My Posse In Effect brings the Beastie Boys back to The Castle Theatre

The St. Louis tribute crew returns to Bloomington on Friday, Dec. 11 — its first Bloomington–Normal show since March 2020.

The last time My Posse In Effect played Bloomington–Normal was March 28, 2020, at The Castle Theatre. That's a long time to go without three MCs trading lines over a live band in a downtown room. The wait ends Friday, Dec. 11, when the St. Louis Beastie Boys tribute returns to the same stage.

The details: My Posse In Effect plays The Castle Theatre in Bloomington on Friday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m. Tickets are through The Castle Theatre. The room holds about 700. The show was announced Oct. 19.

If you missed them the first time, here's the pitch. My Posse In Effect is a seven-piece built the way the Beastie Boys actually sounded at their best — three MCs, a DJ and live instruments — rather than three guys rapping over a backing track. Their own description, via TSE Entertainment, says the group is dedicated to breathing new life into the instrumental and band-driven songs, which is the part of the Beasties catalog most tributes skip.

The roles are cast like a heist movie. Listings name Ser Lesson as Mike D, Spark1duh? as MCA and Bob C as Adrock, with DJ Mahf on the decks. The format lets them run the whole range of the catalog, from the shouted early hits to the funkier, instrument-driven later material.

Three MCs, a DJ and live instruments — the way the Beasties actually sounded

The band has earned a reputation in the Midwest. A River Cities' Reader preview quoted the Riverfront Times calling the act "the best you are going to get," and they've worked a circuit of regional rooms, including the Redstone Room in Davenport and the Rust Belt in East Moline. A Bandsintown fan description goes further, calling them the premier Beastie Boys tribute act — fan copy, sure, but a sign of how people talk about these shows on the way out the door.

One thing worth knowing so you buy the right ticket: there's a separate, nationally touring Beastie Boys tribute called Imposters in Effect, and the two names get mixed up. The Dec. 11 show at The Castle is My Posse In Effect, the St. Louis crew.

The Castle Theatre is a good fit for what they do. At around 700 capacity, it's big enough for the kind of jumping, shouting crowd this music calls for, and small enough that the call-and-response parts actually work — when the MCs point the mic at the room, the room answers. A Friday night in December, a few weeks before the holidays, with a set list everybody knows the words to: that's an easy sell.

The gap since 2020 is part of the story. That last Bloomington show came more than six years ago, and plenty of people who were in that room have been waiting for a rematch. The show starts at 8 p.m.; tickets are through The Castle's site.

Bring your loudest friend and your best "Sabotage" scream. You'll need both.

Sources: Beastie Boys Tribute: My Posse In Effect – TSE Entertainment (tseentertainment.com); River Cities' Reader – My Posse In Effect (rcreader.com); River Cities' Reader – My Posse In Effect (rcreader.com); My Posse In Effect – Bandsintown (bandsintown.com); The Castle Theatre (thecastletheatre.com); My Posse In Effect at The Castle Theatre – JamBase (jambase.com)