Beastie Boys at the Orange Peel

I'm Big on the Pig

It’s not often you have the opportunity to see an iconic band that is still relevant at a small music club. The Beastie Boys usually play 25,000 seat amphitheaters and football stadiums. I’ll never forget having tickets to see the Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine play at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC back in 2000 on their “Rhyme and Reason Tour,” only to have the show cancelled after Mike D got hurt in a bicycle accident. I’ve been waiting for the chance to see them ever since. (By the way, what a show that would have been! It still draws a tear to my eye.)

As my sister once put it, Nicole and I don’t just do stuff, we have adventures. I think it’s one of the best things about our relationship. It certainly keeps things interesting. Right now, we’re fortunate enough that we can kick off in the middle of the afternoon for a road trip blitz up to Asheville for a show on a Wednesday. We hit the road at about 3, hoping to get in a pre-dinner beer at an Asheville brewery tasting room.

The Big Gnome Travelling Road Show

Pregame

Our first stop was Wedge Brewing Company, one of Asheville’s newest breweries. They set up shop in an old warehouse in the arts district down by the river. They have a really cool porch which you can see in the photo. It is bordered by a wrought iron fence that was built by the artist who used to own the building. A very cool venue to have a beer. I sampled the witbier, Nicole had the Iron Rail IPA. Both excellent.

On the porch at Wedge Brewing Company

We only had time for one round, as we had to meet up with our friend Red for dinner at Barley’s Tap Room. The Barley’s in Asheville is less than one block from the Orange Peel, so it makes a perfect place to grab some pizza and a beer or two before the show. Unfortunately, our other friend, Big A, was detained for a bit, so he couldn’t meet up with us for dinner.

At Barley's

After waiting in line for a bit, we finally made it into the Orange Peel about 20 minutes before show time. If you’ve never been, the Orange Peel is one of the best places to see a show. It’s in an old warehouse and simply one big floor with a large bar to the left of the stage.

There are no obstructed views and there really isn’t a bad place to stand. They have an excellent beer selection, featuring many local Asheville breweries. They also work hard to keep the place clean, including the bathrooms, and they haven’t allowed smoking inside, even before it was banned in the city a couple months ago. All around, it’s my favorite venue.

The crowd before the show

My companions

Onto the Show

We knew it would be a great show when we saw the surprise opener come out, none other than Biz Markie. My friends Big A and Boot Cut have a great story about seeing Biz in Orlando, so he’s always been a legend in our circle. It was amazing to see him open for the Beasties.

He came out with a turntable and proceeded to scratch some records and threw together a time-travel inducing montage of classic 1990s hip hop tracks. It may have been the best opening act ever.

Biz Markie spinnin' records

After Biz closed with his classic “Just a Friend,” the Beastie Boys came out to Remote Control. It’s tough to put into words seeing a group that you’ve been listening to for 20 years, but never seen in person.

What was also odd was that they now look like dads, “but cool dads,” as Nicole put it. They’ve got salt and pepper hair, were wearing button up shirts and pants. Even though they look older, and I’m sure they’re a bit more toned down than they used to be and I don’t think they can jump around as much as they did when they were younger. However, you can still see that twinkle in their eye and they’d flash those devilish smirks to let you know they still had the juice.

Left to right: MCA, Mike D, and Ad Rock

We were really treated to two shows in one. They mostly did their rap songs, where they were just on mics with Mix Master Mike spinning the beats, but they also interspersed several stretches where they pulled out instruments and went with a “real band” thing.

Ad Rock

MCA played bass, Mike D was on drums, and Ad Rock donned the guitar. They even busted out a few instrumentals, including Ricky’s Theme, Sabrosa, Gratitude and a new one called Electric Worm. The Beastie Boys are often just thought of as a hip hop rap group, but they started out as a punk band in the late 70s, so they have developed some serious music ability over the last 30 years.

I won’t claim they are the greatest musicians ever, but they had serious skills on the instruments. MCA was right in front of us on bass, and he totally brought out the funk. Looking at their work over the years, the rock influence is obvious, as they sampled from Led Zeppelin, Dylan and the Beatles, and you can totally see it when they perform live.

Country Mike

MCA

The highlight of the night, at least for us, was when Biz Markie came out to sing Benny & the Jets. It got a little hot up in the Peel this far into the show, so Biz had to go shirts off. It was a watershed moment in music history.

One interesting bit about the show was that they only played one song off Licensed to Ill, Posse In Effect. There was no Fight For Your Right, Paul Revere, Girls, No Sleep Till Brooklyn or Brass Monkey. (I really wanted the Peel to serve Brass Monkey, as I’ve never had it. Oh well.)

It makes you wonder, now as 40-somethings, what they think of the songs they wrote in their youth. It’s probably the same way I look back at my early to mid-20s. Yeah, it was fun, but I sure was silly.

Finally, they wrapped up with my favorite Beastie Boys song, Sabotage. (It also has to be the best music video ever.)

Now two days later, I’m finally recovered. The show still seems a bit surreal. They are back to business now, headlining Bonnaroo tonight. I’m glad I got to see them at a small club in Asheville, NC. Who would have thought?