "What time is it?" The crowd screeched back. "It's time to get ill." When the band stopped short of a key line in the song "Rhymin' and Stealin." the fans filled in the blank by chanting "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves." Only a few bewildered parents accompanying too-young-to-drive kids didn't rap along on the most popular songs. And, yes, a few women did throw their bras, although the band complained that they got fewer articles of clothing than in Detroit. The high points of the show were the songs where the mix of rap and heavy metal music worked most effectively. "No Sleep Till Brook-lyn," with its slashing guitar was a major hit with the crowd, as were the two encores, "Brass Monkey" and the Beastie anthem, "Fight For Your Right (To Party)." That closing number went over so well that the band repeated the opening portion three times before barreling ahead. As they did this, they were joined on stage by a half-dozen members of their road crew - some of whom were throwing pies - assorted dancers, stray members of the audience, and a 10-foot-tall phallic symbol. (Honest.) It would be hard for any act to compete with that sort of hijinks, and neither of the opening bands received an overwhelming response. Murphy's Law, with a sound that mixed hardcore and metal, was basically a junior version of the Beastics, with a little Iggy Pop thrown in. A raunchy version of "Wild Thing" was fun, but most of the group's time was spent urging the crowd to "Drink beer and barbeque." Fishbone was far more accomplished musically. The six-piece band offered a rough-edged mix of ska, reggae, and New Orleans-style funk. Their use of a trombone, saxophone, and trumpet was the sort of fresh touch that should, eventually, help them move up from the opening-act slot. |
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