Arriving at this venue and stepping into the main arena from on high, promised a great deal from the visual perspective before a single note was played. Usually the home of the Phoenix Suns basketball team, it had been spectacularly transformed for this leg of the Beasties 'In the Round' tour for the 'Hello Nasty' album, a release which had garnered (quite rightly) near-universal acclaim.

Below our viewpoint a circular stage had been constructed in the middle of the basketball court, and whilst the upper tier retained seats, down on the rest of the court and in the surrounding areas, it was standing room only.

This being the visit of the Beastie Boys, and with Phoenix youth tending to prefer rock and metal, the atmosphere nearest the stage was already highly charged, with outbreaks of moshing, stagediving, and the occasional confrontation between crowd members. This was enhanced further by the performance of Rancid before the main act. Arriving on stage dressed in outfits straight out of London circa 1977, Rancid played a set of fast and furious punk diatribe, including many old original punk numbers. Whilst commendable for getting the crowd even more excited, it drove me to the bar, where I still got to see and hear their set via the internal TV system in place so fans don't miss any of the action during the usual activity at America West.

Finally, half an hour after the Rancid set finished, the arena is plunged into complete darkness, the music starts and the triggered houselights show Mike D, MCA and Adrock had arrived on stage with Mixmaster Mike, who took his duties up on the 1s and 2s centrestage in a specially built turret.
Part 2 of the Review