Beastie Boys in McCarren Pool

Last night Sienna and I headed to Willliamsburg, Brooklyn to see the Beastie Boys perform in a swimming pool. The City closed the McCarren Park pool in the 80s and re-opened it a few years ago as a concert stage.

At it's hey day the pool could fit more than 6,000 people. We were curious to see what it would be like to hear one of our favorite bands play in a place where people used to swim.

We're no more than a couple of minutes from the Bedford train stop when we started hearing "hello brooklyn". We rush to the venue and grab a spot in the crowd of thousands all rocking to the Beasties. There's no chlorinated water, just puddles of beer, and people like us who were reliving their high school and college days.

We were in for a shock when a guy collapsed next to us right after the Beastie Boys played Heart Attack Man. Luckily, he was OK and was helped out by his friends. The Beasties played on unaware of the voodoo like effects of their music.

Little did we know that it was going to be such a special show. It was the band's first show ever in their native Brooklyn. Song such as "hello brooklyn" and "no sleep til' brooklyn" had much more impact than if  they were played anywhere else. I had listened to these songs back in Germany, and Sienna back in Indiana, and we both had never imagined that we'd be dancing with the Beasties in their stomping grounds.

The set had a very impressive grainy LCD like mobile hanging above Mike D, Ad-Rock, MCA and Mix Master Mike.  The sound system and acoustics were fantastic. Or maybe the band just got a hell of a lot better since I saw them last 15 years ago.

The show was over at ten and we could have gone for a least another hour.  We had to make do with the two of us loudly singing "no sleep til' brooklyn" on our walk to the subway. 

Set list:

hello brooklyn
root down
posse in effect
super disco breakin
sure shot
time for living
gratitude
suco de tangerina
heart attack man
sabrosa
alright hear this
pass the mic
paul revere
body movin
shake your rump
off the grid
in 3's
lighten up
14th st break
egg raid
remote control
open letter to nyc
check it out
3 mc's
so whatcha want
intergalactic
sabotage
no sleep til' brooklyn