"One Two (tickets) Oh My God!" We got in to see the Beastie Boys.

How ridiculously lucky can you get? This show was at a club that only holds a little over 900 people. It was announced only a day before tickets went on sale, and week before the show. I started loading the ticket page on a couple different computers right before 4 PM, along with a lot of other people. For the most part the site would not load at all after 4. Then, when it did I would get an error when I tried to buy tickets. About 10 minutes later it started saying “SOLD OUT.” I could not believe it. Took a minute to complain/tweet about it. Then, went back at it. Finally, I got through! And it was NOT sold out. Yes!

I wanted to go pretty bad, and my son Mars even more so. Mary said he got so nervous when I was trying to score tickets he couldn’t watch. He went to play his drums for a bit. That didn’t help my concentration.

I got the tickets. You want a shirt, bring money.

We got there over an hour in advance, and the line was already long. The cool thing is it appears the promoters and club did everything they could to keep it fair, and minimize ticket scalping. You could only buy two. Everybody’s tickets were “will call,” even if you got the few they had at the box office. You had to bring the card you used for the purchase and another picture ID. Once you got your tickets you had to go straight into the club. Despite all that I heard people in line with an extra ticket were getting offered crazy money.

I had no idea Biz Markie was going to be there. He DJ’d for about 20 minutes and it was awesome! He totally owned the crowd. His set went through a ton of old school hip hop from the ’80s and ’90s. And somewhat to my surprise the crowd was extra hip hop literate. The Biz kept fading the mix to let the crowd a capella through lines of Grandmaster Flash, LL Cool J, even some Bob Marley, and bunch of other stuff I can’t remember. Massively entertaining. “If you remember that one, I know you’ll remember this…”

Of course, he couldn’t finish without giving us a little from “Just a Friend.” Make SURE to watch this video again.

When the Beastie Boys finally came out it was to Biz Markie doing “The Biz vs. The Nuge” (Check Your Head). Perfect.

And I couldn’t believe they had Money Mark with them. Money Mark’s records get played as much as anything in my collection. He’s been a hero of mine for years. Later in the set Mike D asked Mark to come out from behind the keyboards to play “Mark on the Bus.” Brilliant. (Clip from a different show.)

And what about the Beastie Boys? Well, I don’t how it could have been any better. They were fun, funny and funky. They played everything from their earliest punk stuff to a couple brand new songs with something from just about every record, save for License to Ill. I loved every bit of it, but I was especially glad they did a bunch of their instrumentals like “Pow” and “Ricky’s Theme.”

Mix Master Mike put on an impressive show and really turned it out with a scratching solo to open the encore. They finished strong with “Sabotage” and it was time to go home.

A couple other highlights include AdRock giving the crowd dance lessons for the “Jerry Lewis” and the “Funky Penguin.” He’s got skills. And I’ll never forget Biz Markie joining the band to sing Elton John’s “Benny and the Jets.” The Biz took his shirt off and every person in the house pulled out their camera phone to capture the big man going natural.

But wait! There’s more. Thank you Flip owners.

“Sure Shot”

• Artist: Money Mark
• Title: Change is Coming
• Year: 2001
• Format: CD
• Rating (1-10): 9
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: No idea

All right, I’m going to have to pull back to a low rating of 9 on this one. Change is Coming by Money Mark is still awesome, just not quite so much as the earlier records. Still, I’ve probably played in its entirety at least 100 times. Overall it’s more instrumental and jazzy than his masterpiece, Push the Button. The packaging is almost as interesting as the music. I didn’t include all the artwork, but it revolves around origami swans made from different paper currencies and then set on fire. Check out the folding, and burning, directions printed on the disk itself.

The sad thing about Change is Coming is it’s the last Money Mark record I got. There have been two more full length releases and it’s ridiculous that I don’t have them, yet. Somebody help me out!

Check out “Another Day to Love You” from Change is Coming at Jango.com.

As an added bonus today, I’ve included a video with Mr. Mark from an interview that was on the Sundance Channel where he explains his relationship with the Beastie Boys and his creative process.

• Artist: Money Mark
• Title: Push the Button
• Year: 1998
• Format: CD
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1998 – Advance copy?
• Keeper: Yes

Genius! Genius I tell you! More Money Mark greatness today. This record is deep! Somehow this disk is even better than the first. I don’t know where or how I got this advance copy of Push the Button but it’s good to have friends that know what’s going on. This record has a lot more vocals and that’s just more to love. Mark’s lyrics are brilliant and at times poignant. His voice is perfect for his unique style of music. Noise, techno, electronic, gospel, soul, funk, rock and jazz are all in the mix.

I have played Push the Button for countless people over the years and I have never met anyone who didn’t love it. And if there are people out there who don’t dig it I doubt I want to meet them.

Push the button
Push the button
Open the door and let me come innnnnn…

Money Mark at MySpace
Proper cover art for Push the Button at Wikipedia
Clips and review at AllMusic

• Artist: Money Mark
• Title: Mark’s Keyboard Repair
• Year: 1995
• Format: CD
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1995 – Dunno where
• Keeper: Yes

Money Mark is the greatest. He’s played with everyone from Beck to the Beastie Boys, but the truth is, even though I love those artists, I play his music much more often. Mark’s Keyboard Repair has 30 tracks. You’re probably thinking “that’s too much” but I assure after one listen you’ll start thinking “I want more.” Some folks describe this recording as demo quality, but I disagree. It’s free and loose but the sound is perfect. Many of the songs are only about a minute long. In some ways it feels less like a typical album and more like the cue track to your favorite unmade movie. Give it a spin and pretend you’re the star.

Gimme more Money Mark…
MoneyMark.com
Money Mark at Wikipedia