Rock the Sure Shot

Though my wife will NEVER understand why, I am a huge fan of The Beastie Boys. The verbal acrobatics, their swaggering nerdiness, the spastic rat-a-tat-tat of their Tourette’s Syndrome delivery - just a few qualities that have earned Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA a permanent berth in my news unit’s aggression rock CD stash. All of which makes me the target audience for their performance documentary, Awesome, I %&$# Shot That! - which is currently making the rounds of VH1.

For those who don’t know, the hip-hop pioneers handed out fifty Hi-8 cameras to their fans at a 2004 Madison Square Garden concert and edited the images into a mish-mash concert film that has to be seen (and preferably felt) to be believed. Like the Beastie Boys themselves, 'I Shot That' ain’t pretty. However expertly edited, the fan footage is shaky, grainy and inherently shitty. But it works - the glaring disregard for slick cinematography emulates the true concert experience in a way all those sweeping crane shots never seem to be able to.

Rent the DVD and see what I mean, but be warned: to the unitiated, 'I Shot That' will no doubt confuse and frighten everyone within earshot. If you’re a Beastie Boys fan however, its...well, 'like having a delicious me-al...'