Notes from a World Tour: The Beastie Boys Go Down Under!

The Beastie Boys' concert series has been passing through its Australia leg this past week, following on a quickie tour of Japan. The journey Down Under included stops at the massive annual summer outdoor music festival, the Big Day Out (remember, kids, Australia is in the southern hemisphere). The Beasties have been receiving a lot of positive press in the so-called "lucky country" for their shows throughout the country.

Fortunately the Beasties diligently update an online tour diary--a tour blog--on the band's excellent website (notice to all other musical acts--this is how you do a band/tour website!). The site has not only regular entries for each day of the tour and note on perfomrances in each city and set lists, but also tons of photos. There are even some homemade backstage video clips that are hilarious. In the most recent video entry, Mike D. and MCA talk at length about "pageantry," or their ethos on the subject of their onstage wardrobe choices and that of their fans, who are encouraged to dress up outrageously for the shows.

Aside from the multimedia documentation of their tour, the Beasties sweep through Australia holds something special for fans there--it's a none-too-regular hip-hop visitation of authentic American/New York hip-hop culture.

Posted by at February 5, 2005 01:46 PM