the band at this gig also stopped mid-song to let a stage diver jump with no soundtrack, the crowd went silent and you could hear the thud as he hit the deck.. i was there.

I was there, I remember that guy!

Following just one performance in Auckland in 1991, 1993 is the year some other places in New Zealand got to experience Fugazi live for the first time as well, and it turns out it has been a memorable string of shows, 5 total, which fortunately - unlike the preceding dates in Australia - sound great for the most part.

This Christchurch gig is certainly the most confrontational, tumultuous show of the New Zealand stretch. Listen close as the patience of both Ian and Guy wears thin because of stage-diving issues and a bunch of “vocal” patrons up front, persistently shouting Minor Threat songs and lyrics.

At one point, Ian has about enough and decides to give one of them a refund before escorting him personally to the door, but after a heart-to-heart back stage, the guy decides to stay and sits out the show on the side of the stage.

This recording presents a total of 21 live tracks, with Kill Taker providing most of the meal (9), followed by Repeater (4), Steady Diet (3), the 7 Songs debut EP (3) and Margin Walker EP (2).

Overall, a cool show and solid performance. Note that Guy uses the “I said it was true, I fuck like Marilyn Monroe” line going into Sieve-Fisted Find, a line he’d been using on and off and that had me puzzled for a long time, until Guy finally cleared up the reference for me:

“The Marilyn Monroe thing on “Sieve-Fisted” would certainly have been an allusion to the song “My Mother Looked Like Marilyn Monroe” by Tommy Keene. Our producer Ted Niceley was his bass player and he had played in the band Razz which was one of the first local bands I saw when I was super young. I was a big fan of his stuff and loved that song particularly.”

Part of the breakdown of Suggestion is missing, unfortunately. Promises certainly is a highlight, and flows naturally into a mesmerizing rendering of Sweet and Low, which clocks in at no less than 5:52 minutes this time (while the studio take runs for about 3:36 minutes).