Reviews are pouring in from Jay-Z’s headlining set at All Points West in Jersey City, NJ last night and it looks like I missed out on one of the best shows of the year. Sure, Hova was stepping in at the last minute for fellow Brooklyn hip-hop giants the Beastie Boys, but that was no excuse for a phoned-in set: Jay-Z killed, playing a 28-song set, including a Michael Jackson tribute and special dedication to Adam “MCA” Yauch, whose recent cancer diagnosis led to last night’s awesome substitute performance.

“Jay-Z at All Points West,” Hova rapped (replacing original lyric “Beastie Boys at the Garden”) in his opening cover of the Beasties’ “No Sleep Till Brooklyn,” reports Brooklyn Vegan. Later in the set, he announced, “I wanna dedicate this whole show to MCA. Get well soon!” According to Billboard, Hova added that the Beasties are “pioneers, one of the reasons [he’s] on this stage.”

The show wouldn’t be complete, however, without a Michael Jackson tribute: “If you take one thing from this concert, it should be that we don’t mourn death, we celebrate life,” Jay-Z said, before playing “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” with an added Jackson 5 “I Want You Back” sample.

Here’s an okay-quality YouTube of “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.” For more info on Jay-Z’s first U.S. festival gig, go here, there, or thataway.

We’ll start with the bad news: Beastie Boy Adam Yauch was diagnosed with cancer of his salivary gland and Parotid gland, forcing the group to cancel their future tour dates and album release. In a video posted on their official site, Yauch joined Adam Horowitz to make the announcement and said that thankfully the prognosis is good, as his cancer is treatable with surgery and radiation. Rolling Stone reports that EMI released the following statement: “Our thoughts, love and prayers are with Adam Yauch, his family and the Beastie Boys. The most important thing is to allow Adam to focus on staying healthy. We wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.” This.

On a much lighter note, check out Papermag’s interview with Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore. There are some great bits, including his love for black metal and praise for the music scene in Williamsburg.

Bob Dylan made a rare television appearance last night, performing his Oscar-winning song “Things Have Changed” at the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony for Michael Douglas. To watch Dylan’s performance, click here. His voice doesn’t sound too good, but I don’t think I’ve seen Dylan’s electric guitar chops quite like this before.

Beth Ditto took a break from her Katy Perry bashing of late to give us this little quote about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs: “Gossip were a band before they were, but they became bigger much quicker. Why? Because Karen O’s conventional beauty is a tool.”

Finally, check out Pitchfork’s interview with Arcade Fire’s Win Butler and Spoon’s Britt Daniel on their respective relationships with Merge Records here.

The Beastie Boys rallied anticipation recently for their forthcoming album Hot Sauce Committee by boasting all-star guest appearances from Nas, Santigold, and Bob Dylan. Sure, a sample of Dylan’s “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” did appear on “Finger Lickin’ Good” from 1992’s Check Your Head, but a full collaboration with the Beastie Boys just sounded too good to be true. It turns out that you will hear Dylan’s voice on their new record, but it’s really just a sample from his Theme Time Radio Hour show and it won’t be on Part 1 (due out Sept. 15).

“Bob Dylan is guesting on …Pt 2,” Ad-Rock told Drowned In Sound, “He talks about us. More of a spoken word thing.” MCA added, “We sampled his ass.” And Mike D finally clarified the whole thing with, “He has a radio show on satellite and he was speaking about Beastie Boys… So we collaborated with that.”

A spoken word sample by Dylan still sounds pretty cool. If it all works out, maybe “one of the first b-boys” will get a Pixar gig or something.