Awesome, I Shot That
Directed by one "Nathanial Hörnblowér" and shot by 50 fans,Awesomeis the Beastie Boys live and direct. (The full title includes a four-letter word in its six-letter-plus-apostrophe incarnation.) The place is New York’s Madison Square Garden. The date is October 9, 2004. The show begins with scratching from DJ Mix Master Mike as the amateur operators, armed with Hi-8 cameras, get busy--from the audience, at the concession stands, and even in the bathrooms. Subtitled "An Authorized Bootleg,"Awesomefeatures the tracksuit-sporting trio, Mike D, Adrock, and MCA, running through numbers from all six records. (Later, they bust out the pastel tuxes for a pro-shot suite of jazz-funk.) Selections include "Brass Monkey" (Licensed to Ill), "Shake Your Rump" (Paul's Boutique), "Pass the Mic" (Check Your Head), "Sure Shot" (Ill Communication), "Body Movin'" (Hello Nasty), and "Ch-Ch-Check It Out" (To the 5 Boroughs). On stage, they're joined by Keyboard Money Mark, percussionist Alfredo Ortiz, and Doug E. Fresh, "the world's greatest entertainer," who adds a little human beat-box to their rhymes. For viewers concerned aboutBlair Witch-style vertigo, rest assured that editor Neal Usatin has stitched the shaky footage together skillfully enough to stave it off. Almost as essential as their Criterion CollectionVideo Anthology,Awesomemay be the world's most professional home movie. Nathanial Hörnblowér, incidentally, is thenom de filmof MCA, AKA Adam Yauch.--Kathleen C. Fennessy