Beastie Boys Say Missoula Montana Was One of The Best Concerts

I just recently re-watched the 2020 Beastie Boys Documentary, "The Beastie Boys Story?" If you haven't seen it, then add it to your list of must-watch documentaries. It is Mike D and Ad-Rock sharing their stories of the birth and career of the Beastie Boys. And they do it in a sort of Ted Talk-style, featuring footage and photos from their world domination.

Now, we have all heard the legend of the day the Beastie Boys played Missoula. Some of you may have actually attended the show. It was definitely a show that will go down in history as one of the craziest performances to happen here in the Garden City. There are so many stories that go along with the concert that took place on January 28th, 1987. Some say the Beastie Boys threw full cans of beer into the crowd. While the City and University say they nearly incited a riot and were BANNED from ever playing in Missoula again.

In fact, Missoula was actually the Beastie Boys' first stop on their first headlining tour. In the Spike Jonze-directed documentary Ad-Rock says "Being famous in our city was one thing, but being famous at a mall in Missoula Montana is something else entirely." They go on to say that they were asked what kind of things they would like in their stage design, and they said they wanted a "25 FT GO GO dancer cage." They thought they were being silly by making such an odd request. But, as Ad-Rock says in the documentary "The next thing we know, we get to Missoula, MT and there it is!"

Check out the trailer for "The Beastie Boys Story"

This was their first chance to prove that they were legit headliners and soon-to-be titans of the music industry. And it started in Missoula.

Pretty cool, huh?