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Gig Info:
Performance Date: 23 May 1985

Country: Canada
City: Toronto
Venue: Twilight Zone

Notes:

This gig took place at midnight, after the support slot for Madonna earlier in the night.
 
Setlist:
Not Available
Reviews:
The Toronto Star, July 25, 1987
By Jonathan Gross:

A couple of years ago I paid the Beastie Boys $500 and a case of beer to moonlight at a downtown disco after fulfilling their duties as the opening act for Madonna at Maple Leaf Gardens.
As was usually the case in my days as a promoter, I was a tad ahead of my time. Hardly anybody showed up and the show wasn't quite as much fun as their interview that afternoon at Q-107 when the Beastie Boys -- white rappers King Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D -- were physically removed from the studio after making a mess of interviewer Bob Mackowicz.

Today, the Beastie Boys are still making fools out of promoters, deejays and reporters, but now at nightly fees of about $50,000 U.S. to match record sales of more than 4 million copies of their debut album. On the way, they've seen injunctions by Budweiser for their use of a huge inflated can on stage, sheriffs' warnings across the States for their use of a giant phallus on stage and the arrest of King Ad-Rock in England for inciting violence in his own show.

And while other local promoters have been reluctant to bring the Beasties' unique brand of madness back to Toronto this summer, you can experience the rudest boys in rock on an amazing new video cassette from CBS/Fox which, in the parlance of Beasties, "Pulls out the jammy and squeezes off six" of the raunchiest video clips ever compiled.

Besides the three hilarious videos already in circulation for "She's On It," "Fight For Your Right" and "No Sleep," you get the uncensored concert versions of "Rhymin & Stealin" and "She's Crafty," plus a homemade number for "Hold It Now Hit It." Best of all is the sequel material, which shows the boys pulling into their favorite burger joint, White Castle, taking a bucket of water and a camcorder into a reporter's hotel room and a no holds barred, whipped cream, honey and scotch backstage orgy culminating in mass arrests that don't appear to be staged.

In short, the Three Stooges of rap and their producer Rick Rubin have delivered the music video cassette of the year in just 38 minutes. You wanna know why? Because the Beastie Boys are the first American band since The Ramones to effectively uphold the unholy trinity of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. The post-adolescent Beasties have reinvented juvenile delinquency.

The companion to this is the new compilation, Run DMC - The Video, from Profile Video in New York. Run DMC is the original rap power trio and the major force behind the Beastie Boys. But Run DMC has minded its P's and Q's in public without sacrificing a "home boy" sense of humor. Included here is the breakthrough video for "Walk This Way," featuring Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Steve Tyler; "It's Tricky," featuring comic magicians Penn and Teller, plus three more clips rarely seen in Canada because Run DMC used to be available as an import only.

And until Polygram gets off its tush, this video is still an import. Write to Profile at 740 Broadway, New York, NY, 10003 for mail order info.

The Toronto Star, May 17, 1985
By Chris Hollard :

Lest you get the wrong impression from some media reports, let it be noted that Madonna is no dummy. Latest proof of this fact is that she personally decided to hire New York's Beastie Boys as opening act on her current concert tour.

Who are The Beastie Boys? Just four of the baddest bunch of white hard-core rappers this side of heaven, that's who. The Beasties - in real life three nice Jewish boys from Brooklyn Heights - are breaking new ground with their combination of heavy-rock power chords and black rap beat. Which is why a clever lady like Madonna took matters into her own hands to sign them for her concert tour.

The Beauty and the Beasties' May 23 date at Maple Leaf Gardens has long been sold out, but rap fans can take heart. After the concert, the Beastie Boys will head over to The Twilight Zone, 185 Richmond St. E., to do a special midnight show to the faithful...
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