#fls1988

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Fugazi @ Democrazy, Gent, Belgium 10/16/88 - Photo © by Stef Smits

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Fugazi, Washington, DC USA 12/29/88 (FLS #0092)

With over 3 million views on Youtube (and a multiple feature in the Instrument documentary by Jem Cohen), the December 29, 1988 homecoming show at the Wilson Center in D.C., or at least this particular live rendering of Waiting Room can most definitely be considered iconic and another milestone performance.

It is the fifth Fugazi appearance at the legendary venue, which took place only a couple of days after the band concluded a long, strenuous tour through Europe as well as the Margin Walker recording session in London.

The occasion turned out to be a benefit for the National Coalition for the Homeless, put together by Positive Force D.C., and presented a remarkable bill which also included another personal favourite of mine, Soul Side.

In their book Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation’s Capital, Mark Andersen of Positive Force and Mark Jenkins reminisce: “As Soul Side played, PF workers at the front door were nearly overwhelmed. Over 1000 people had shown up, the largest Wilson Center punk crowd ever. While both Verbal Assault and Soul Side had sizeable followings, the vast majority of people came to see Fugazi. In its first DC show since the release of its [7 Songs] EP [in November 1988], the band had unexpectedly doubled its audience.”

Anticipating possible mishaps, Ian addresses the dynamics of the unexpected yet historic turnout right off the bat: “I’m going to beg, cajole, plead with the people up front to be a little more caring of each other because all night I’ve been watching people get their heads smashed right about here. Now I know we live in a democracy - or what you might think is a ‘democracy’ - so I’m sure people will say, ‘Hey man, it’s my right to jump and land on people’s heads all night long’. Fair enough, but how many people would just as soon they didn’t jump on their fucking heads all night?”

Greeted by loud cheers, the band then soon eases into Reprovisional which not only turns out to be the live premiere of the song which had been recorded at the Margin Walker session in December 1988 (titled Provisional, with single guitar composition), but also presents the first time Guy tries to play guitar with the band in a concert setting. Unfortunately, problems with his guitar amplifier a couple of chords into the song ultimately prevent Guy from further using his guitar, after which the band takes another stab at the song with Guy just focusing on the lead vocals.

As it turns out, this performance at the Wilson Center includes another song premiere from the Margin Walker sessions as the band busts out a full version of Promises, a song that had only partly been showcased in the course of the preceding European tour, mostly as an instrumental. Lyrically, Ian relates the song to the persisting problems of the homeless in D.C. and elsewhere, and the countless bullshit promises made by politicians over the years.

Listening to this digital recording, or watching the footage of a number of songs that circulate on the internet, you can easily pick up that people attending the packed gig actually know most of the songs, that they sing along at the top of their lungs and dance to their heart’s content in the confined space they find themselves in, all without engaging in violence.

In this regard it is revealing that the band had ventured to Arlington’s Inner Ear Studios as soon as January 1988 to lay down 11 tracks. Although this First Demo hasn’t seen a proper, official release until very recently, November 18, 2014, limited-edition cassettes of the demo sessions were distributed and changed hands soon after, familiarising the growing number of enthusiasts with the songs as Fugazi swiftly gained a foothold.

Or as Ian quips right after Song #1, “What, have you guys been trading tapes or something… What’s going on I hear… If anybody here owns an unauthorised copy of a Fugazi tape, we’re gonna sue you. Hand them up, come on, over to the front, let’s go, all those tapes.”

It all makes for a blistering, at times hair-raising experience as the momentum quickly builds and both band and audience continually feed off each other. Highlights are plenty, and include no holds barred renderings of Bad Mouth, Bulldog Front, Waiting Room, and a cathartic Glueman.

Also, this particular version of Suggestion - featuring D.C. affiliate and Fire Party member Amy Pickering on guest vocals - just might be the proverbial icing on the cake. About halfway through the performance, Amy withdraws to the side of the stage after which Ian steps up to the mic and relates the song, which is usually about rape, to something else which had been brought to his attention.

The cheers from the crowd intensify as he decisively speaks out, his voice rising, “I read in the paper the other day about some young men, some ‘boys’ who were beating up homosexual men in a park. I read in the paper the other day about some young men, some ‘boys’ who were beating up gay men in a park. Let me tell you something now, I don’t give a fuck what you are, but you do not beat up people for being gay, you do not beat up people for being black, you do not beat up people for being women, you - do - not - beat - up - people - period.”

My only gripe with this live recording basically is that the sound quality unfortunately is below average due to lots of treble, and as such only hints at the sheer energy, intensity and raw power of the events that played out on this particular night in time.

Still, for a great number of reasons addressed above, this recording undoubtedly is worth checking out.

The set list:

1. Intro 2. Reprovisional 3. Song #1 4. Interlude 1 5. Bad Mouth 6. Interlude 2 7. Margin Walker 8. Bulldog Front 9. Interlude 3 10. Promises 11. Suggestion 12. Lockdown 13. Give Me The Cure 14. Interlude 4 15. Waiting Room 16. Interlude 5 17. Burning Too 18. Interlude 6 19. Glueman 20. Outro

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Fugazi, Wigan, England, 12/01/88 (FLS #0088)

As their very first European tour slowly draws to an end, Fugazi finds itself in Wigan, England. Both Ian’s and Guy’s voices are pretty much “sore and finished” by now, yet the band still manages to muster the energy to bust out another set.

Things pick up slowly as the band leisurely performs an instrumental while Ian addresses the peculiarity of the situation at hand, which seems to relate to the fact that only a handful of people came out of the woodwork to watch Fugazi play.

Band and audience never quite warm to each other on this particular occasion and things really hit rock bottom when Guy vents his frustration because someone appeared to have cut glass on his hat. If anything, it does result in a standout rendering of Burning.

Other highlights include Margin Walker, as it is one of the most coherent early versions I have heard so far, even though Guy’s voice is a bit low in the mix at this point.

Not including the introductory jam, 14 songs get played, although it can be mentioned that Glueman cuts off untimely.

The sound quality of the recording is okay, plain and simple, not considering some nasty reverb and volume drops marring Lockdown.

A video of the show circulates on the internet and is featured above. It showcases a good portion of the gig yet is disrupted after Turn Off Your Guns, which is actually the very last live performance of this song to date.

The set list:

1. Intro 2. Song #1 3. Interlude 1 4. Burning Too 5. Interlude 2 6. Bulldog Front 7. Interlude 3 8. Lockdown 9. Interlude 4 10. Furniture 11. Turn Off Your Guns 12. Interlude 5 13. Margin Walker 14. Break-In 15. Interlude 6 16. In Defense of Humans 17. Waiting Room 18. Give Me The Cure 19. Burning 20. Interlude 7 21. Merchandise 22. Interlude 8 23. Glueman

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Fugazi, Rotterdam, Netherlands 10/14/88 (FLS #0053)

This show at the Chill Up in Rotterdam, the Netherlands can be considered a bit of an adventure for the band for various reasons.

For example, it marked the beginning of the first European Fugazi tour ever. For about two months (mid October till mid December 1988) Fugazi would hit no less than 39 stages in 13 European countries. 15 of these shows seem to have been recorded and, as mentioned, this is the first one.

Further, while Fugazi had been turning heads and generating a buzz in the United States and D.C. especially since its inception in 1987, the band now found itself on another continent and new territory altogether, and as such had yet to find out how people would react to this new band and its unconventional sound especially. Something that might have been particularly challenging on this occasion, considering the headlining band.

Indeed, Fugazi did not headline this gig but opened for Extreme Noise Terror, and while some similarities between the two bands can be noted (both bands feature dual vocalists and are politically outspoken), the differences are even more obvious.

While Fugazi tried to break the hardcore and punk mold, exploring different rhythmic ways of delivering its politically inclined yet more subtle lyrical message, Extreme Noise Terror is a British band originally known for its pioneering role in the crust punk and grindcore genres, basically steamrolling its listeners (at least at the time) with brutal vocals, grinding guitars, aggressive political content and songs delivered at breakneck speed.

However, the recording does not reveal any real problems or particular incidents in this regard. Yet it does seem to indicate that Ian and Guy find the audience a bit impervious, if anything. The result is a gig that features hardly any banter, and an explicit attempt by Ian to engage those present in a bit of a discussion turns out to be pretty much fruitless.

Still, the performance by the band itself is quite solid overall, although maybe a tad rushed at times, and definitely worth checking out. In this regard, it can be noted that the introductory segment of the recording consists of an instrumental little ditty which sounds familiar to me, yet I can’t put my finger on its familiarity exactly.

Also, this show documents the live premiere of Lockdown, a song recorded in England during the Margin Walker sessions right after this European tour at Southern Studios in December 1988 and released as part of the Margin Walker EP on vinyl in June 1989 and again in October 1989 as part of the 13 Songs compilation CD.

Even though Fugazi played some of the arrangements of the song as early as December 1987 (see FLS #0008; Wilson Center, Washington, DC USA 12/03/87), you now get a full version that holds up well live. And quite remarkably, it is included in the set list of all 15 available European live recordings.

For the record, it can be noted as well that Suggestion is played without the breakdown guitar part and as such ties in with the studio take of the song and the live performance at the dc space a couple of months prior (see FLS #0049; Washington, DC USA 8/01/88).

Although the sound quality of the recording is rated “poor” on the Live Series website, I’d rate is as “good” personally, since the vocals and instruments sound okay in the mix overall and are clearly discernible. The audience on the contrary is low in the mix, which renders the live experience less dynamic in my opinion.

EDIT - the familiar sounding instrumental I referred to above seems to have been played on a number of occasions during the 1988 European tour and is part of a provisional tune that is dubbed “Heart on My Chest” in the set list of a later recording (see FLS #0065; Bielefeld, Germany 10/31/88).

The set list:

1. Intro 2. Song #1 3. Bad Mouth 4. Burning 5. Merchandise 6. Interlude 1 7. Give Me The Cure 8. Suggestion 9. Burning Too 10. Margin Walker 11. Waiting Room 12. Lockdown 13. Interlude 2 14. The Word 15. Glueman 16. Outro

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Fugazi, Hoboken, NJ USA 6/30/88 (FLS #0044)

Photo © Glen E. Friedman

This is the first time Fugazi played Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey, “a tiny space that’s hosted some of the biggest names in music for more than 30 years”, according to Joel Rose.

A venue loved by many, both artists and fans, that unfortunately closed its doors in the summer of 2013 as rising rents in Hoboken have driven a lot of the club’s fans out of the neighbourhood and parking is more difficult than ever, Joel Rose concludes in his July 30, 2013 article “Maxwell’s, The Beloved New Jersey Venue, Closes”.

It seems the venue has always been a Fugazi favourite as well. For instance, Brendan discloses in an interview with Billboard in 2007 that “[w]e’ve turned down a lot of money in the past to do things we weren’t comfortable with. Fugazi would get together to play Maxwell’s [in Hoboken, N.J.]. We wouldn’t get together to play Coachella. No amount of money would get us out of our houses.”

As it happens, this is also the gig that the live photos on the outer and inner sleeves of the first Fugazi 7 Songs EP come from, as acclaimed photographer and friend of the band Glen E. Friedman attended the show and shot several tremendous signature band photographs.

Even though the sound quality of the recording is not excellent, it is still quite inviting. It documents a band on form, delivering a striking performance. Overall, I enjoyed Brendan’s drumming especially, as he bangs away on his skins, adding some delicious drum fills here and there.

An introductory request to “check any violence or misbehaving, or bad macho behaviour and so forth at the door” is followed by Song #1. It’s a solid take on the song, aside from some guitar tuning issues. Furniture and Bulldog Front ensue and hold up well live as per usual.

Keep Your Eyes Open is featured early on in the set this time, and even though I personally think it usually works better towards the end of the gig or right before an encore, it sounds tremendous here and lights up this particular show. It’s a bit of an extended version of the song as Ian adds some words and thoughts while the band jams away leisurely.

Burning, an all time personal favourite, is another highlight of the recording in my book. Brendan and Guy provide the backbone of the song and shine on this one, while Joe’s controlled bass lines contrast spectacularly with Ian’s soaring guitar play.

The live staple Waiting Room is pleasing as always and followed by a superb rendering of Give Me The Cure. Ian and Guy actually extend the intro to the song while Brendan tries to remedy some problems with his snare drum.

A powerful rendition of Suggestion is up next, as Ian elaborates on the origin of the song to set the mood and the band then delivers a blistering, yet musically and lyrically somewhat improvised performance to drive its meaning and importance home.

Interestingly, in his December 1, 2011 article “Full Disclosure: Fugazi’s Best Live Moments, Remembered”, author Daoud Tyler-Ameen quotes Ted Leo (of Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Chisel and a number of other bands) as reminiscing imaginatively: “The usual confrontations with the crowd over slamming came to a head toward the end of the quiet breakdown in the song ‘Suggestion’. The walls were dripping with sweat and practically heaving, as if the room was the interior of a giant heart, beating through the most important hour of its life, and Ian said something simple like, 'Here comes the breakdown.’ And an angry skin in the middle of the pit said back, 'Can we dance to this part?’ Ian looks him in the eye and says, rising from a spoken question to a scream, moving upward as the music surges to a crescendo along with his voice, 'Why don’t you listen for JUST! ONE! SECOOOOOOOOOOND!’ They crashed into the chorus off that, and the room exploded.”

Although naturally not completely accurate from what can be retraced from the actual recording, Leo’s recollection of the events does seem to portray the gist of what went down that particular night in 1988.

And things do not let up from here, as another fervent yet spot-on version of Break-In follows suit and merges seamlessly into Bad Mouth. Unfortunately there are some mismatched beats at the beginning of the latter, and the song is cut short as well, probably because the tape was turned at this point.

Ian then announces that the band will play two more songs as he’s sure everyone “is getting ready to hit the hay” adding that “sleeping is good for you”. He introduces The Word, a song about “common sense” and it is hands down one of the best versions of the song I have heard so far; the alternating vocals that build up to the climax are superb. And it is funny to boot, since Ian and Guy ingeniously follow up on the little discussion about sleep, suggesting “the word is… sleep” and “the word is… stay awake”.

After the song, Ian continues that “the word of course is change” and that he has a dime and a penny in his hand, that people throw it at the band because they are calling for change, yet that the joke is outdated and that people need “to work up some new material” since it’s been done since the song Screaming for Change by Uniform Choice.

A great yet pretty much straightforward version of Glueman is served as show closer and once again completes the live performance of the 7 Songs EP as it did the previous show (see FLS #0043; Washington, DC USA 6/15/88).

The set list:

1. Intro 2. Song #1 3. Furniture 4. Interlude 1 5. Bulldog Front 6. Interlude 2 7. KYEO 8. Interlude 3 9. Burning 10. Interlude 4 11. Waiting Room 12. Give Me The Cure 13. Interlude 5 14. Suggestion 15. Interlude 6 16. Break-In 17. Bad Mouth 18. Interlude 7 19. The Word 20. Encore 21. Glueman 22. Outro

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Fugazi, College Station, TX USA 5/26/88 (FLS #0036)

Out of four shows in Texas on their first US tour, this is the only gig that seems to have been recorded by the band. And from what I can make out, Fugazi is pretty much on form, delivering yet another convincing performance, easily swaying a good deal of souls in the city of College Station.

Per contra, the unfortunate truth of the matter is that the sound quality of the recording is too damn poor to enjoy much of it. Alas.

The set list:

1. Intro 2. Furniture 3. Interlude 1 4. Song #1 5. Interlude 2 6. Give Me The Cure 7. Interlude 3 8. Merchandise 9. Interlude 4 10. Burning 11. Interlude 5 12. Suggestion 13. Interlude 6 14. Bad Mouth 15. Break-In 16. Interlude 7 17. The Word 18. Interlude 8 19. Glueman 20. Outro

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Fugazi, Annapolis, MD USA 2/06/88 (FLS #0013)

Even though I listened to this recording repeatedly to let it sink in, it still doesn’t sit quite well with me. I think mainly because of the acoustics being somewhat off and a distinct echo on the vocals during most of the show, which results in a bit of a sterile listening experience. This is unfortunate since the band adds a new song to the live repertoire as Burning (officially released in 1988 as part of the 7 Songs EP) starts this gig off (Guy changes a couple of lines, yet I can’t quite figure out the words he uses). Solid performances of And the Same and Merchandise follow suit. Ian then addresses some of the dancing and everyone’s safety. Song #1 doesn’t go down well this time around and sounds cluttered. Fortunately the performance picks up again for the next couple of songs, Furniture and In Defense of Humans. Joe then strikes up the by now familiar and pumping bass line of Waiting Room while Ian strolls down memory lane, musing on some of the good times he spent in Annapolis. The band then takes a stab at Break-In and although they finish the song, Ian breaks a string in the process. Brendan and Joe play around for a bit with the arrangements for Lockdown during Interlude 7, after which Break-In is performed once more, this time with guitar. Amy Pickering, a long time DC affiliate and member of Fire Party, joins the band on vocals for an intense rendering of Suggestion, during which Ian seizes the opportunity to address (the tough-guy attitude of) some of the attendees, asking his brother Alec to walk away from what appears to be a confrontation as well. Note that Suggestion still features a guitar breakdown at the end of the song at this point in time (something Ian never seems to get quite right), and as such differs from the studio recording of the song as well as subsequent live recordings. An extended and improvised rendering of The Word provides for a lively set and show closer, even though Ian flubs part of the guitar part and a banshee seems to get hold of the mic for a couple of seconds. The set list: 1. Burning 2. And The Same 3. Merchandise 4. Interlude 1 5. Song #1 6. Interlude 2 7. Furniture 8. Interlude 3 9. In Defense of Humans 10. Interlude 4 11. Waiting Room 12. Interlude 5 13. Break-In 14. Interlude 6 15. Interlude 7 16. Break-In 17. Suggestion 18. The Word 19. Outro