From the Luscious Jackson substack entry (9th of September, 2025):

Kate: On August 5th, 1981, Yauch was turning 17, and we decided to have a party at John’s loft. He wanted Beastie Boys to play—this was to be our one and only show. We bought a bunch of cheap beer and set up a screen practically in front of us to project Super 8 films during the set. We weren’t confident that our band would hold the attention of our high school and music scene buddies, and we thought we should give people something else to watch just in case. The party was a blast, and a lot of people got drunk for the first time. Apparently, people enjoyed our show, especially Dave Parsons. He told us he wanted us to record an album of our songs, even though he knew we weren’t really a band. He wanted to launch Rat Cage Records with the Beastie Boys. We figured, why the fuck not-- Mike and Adam were going to be leaving NYC soon anyway to go to college, so Dave arranged for us to record before they left. We started playing gigs around NYC in the meantime.

Gabby: That first show at John Berry’s house was great. The band was for sure one of a kind. Nothing like them before or since. They did songs that would become Polly Wog Stew, dabbling in every type of music in their own raw, original way. The room was pretty small, and the Super 8 film footage behind them was a nice touch. They just did their thing and did it perfectly. Loose and fun.