This recording presents the second gig of the 1988 European Fugazi tour, and it is set at the Troll venue in Hoorn, the Netherlands.
In general, I pretty much prefer the audience being audible in the mix as is the case here, since I feel it usually adds to the dynamics of the listening experience and often turns out to be quite revealing regarding the mood and course of the events.
I think it engages the listener more as a witness, adding details and some proverbial colour to the image of what it actually might have been like to have been there.
And I find this is especially the case with Fugazi, a band that strongly feeds off spontaneous occurrences and chance happenings.
Sometimes, when the chemistry is there and it all comes together, it can truly make a gig stand out and even listening to the recorded document overwhelming.
But of course at other times, as you pick up easily on trivial small talk left and right through a good part of the songs, it soon starts to annoy, which I am afraid is a bit the case here, at least up until Give Me The Cure. The patience of the band wears thin because of it, as Ian's repeated remarks indicate.
The result is a recording of a gig that is definitely less explosive than it could have been, and therefore I feel somewhat ambivalent about it.
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Still, things do pick up gradually and it has to be noted that the audience raises a ruckus to get the band to play 4 more songs for the encore after Glueman already concluded a full set, which by 1988 standards consists of some 12 songs. As a result, this is also one of the longer performances of the first European tour, with no less than 17 songs in total.
Note that this gig premieres part of the song Promises (recorded in December 1988 during the Margin Walker sessions at the Southern and Greenhouse Studios in England and released on the Margin Walker EP and 13 Songs compilation CD in June 1989 and October 1989 respectively) as an instrumental to start things off and "to get the sound together".
Similar bits of instrumental can be heard on the recordings of the November 10, 1988 and November 24, 1988 shows in Linz, Austria (FLS #0073) and London, England (FLS #0082) respectively. The available material of the 1988 Euro tour actually only includes one full version of Promises, which can be retraced on the recording of the October 31, 1988 gig in Bielefeld, Germany (FLS #0065).
Further, it can be noted that the lyrics to the version of Margin Walker (a song released as part of the aforementioned s/t EP) presented here are still a work in progress. Well that, or maybe Guy just flubbed part of his lines.
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My personal favourites of this particular show include Burning (even though Guy seems to admit he is a bit under the weather because of a cold), Waiting Room and Suggestion which trickles seamlessly into a spot-on rendering of Lockdown.
Keep Your Eyes Open is a treat as well, as it is deliberately paced, providing Ian with ample opportunity to draw a bead on people's impatience or inclination to engage in slam dancing.
Even though I can hardly imagine any song suitable to pick up the pace and pieces after the cathartic set closer that is Glueman, I have to admit the band busts out a pretty solid encore on this occasion in the form of a lively version of Merchandise, a slightly improvised rendering of Bad Mouth as Ian breaks two strings in the process yet finishes the song unperturbed, a solid version of Break-in and another highly enjoyable take on The Word.
Also, this recording once again includes part of a provisional tune that was played on a number of occasions during the 1988 European tour and which is dubbed "Heart On My Chest" in the set list of a later recording (see FLS #0065; Bielefeld, Germany 10/31/88).
To conclude, it can be mentioned that the overall sound quality of this bootleg is quite good. All instruments are clearly audible in the mix, yet the vocals are a bit on the trebly side of things.

This is one of the better sounding recordings from '88 and also has a great setlist. (although not as good quality as 10-6-88, which is actually the recording of 06-15-88) . This show is Highly recommended.