Review: Mike D 5D at The Orange Peel
As I listened to Mike D’s new album Thank You for the first few times, the word that kept coming to mind was “fresh.”
That’s not a description/quality one might expect from a 60-year-old MC making his solo debut after a near 20-year hiatus. But thanks to the youthful injection courtesy of his sons Skylar and Davis Diamond and other Gen Z collaborators — as well as a few fellow AARP members — the project known as Mike D 5D brims with an exciting vibe reminiscent of Beastie Boys in their prime while remaining something distinctly its own.
The group's appealing blend of blippy/glitchy electronic production blossomed in a live setting during its Sept. 3 stop at The Orange Peel, the venue where, in 2009, Beastie Boys played their last club show and penultimate overall performance before Adam “MCA” Yauch died of cancer.
Following an overlong, semi-pointless opening set by a DJ with Winston-Salem roots, and an epic Spanish-language intro, Mike D took center stage, flanked by Will Graefe (guitar) and Eddie Ruscha (guitar) with Diamond’s sons and Eddie’s son Milo in the rear behind a long, gadgetry-cloaking table. This robust ensemble had been playing pretty much the same set each night — the bulk of Thank You with a few choice Beastie cuts tossed in — and stuck to that script early. But due to technical difficulties with the Ruschas’ shared station and what Diamond called going with “how we feel,” the performance went in some exciting new directions.
Foremost, the early electronic SNAFU prompted Skyler to brilliantly suggest that they pivot to “Remote Control” — a Hello Nasty knockout that has been appearing at various junctures in their tour set lists thus far but carried an upbeat air of spontaneity on Thursday night. Watching Graefe shred the simple but electric riff after hearing it numerous times in recorded form was an absolute treat that highlighted the artists’ flexibility and hinted at more joys to follow.
5D tracks such as “That’s Right” and “I Don’t Care” highlighted the layered, dance-friendly nature of Thanks You and inspired some impressive instrumental breakdowns as the songs wound down. And any and every Beastie Boys inclusion — including deep-ish cuts “Hello Brooklyn,” “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun,” and “3-Minute Rule” — was met with raucous delight from the capacity crowd.
Throughout the short but action-packed set, Mike D exuded age-defying energy, feeding off the trio of 20somethings around him, particularly when Milo Ruscha stepped forth on bass and bounced to the kinetic beat as if he had spring in his sneakers. Diamond also worked in a humorous anecdote about the Beastie Boys’ website’s recent hacking by a Turkish prostitution ring, as well as emotionally noting that his return to the venue “hits different” — two of the many reminders that, thrilling as the new material may be, 5D’d versions of well-worn numbers were the main attractions.
That sentiment was most evident as the set wound down with the tour debut of “Body Movin’,” another Hello Nasty bop that sounded especially sharp through the filter of this sextet. But nothing could compare with the absolute jam that’s been closing out each 5D performance, “So What’cha Want.”
From the iconic opening organ riff to the call-and-response chorus to Milo Ruscha’s madman guitar soloing behind his head, the Check Your Head stunner ended the evening on a high that gave longtime Beastie fans one of the closest approximations to the heyday of Ad-Rock, MCA, and Mike D. And yet the new sonic layers and the mere existence of Thank You suggest an artist focused on the present and future — all the more meaningful coming from a music vet with nothing to prove who’s clearly still so invested in the creative process, trying new things, and sharing the results.
Thank you, Mike D, for a night we’ll never forget.
(Photos by John Simmonds)
