If you haven’t heard, founding member of Beastie Boys, Adam Yauch passed away.
Since I grew up in New York during the 80s, the band has pretty much always been a part of my life thanks to Video Music Box (I was a city kid and didn’t get cable until I was 13). The above images were taken in 2006 where the band performed a long set as part of a benefit show.
In high school, I happened to be walking with my mom along Broadway in the TriBeCa area one Saturday afternoon. My mom and I were walking north while MCA was headed south. I immediately recognized him and broke out into a wide grin and hit my mom to get her attention. He must have seen my reaction because he nodded at me and smiled, knowing that I knew who he was (and probably grateful that I didn’t make a scene or scream because face it, I was a teenage girl). After he had passed, I turned to my mom and asked her if she knew who that was. Of course her answer to that question was, “No.” When we went home, I pulled out my Licensed to Ill CD and showed her his photo on the back. Still no recognition and she just didn’t understand why I was so excited to see this man walking down the streets of New York.
MCA, you’ll be dearly missed. Thank you for the music, performances and movies (from Oscilloscope Laboratories).
To my neighbors, I apologize for all the Beastie Boys albums you’ll be hearing for a while because this is a huge loss for me.
Additional photos from the Hiro Ballroom performance are in this set.
