MH: I saw my first laser light show--Pink Floyd, of course--when I was 15. That was also the first time I ever smoked pot, and the combined experience left a heavy stamp on my brain. I've been to many laser shows since, but none since I decided to kick weed a few years ago. I thought a laser light show without marijuana would be like s'mores without marshmallows. But sober as I was, the show had me headbanging in my reclined seat for at least a few numbers.
KS: This was my first laser show and I thought it was pretty awesome. I couldn't stop thinking about what it would be like on acid, but still, it was almost as good as being on acid. I found it to have this empowering effect. I kept thinking that I could conquer the world or write the great American novel after the show.
MH: The combination of high volume and wrap-around laser pyrotechnics works well to yank me out of the bad habit of treating music as mental wallpaper. It induces meditation; I stop thinking, and my mind is transported by music. Unfortunately, I can only be transported short distances by the Beastie Boys. Musically I appreciate them more now that they've been laser-etched on my brain, but I still call their rapping lame.
KS: The roller coaster effects on "Hey Ladies" was amazing. The weird cubist effect on "Intergalactic" was great too. It made the walls look like they were growing and expanding. The low points were the ham-fisted rock of "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn" and "You Gotta Fight For Your Right (To Party)". The rap worked better than the rock. The occasional laser caricatures were cheesy, but still cool in an old school way, like the dogs in the un-Buddhist-like "Girls", or the hilarious monkey in the Raiders of the Lost Ark-themed "Brass Monkey."
MH: Animation, shmanimation. I'm sure some programmer thinks he's clever for making it possible to draw cartoons with lasers, but it wastes the potential of this amazing visual art form. It's not what lasers are good at. I much prefer the abstract twirly shit and the smoke machines.
KS: Do you think liking the Beasties is a prerequisite for this show?
MH: Either like the Beasties, or get high, or bring your teenage nostalgia.
