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Beastie Boys add second night to benefit
update: New York natives Beastie Boys , who earlier this week announced plans to hold a benefit concert in New York City this month, have added a second night to the event. Dubbed New Yorkers Against Violence, the two-night benefit will feature the Beastie Boys' first live performances in over two years, and will also include sets from the B-52s, Cibo Matto, Mos Def, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and others.
"In the midst of this madness [fellow Beastie Boys members] Adam ['King Ad Rock' Horovitz] and Mike ['Mike D' Diamond] and I got together to discuss what we might be able to do that would be constructive," group member Adam "MCA" Yauch said in a statement. "And we decided to put on a benefit concert." The statement goes on to say that the trio will perform a "short hip-hop set" backed by DJ Mixmaster Mike.
The event is scheduled for Oct. 28-29, at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom. The first show will feature performances from Beastie Boys, the B-52’s, Cibo Matto, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Rival Schools, the Strokes, Saul Williams and DJ Stretch Armstrong. The second show lineup comprises Beastie Boys, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Mos Def, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the Roots, and DJ Afrika Bambaata, plus special guests to be
announced, according to a press release.
"In light of everything New York City’s firefighters, police, and rescue workers have already done, getting this event together is the least we could do," Beastie Boys member Mike D said in the release. "The sacrifices and true heroics of these people have been an inspiration to the entire world."
Tickets for the Oct. 28 show are sold-out; tickets for the Oct. 29 show were still available at press time.
Profits raised from the show will go to two funds--one created by New York Association for New Americans and the other by New York Women's Foundation--that have been established to help people affected by the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
The event is being hosted by the Milarepa Fund, a non-profit organization founded by Beastie Boys that promotes peace and the freedom of Tibet. Under the Milarepa umbrella, the band has held several Tibetan Freedom Concerts in recent years. The group had planned to hold a 2001 Tibetan Freedom Concert in London last month, but the event was canceled "due to unexpected scheduling complications and logistical issues," according to a statement.
Also last month, Beastie Boys shut down its Grand Royal record label due to "mounting debts, decreasing assets, and exceedingly harsh industry conditions," according to a statement issued at the time.
