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BS2000/The Need LIVE @ The Bowery Ballroom, NYC
By: Diana

Ok, so I arrive at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC at about 9:15. I was on line outside waiting for one of my friends who was lagging behind me and all of a sudden this guy goes right in front of me on line. I didn't really care since I was so excited to be there but when he turned around to smile I realized it was MCA...what a way to start off the night. So me being totally starstruck just said HI, and smiled. He said "how ya doin?" and just went inside. So we go inside and find ourselves at the bar upstairs because I needed a drink after that one.

The Need were performing but to be honest, I couldn't get into them only because I was so excited for BS2000. So we got up front on the right side of the stage once they started setting up for BS. I had remembered seeing pics posted on the message board and ADROCK was on the right side of the stage. So I hoped that the setup didn't change and went right in front of the keyboard on the right side. When they came out everyone was nuts. They were dancing like crazy and just got everyone really hyped up. I love the ADROCK dances. (It makes them so much more attractive when a guy can dance.)

Anyway, the show was so much fun but it felt like it was 5 minutes long. I was really aggravated when people were yelling stupid shit like "take it off" and all sorts of Beastie Boys stuff. I mean, come on, show some respect. I didn't only go to the show because it had something to do with the b-boys. I went to see BS2000. The girl in front of me was so annoying. She kept interrupting and yelling such dumb things. If it wasn't such a peaceful show, I probably would've kicked her.

So, I had made a shirt for ADROCK and attached a little fan letter to it expressing my gratitude, appreciation, and praise. Since I was so close I didn't want to just throw the shirt up there. So I started waving it in the air a few songs into the show and since it was when ADROCK was addressing the crowd, he says, "hold on, what is that?" as he's looking right at me. I said "It's a present!" He said ,"Awwww., thank you!" and looked right at me. That was the most sincere thank you and without question the highlight of my pathetic life. So he placed the shirt down next to a speaker and continued. Ahhhh, he had something I made him in his possession.

The highlight of the show aside from the previous part was definitely "the Scrappy" That is by far my favorite song. I love the "Side to Side" Before it, Adrock said "Oh god, this is the part of the show where I make a complete ass of myself" and then started dancing.

It's no joke when people say they looked like they were having so much fun. You could just feel the energy coming off of them. I was unreal. They were having so much fun up there, laughing, joking around, dancing, performing, talking, interacting with the crowd, etc. And that happy feeling they had was so contagious. Adam said "Before we forget, THANK YOU GUYS...ALL OF YOU..You have no idea how important this is to us.." Once again, he was so sincere you just wanted to hug them.

Anyway, they informed us of no encore etc. and although everyone was pretty bummed, we understood. So they left the stage and I knew someone would have to drag me out of that place because of all the crazy stories I've been hearing about everyone meeting them. So I look onstage and still see my shirt up there. I was soooo upset. I went through hell for that damn thing and the note I wrote him was really heartfelt. So everyone started leaving and I went over by the stage and asked the back-up keyboard guy to come over..(jazz was his name?) So he came over and I asked him to make sure Adam got my shirt. He said "Don't worry, I know him and he'll get it." That was a relief at least. So this nasty security guard kept trying to kick me and my friend out but I wasn't having it.

Now, I go by the door that leads to backstage, equipped with my newly bought sharpie's and some paper in hands. I felt so desperate but I just had to see him. I knew I would never see them in a venue this small. I couldn't give up. So, I just happen to turn around, and who's directly behind me...MIKE D AND MCA. Unreal. Only word to describe it. And they had to walk past me in order to get to the backstage area. So me and MIKE are now face to face. I said "Hi, I really don't want to bother you, but would you please sign something for me?" He said "sure" and gave me an autograph. I said "Thank you so much" I then asked MCA who was right behind him. He said "Well, we just want to go take a few pics with Adam and say hi and stuff." I said "ok, I understand" They just didn't want to steal Adam's thunder ya know. I said "It was so nice to meet you guys." They said "thank you".

So people started crowding around them and I just moved out of the way. What do you know..here comes the hairy security guard again.. yelling at me. I said ok ok I'm leaving ( yea right ) So I just go blend in with the other 30 people left in the place. Then I see AWOL. I went over to him and asked him to sign something for me. He was the absolute sweetest. I talked to him the most out of all of them. He noticed my scorpio sticker that I had on my shirt and said "Hey, your a SCORPIO". He seemed so excited and asked "When's your b-day?" I told him..I said "You're a LEO huh?" he's like "yep" I said Leo's were bad news. He said "awww, why you say that?" Then I said, oh I'm just playing. So he sign some stuff, and must have said thank you a million and one times. I said "I should be thanking you..this was a gift to come here and see you guys. I had so much fun dancing that I'm going to a club now to keep on dancing. " He laughed and said "That's awesome, I'm happy to hear that"

Anyway, ADROCK now came back out and was taking apart all his stuff. I said with a sad face "Adam, did you get my shirt?" He looked up and said "Yea I have it, don't worry. That was so sweet of you. Thank you so much!" I almost fell over. I know it sounds so cliche but I couldn't believe I was talking to him. He was looking at me. It was crazy. I wanted to take that moment and frame it. I had waited for this moment for a really long time and I couldn't think of a single thing to say. That is a crazy feeling. Anyway, I asked if I could take a pic with him but he said "I gotta do this first, I'm sorry" I said "well, do you mind if I wait around." He said "no, not at all. I'm sorry but I just gotta do this shit first."

So I was talking to AWOL a little more and took a pic with him that came out really cute. I asked if he would do me a favor and have Adam sign something for me. He said "well, he's really gotta this stuff, we gotta get ready, etc...but then he said..Sure, and took my stuff right outta my hands and took it over to Adam for him to sign. I had Beastie Boys post-it notes and he looked at them funny. I was saving them for something special and that definitely was special.

Although, I was gonna wait around to take a pic with him, I didn't want to bother him. I said to him and AWOL "you guys were really awesome tonight. Congrats..I had a lot of fun." They graciously said "thank you, we appreciate it." and ALFREDO jumps in and makes fun of my accent "awesome ..you guys were awesome." I said "hey i'm a jersey girl, whattaya want from me?" Adrock sensed a little playful tension and while laughing at us both said "uh-oh!". I then said bye, and that was it.. So I go outside to wait a few more minutes. I just didn't want to leave I guess. And that "jazz" guy comes up to me and says, "Hey, don't worry, Adam has your shirt. I know he has it." I said "How sweet you are that you remembered. That is so nice of you to care." He said "well, I know you wanted him to have it so I wanted to tell you that he definitely has it." That was so cool of him (I took a pic with him too buy the van)

I then drifted into la-la-land from that night..and haven't come out of it since.

BS2000/The Need LIVE @ The Metro (Chicago)
By: DipDipDive

I was at the BS2000 show at the Metro in Chicago on April 5, and I must say, it was one of the most entertaining, energetic, and all in all enjoyable concerts I have ever been to. Musically, the boys did an excellent job of recreating the sounds on "Simply Mortified" in front of a live audience. I think that a band/musical artist's true talent is proven in their ability to sound as good live as they do in the studio, and BS2000 proved that to be true of themselves 100%. What made the show even more entertaining was that I could totally tell that Adam and Amery enjoyed every minute of it. They were definitely having fun up there, and they expressed their appreciation for the crowds attendance multiple times.

The only thing about the concert that I didn't like was the crowd -- what a bunch of assholes. It was painfully obvious that most of those idiots only showed up because they could get a glimpse of Adrock. I wouldn't have had a problem with that, but no one was dancing, no one was cheering, and no one really seemed to get too into it. I mean, if you're going to go to a concert to see someone you think is hot, at least PRETEND that you're into the music he's playing. People were yelling obnoxious things at Adam the whole time, and overall, the crowd was just a big pain in the ass. If I were Adam and Amery, I would personally rather have had a small crowd of true BS2000 fans who really appreciated the music as opposed to a bunch of assholes/enfatuated young girls who turned out merely because of my affiliation with the Beastie Boys. But, it's good exposure for them, so whatever.

Speaking of enfatuation, I was one of the first 10 people in line to get into the Metro, and I was lucky enough to be in the front row. I brought a present for Adam (a stuffed animal -- a monkey -- wearing a t-shirt that said "I Love Adam"), and he took it RIGHT FROM MY HANDS!!!!! It was beautiful. He looked me right in the eye and said "Ooooh. Thank you so much." It was great. I really wanted to stay after and try to meet him, but security kicked everyone out right when the show ended. Oh well, at least he got my gift, right? You might think that I made myself into a hypocrite by saying that the enfatuated young girls in the audience were a pain in the ass, and here I am telling a story about bringing Adam a cheesy little present -- but you know what? I love BS2000. At least I can say that I'm honestly a fan.

So, all in all, the show was great! If you ever have a chance to see BS2000 in concert, GO!!!!! Believe me, you won't regret it.On a scale of 1-5 stars, the show gets a 10 from me

BS2000/The Need LIVE @ The Quest (Minneapolis)
By: Sweetlips

Mmmkay...We arrived at the Quest sometime around 7:45 PM. The Need had already played their set and were dismantling their gear. The stagehelp was setting up for BS2000. The crowd was about a 50/50 mix of under 21/over 21. People were dressed in the typical "Look at me, I want to look like the Beastie Boys gear" I swear, what is it about people that makes them want to be someone else so bad they do everything they can to look like the person they want to be. Just for the record, I was wearing my Randy's Donuts T, blue jeans, and yes...shoes.

Anyway, the stagehands set up BS2000's gear. This consists of 2 keyboards, a drum kit, and I am guessing the infamous sp1200. They did a little soundcheck and we were off to the races. BS2000 took the stage just after 8:30 PM. Adam waved at the crowd and smiled, everyone else just walked to their area and the show began. Adam H took a keyboard, AWOL took a keyboard, Jazz took the sp1200 or whatever it was, and the big guy took the drum kit.

Adam H. did all of the talking during the show. He usually spoke in between songs. You could tell he wanted to explain the meaning of each song and drive the more political side of BS2000. He did quite a bit of talking which was kind of nice. I would have preferred even more talking and perhaps a speech or two. He mentioned how Sick For a Reason is about police brutality. Dig Deeper is about getting past that shitty MTV crap and looking for bands that influenced some of today's pop acts. You know..Dig Deeper...the crowd agreed. The Scrappy was about not being Mr. Macho Asshole guy. "Throw your chain wallet away" Adam mentioned how you don't need a goatee, even though it is perfectly fine to have a goatee, you just don't need one to look hard. One song was about sexism and how the ladies need to get more respect as musicians and people. He also explains the Side to Side. this song was one of the highlights. They want people to dance. We all got our groove on and had a great time on this song and most of the lighter dancier songs.

The crowd seemed to be pretty into it overall. We stood to the left side of the stage so we could see better. The sound wasn't too loud and wasn't the greatest either. Oh well. Not a big light show either. They pretty much just had a couple of red lights shining on the band. I did not get any pictures but I did notice flashes popping once in a while. The show was very Lo-Fi.

If you are looking for a set list, you are reading the wrong review. BS2000 has many, many short songs and it is difficult to remember all of them and which order. They played most of the songs from Simply Mortified and maybe two or so songs from their first record. They did a cover of a Blondie song and played two or so songs that I did not recognize. All of the songs were performed very similar to the CD. Not much variation or jamming out. Pretty cut and dry. Would have been nice to see a little freestylin' with the casio's. In fact, just before they played Wait a Minute, (their final song) Adam said, "This is our last song, we would play more songs but we don't anymore." the crowd seemed a little bummed out. He said, "We could just jam out and stuff." The crowd cheered, but they broke into Wait a Minute, finished, and left the stage. The crowd screamed and cheered for about 5 minutes or so and they turned up the lights. ***NO ENCORE*** Grrrrr... Yeah that's right, no encore. People seemed kind of bummed. I even walked over to the curtain where I could see Adam smoking a cigarette and sipping a bottle of beer. I yelled, "Play the Mom Song" and someone yelled back but I couldn't hear what they said. We waited for 10 minutes or so until the security made us walk away. No response from BS2000. In the hopes that they just might come out and play a few more songs we waited around for a few more minutes. I bought an official copy of Simply Mortified since I had Napstered my previous copy. They give you a free poster with the purchase of the cd. Pretty cool poster, and well worth the price. I suggest picking one up if you go to a show. I tried to get some extra posters but the guy selling the cds was just not having it. He wouldn't even sell me an extra. Oh well. There were two kinds T-Shirts and stuff but nothing too exciting. We walked out of the building and that was it.

To sum it all up, I would have to say that YES, I had a good time, BS2000 kicks ass....BUT I wish they played a little longer, jammed out, played more covers, talked more, I don't know, it needed a little more energy or something. A little more hot sauce to really get the crowd to shake their shit. Hey, I'm trying to be objective here. Also, it did seem a bit on the short side. They were only onstage for maybe 45 minutes or so. Don't expect a long show. I didn't buy the excuse of them not knowing any more songs. They didn't even play all of the songs from Simply Mortified. I really wanted to hear The Mom Song...Oh well, I can't complain too much, the tickets were only 10 bucks right? Perhaps I hyped it up a bit too much in my head. It was a very intimate show and something that does not come around too often so they definately scored points there. Don't call me Mr. Critic, but I give this one 3 out of 4 stars.

BS2000 & Le Tigre LIVE @ Pipeline Cafe--Honolulu, Hawaii
By BStegrl2000

6:10 pm and we had arrived at the Pipeline Cafe--10 minutes after the publicized doors-open time. People were still waiting for the doors to open (okay, so we weren’t late, the people running the cafe were). My mom--she‘s hip, alright?--and I joined them. While we were standing there, I saw two women peering through the tinted windows, pointing, you know, like they were at the Bishop Museum or something. I had a feeling that I knew what--or who--they were pointing at. Sure enough, there was Adam "Adrock" Horovitz, Beastie Boy, fellow BS2000 member, and at-the-moment main exhibit, having a little chat with security at the bar. (He was probably telling them to look out for "knuckleheads"--people endangering the safety of audience members). He was wearing a white t-shirt, and his hair was sticking up (my personal favorite hair-do on Adam). I was frozen there; I don’t know why I didn’t pull out my zoom-in, 35 mm Minolta camera (which can take pictures through tinted glass) when I had the chance. When I finally thought of it, though, Adam started climbing the staircase leading to the dressing room. Oh, well, serves me right.

After maybe 15 or 20 minutes of waiting, the doors finally opened. I noticed that people were setting up a table to sell BS2000 and Le Tigre t-shirts and tiny buttons. The crappy part was that there was only one t-shirt design and one button design for each band. But being a fan, I bought one BS2000 item each, totaling up to less than . For the rest of the night, I wore both.

About 45 minutes of sitting, waiting, and watching the lighting effects passed before Le Tigre came on stage, sporting matching dark blue windbreakers. Kathleen Hanna announced that this was their last appearance for the tour. Their set, which lasted for an hour (sorry, I don’t know the set list) comprised of songs blended with dance and punk music. I thought they were a cool band, with their beats and beliefs. Plus, they connected with the audience pretty well. Hanna brought up the fact that she saw the Grammys, which was on TV the night before the show. One of them cracked, "This next song we’re gonna do features Elton John on the chorus!" They also brought up, among other things, last year’s Amadou Diallo shooting, racial discrimination, and did a little choreographed dance on stage. They even brought up this college guy, who kind of advertised this organization he’s part of at the University of Hawai`i. During the BS set, they threw down towels to the band from the dressing room balcony.

After Le Tigre’s set (and not to mention another wait), BS-two-triple-o walked on stage to, appropriately, "We Are BS2000". AWOL, Adrock, and additional back-up members Jazz Thompson and Alfredo Ortiz took their places behind three keyboards and a drum kit, respectively. Adrock was wearing a yellow button-up shirt over the white shirt he had on earlier, along with dark green pants. He welcomed the crowd and proclaimed that he was having a bad hair day (he had combed back his hair) to which an audience member responded, "Your hair looks great!" "Thanks! Okay, I’m having a great hair day!" Adrock said.

BS also connected to the audience, holding both political and casual conversations, just like what Le Tigre did. Ortiz mentioned eating Portuguese sausages, scrambled eggs, and rice (a local favorite breakfast platter) at Loco Moco Drive Inn (a local favorite diner) that morning. Adrock was like, "What was the name of the place? Coco Moco?" The audience was shouting, "LOCO MOCO!" Then Adrock sang a portion of "Locomotion" ("C’mon baby, do the Locomotion!"). Adrock also did his best to succinctly explain each of the mostly political meanings behind the songs, but I think Hanna did a better job at that. (No offense, Ad.)

Their performance was super-cool (naturally) and the concert-goers enjoyed themselves (including myself). But some people were REALLY enjoying themselves. These male college kids (probably frat boys, but I’m not sure) were at the front-and-center part of the crowd, acting like they were in a mosh pit. One of 'em even collapsed right in front of me. I mean, it wasn’t some big arena concert, just a small club show. In fact, several times during BS2000’s set, Adrock looked at them and mumbled, "Crazy kids." Most of the audience seemed to be of the college crowd, though I did see some teenagers around my age, an elderly man, and a couple with a baby. I guess Adrock was starting to worry about our safety (the teens, the elderly man and I were among the people right in front of the stage) because he asked us, "Are you guys doing alright? Are you guys feeling okay here?"

I think I caught Adrock looking at me. After all, I was probably the only audience members wearing my newly purchased BS shirt. I even took a picture of him looking right at the camera. Unfortunately, like most of my pictures from that night, his eyes came out looking all red. I also took pictures of AWOL, whom I was standing right in front of (I was to the left of the stage, near the merchandise booth), yelling his head off in the microphone, while playing his keyboards; and Ortiz, playing the drums (sorry Jazz, I had a hard time trying to take a picture of you). Plus, I remember that this nice woman, who was also taking pictures, let me go in front of her so I could take pictures of Adam, too. (Thanks, it really helped a lot!) Also, both bands brought up a fluorescent yellow, glow-in-the-dark Hacky Sack on stage. When Adrock had it, people actually started bidding for it. He finally said something like, "The deal’s off!"

I don’t remember the actual set list in order, but I do remember that the first song was "We Are BS2000" and the last song was "The Scrappy." They also did a Blondie song called "I Know But I Don’t Know," "Nobody Beats BS2000" and most (sad to say, not all) of the Simply Mortified tracks. I also remember that the audio was LOUD and the Pipeline Cafe was PACKED.

Then, the moment came when it was time for the show to end. People were calling out, "Hana hou!" (Hawaiian for "Encore!") and "We love you guys!" Many of us felt disappointed because it felt so short. Plus, I didn’t get to meet BS2000. They could’ve free-styled or talked more or SOMETHING. I could’ve played something, since I take piano lessons. If the show was a month later, I could’ve even played some Simply Mortified songs; I learned some by ear during the Spring Break. Oh, well. I guess us Island fans have to wait for the next Hawai`i Beastie or BS appearance, whenever that will be. (Note: It was in Hawai`i, when the Beasties made their so-far only public showing here in June 1995, that Adrock and AWOL got the idea for BS2000.)

BS2000 LIVE @ Club Quattro (Nagoya, Japan)
By: Natsu

Well,I went a japanise tour of BS2000. I felt as if we played with ADROCK and AWOL.

Before the gig,I met BS2000. They were very friendly and called me "NATSU" over and over again. Then I had my picture taken with ADROCK, shouting "PEACE".

I got their set list.
SICK FOR A REASON
IT FEELS LIKE
MR CRITIC
NEW GOUDA
BUDDY(RELAX)
DIG DEEPER
SIDE TO SIDE
NO MATTER WHAT
SAVE THIS FOR DAVIS
BETTER BETTER
NOBODY BEATS BS 2000
IN THE BASEMENT
SHABU SHABU *(The neme of Japanise food)
WAIT A MINUTE
COFFEE DRINKER
SCRAPPY

BS2000 + Le Tigre LIVE @ Shibuya Club Quattro
By Rika Aoki

OPENING ACT : MELT-BANANA
I heard that they're very popular not only in Japan but also in the rest of the world, but most audience had no idea who they are and either did I. Sound was good but not suitable for BS2000's opening act. They were just noisy. But some came only to see MELT-BANANA.

LE TIGRE
They took a lot of time to get ready (you know, Shibuya club Quattro is notorious for bad sound system), but the show was fantastic. I think even their show were better than BS2000's (only as a show, of course BS2000 were great, too!). First, they warmed up very carefully and said Hi to us. They wore cute costume of the same design and the music was really powerful, so we danced and danced. Their dance was good, too. Halfway through the show, we'd got the message of Yuka (from Cibo Matto) and she introduced some of their song in Japanese. Their messages are "sexual equality" and "f**k racial discrimination". I felt like "Hey! They're really cool!" I came to love them.

BS2000
It was beyond words. I have no idea how to write. When Adam and Amery appeared on the stage people were so excited that I was pushed to dying 'cause I was in the front row. They made a lot of mistakes (Adrock excused that "I have to sing while play the keyboard! Too difficult!!") because it was the first time that they play the gig, but that was fun, too. They're not so good at playing the keyboard, but we love them all the more. Adrock was smiling and laughing all the time and that made us happy, but when one of the audience dived and acted a little bit violently, he frowned at him. That was because he wanted to go at peace, maybe. Amery was concentrating on playing the keyboard. He sang (shouted?) with his eyes closed tight and he put his head to his mic through the show. He is cute. He's like a child. (He brought his rucksack on the stage. I dunno why.)The song that the audience was most heated was "the side to side" and "Wait a minute". We all sang together "All right" "Outta site" "Up tight" "Not tonight".... They also played a new song called "Shabu Shabu"(one of the Japanese foods) and that was like 50s music. I like it. Anyway, they're great, period.

Setlist of BS2000 (2/13)
SICK FOR A REASON
IT FEELS LIKE...!?@#
MR. CRITIC
NEW GOUDA
BUDDY
DIG DEEPER
THE SIDE TO SIDE
NO MATTER WHAT SHAPE YOUR STOMACH IS IN
SAVE THIS FOR DAVIS
BETTER BETTER
NOBODY BEATS BS2000
IN THE BASEMENT
SHABU SHABU
WAIT A MINUTE
---encore---
COFFEE DRINKER
SCRAPPY