Fan Review by Tompz:
Six years had passed since the last time Beastie Boys played a Swedish audience- that time in the Globe Arena. This time the Boys were back and the stage was Nalen, a classic and beautiful Stockholm venue that had been reopened just a few years earlier. Before the show, guests were required to stand in line to a nearby bar, where they eventually were equipped with the orange waistband required to later enter Nalen. Social security numbers where matched with the guestlist and we eventually got our bands. Overall the crowd seemed to be a mix of contest winners (like myself), journalists, local celebrities, wannabees, and media people.
The doors to Nalen was opened one hour before the gig was about to start. Since no technical equipment whatsoever was allowed, everyone was made to leave their mobile phones and cameras in the closet before the show. The fence was real close to the stage, and standing at the very front you were basically as close as you can be without being on stage. Cups of tea was brought on stage providing a refreshing treat for the rappers, and at about 20:00 Mix Master Mike entered to the delight of the crowd, performing a 5+ minutes of scrambled beats and samples proving his amazing skills! The guy is truly awesome with the turntables, no doubt. Just after that, the boys jumped on stage kickin’ off "Root Down." Mike was rockin his brand newly purchased funky sunglasses (he explained this to the crowd) and a cap, lookin kinda old-school. MCA sported blue/grey pants and a big blue Champion hoodie, and Adrock wore a black ”Le Tigre” shirt and baggy jeans. They proceeded with "Sure Shot,", which was partly performed over Nore’s ”nothing” which is a killer beat. This was one of my personal favourites of the night and sounded very nice. Next up was new song "Triple Trouble," and after that it was "Time To Get Ill." The boys seemed overall in a good mood and goofed around on stage -- especially Mike who bursted out laughing a couple of times and also had to calm down on the stage floor when exhausted. Early on, Adrock urged the crowd in the back to get moving and demonstrated a couple of dance steps. I was in the front, where there was more action going on. A couple of dudes on the floor had risen to the ocassion and wore the "Sabotage" outfits, which the boys commented on: ”We got some Spikes here.” Also, at some points, the boys spotted a Dane in the crowd (?) and let that be known. "Body Movin'" was performed over some beat unfamiliar to me and was followed by "Three MC's & One DJ," during which Mike had some problems with remembering the rhymes, I believe. Next cut: "An Open Letter To NYC," off To The 5 Boroughs, which really seems to be a great track. Kind of a darker beat but great flow to in my opinion. "So What'Cha Want," "Posse in Effect," and the delightful "Shake Your Rump" represented three different albums and were excellent. "Ch-Check It Out" was then performed, and after that it was time for the b-boys to leave after thanking the crowd. Of course, we wanted more, and after short a while Mix Master Mike returned, first taking a photo of himself with the audience in the background, and then kicking off the last song of the night. It was that space odessey we know as "Intergalactic" that provided for the finale of the evening!
Overall a great night, proving that the b-boys are finally back with the new shit!
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