Seattle Times, June 11, 1987
By Kit Boss:
Seattle Center officials said today they are canceling next Wednesday's concert by Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys at the Arena because of "ample predictions of real physical trouble" after the concert. The concert has been rescheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday nights at the Paramount Theater. No details were available.
Center director Ewen Dingwall said that in the past few weeks the concert had become "an event developing a life of its own." He said through police and other community contacts he had heard of potential "rumbles" after the concert involving teenagers from different races.
"There is a lot of tension here about the nature of the messages to come out of these concerts," he said. Though Dingwall said he was not familiar first-hand with the music of the groups, he called Run-D.M.C. "a black group" who "speak as proud blacks." He termed the Beastie Boys as "a very outspoken white group."
"We can handle security for the concert," Dingwall said. "We are not in a position to handle security for the neighborhood."
Earlier this week, about 3,500 tickets had been sold for the show. The two biggest groups in rap music, Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys are fresh from a controversial, sold-out jaunt through Europe. Controversy has followed the tour wherever it goes because both bands have been accused of stirring up trouble. Last summer, Run-D.M.C.'s tour was marred by violence in at least five cities. The Beastie Boys' boisterous show nearly got them arrested earlier this year in a swing through Alabama and Georgia.

Billboard (12 September 1987) - Lyor Cohen:
In Seattle, the director of a city - operated venue canceled a scheduled show on the basis of "intelligence" from the police department that predicted "potential rumbles after the concert involving teenagers from different races."
We rescheduled the show with a privately owned venue and had no problems of any kind.