Beastie Boys Rock Vegas
You get what you pay for!” joked Mike D, after messing up the first strains of “Pass the Mic” on June 9th in Las Vegas for Mtv2’s 2$ Bill concert series. The trio hadn’t performed in the U.S. since last June. Against a set that included giant silk-screens of the Manhattan skyline, the Beasties and Mix Master Mike broke out the classics (“Sure Shot,” “So What’cha Want” and a call-and-response rendition of “Time to Get Ill”) and songs from their new five-star album, To the 5 Boroughs. MCA’s message was clear as he launched into the band’s single “Ch-Check it Out”: “Don’t vote for George Bush. It goes without saying, but still.”
This story is from the July 8th, 2004 issue of Rolling Stone.