The best version of Sweet and Low I've heard, possibly the best of any Fugazi song.

This is pretty much the only Fugazi live recording I have been listening to these last couple of months. It documents events which played out more than twenty-five years ago in Firenze, Italy, yet it has not lost a shred of its relevance, importance and urgency since.

The year is 2020 right now, and as racism, fascism, authoritarianism and related -isms go full beast-mode, I find comfort, meaning, and hope in this recording, which, besides a great sounding and well-performed gig overall, features a very powerful and definitely uplifting rendering of Sweet and Low to close out this particular night in Firenze history.

Imagine Guy and Ian hitting the opening notes on their guitars while Brendan plays a bit off the rim when all of a sudden the audience hijacks the instrumental, their voices growing louder and louder singing Bella Ciao in unison, a song that quite recently became popular (again) through the acclaimed Netflix series La Casa de Papel or The Money Heist, but dates back much further and particularly appears to have gained traction as an anthem of the anti-fascist partisans fighting the Nazi occupation during the Second World War (1939-1945).

In this context, Bella Ciao essentially tells the story of a partisan, saying goodbye to his beautiful woman or girlfriend in the morning and leaving to fight the invader, dying doing so and requesting his fellow combatants to bury him up in the mountains under the shadow of a beautiful flower, “the flower of the partisan who died for freedom.”

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Once the Firenze audience concludes its lyrical voyage, Joe gently leads the band and listeners into the rest of Sweet and Low to end the set, after which Ian thanks everyone present “for the most beautiful thing all night”, as a token of the band’s profound appreciation. Some more words of praise are dedicated to the fabulous space itself (this show traces back to the first out of just two times Fugazi would play the city of Firenze with both shows taking place at the CPA), as well as to the state of the toilets (”toilets are our friends”).

Other things of note include the Red Medicine rarity Combination Lock as set opener here, which appears to have been played live just once in 1994 and merely 20 times in 1995 before being put on the shelf indefinitely (6 times on US soil, and 14 times in Europe), the debut EP consecutive quartet (Ian notably struggles with an out of tune guitar, but it does add to the authenticity of the moment) and a very strong encore altogether.

Presented are 22 songs total, taken off of Red Medicine (8), In on the Kill Taker (3), Steady Diet of Nothing (3), Repeater (3), the Margin Walker EP (1) and debut 7 Songs EP (4).

Strong versions of Styrofoam, and an indeed epic conclusion with Promises and Sweet and Low. Well worth a purchase.

hello daniel. the recording may be almost 20 years old, but the work and expense that has gone into creating this site is current and ongoing. if you're really feeling light in your pocket, then select the $1 amount on the "different price" feature above. if you really can't put a buck towards the project, ask a friend to download the show and get a copy. -FLS

Also, why don't yall put it all out in pub domain. 20 years is a lot. Can't we have it after that?

If not then, then when? Think on it.