It's been 8 years since his death, but Beastie Boys legend Adam Yauch, better known as MCA, is still greatly missed. Today, August 5th, would have been his 56th birthday and the music world is taking the time to remember his talent and influence.
For starters, you can listen to this playlist curated by Mix Master Mike especially for his birthday to celebrate:
In honor of MCA's birthday and his legacy, we discovered an epic setlist from the Beastie Boys archives from Yauch's birthday in 1994. The set happens to be from their Lollapalooza Tour that year. We're sure Yauch had an epic birthday performing in New York City alongside artists like The Smashing Pumpkins, George Clinton, The Breeders, A Tribe Called Quest, Nick Cave, L7, and more.
You read "tour" correctly. Before Lollapalooza found it's home at Chicago's Grant Park every summer, it was a traveling tour. 12 bands played and each day lasted 10-hours on the two-month long tour.
It kicked off in Las Vegas on July 7th, 1994, and wrapped up September 5th, 1994 in Carson, California. And smack dab in the middle of the tour, you have their stop at Downing Stadium in NYC on MCA's birthday.
The most important thing to note about BB's headlining slot on the Lolla Tour, is this PSA they put out in the official Lolla Zine for mosh pit "do's and don'ts" - and it rings true to Yauch's Buddhist beliefs:
“Girls have as much right to mosh as anyone else and just cuz she’s slamming up against you doesn’t mean she is in LOVE with you.”
Can I get an "AMEN"? Check out their page in the '94 festival zine here:
As for the setlist? BB opened up their show with "Sure Shot" and played a 23-song setlist that was sprawling with hits off their first four albums. 1994's Ill Communication carried the most weight, with "Sabotage" being their most performed song during the tour. But festival goers also got treated to plenty of licks off of Check Your Head and Licensed to Ill.
The set ended with two of their biggest hits - "So What'cha Want" and closing song "Sabotage."
Check out the full setlist here:
They played another night in NYC on August 6th - Celebrate Yauch today by watching that set in its entirety below. Happy Birthday and RIP MCA!
