I was at this show, and all three shows. I actually only bought a ticket for one of the nights but I was flyering outside the venue for all three, and the other two nights I didn't have tickets for someone kindly gave me a spare ticket for one and put me on the guest list for the other. I've seen hundreds of bands live but Fugazi is still the best live performance I've ever seen. I was only 16 at the time and broke, but I ended up spending all my money buying every CD I didn't have at the merch table on the last night because I was so blown away.
holy shit I was at this gig, didn't realise till now it was the last time they played..literally 20 years to the day.
This recording features the last of three consecutive Fugazi gigs in as many nights at the Forum. I travelled to London with my best friend and brother to attend the shows on the previous nights. The third show featured right here was only added to the tour schedule at the very last minute, and for some reason that is beyond me at this point, we did not stick around for it.
I regret this choice still, since it turned out to be the last show played by my favourite band to this very day. Hence, listening closely as Ian asks the audience if anyone has pulled a hat-trick on these shows during the introductory remarks tastes bittersweet.
However, I am of course fortunate enough to be able to share in this live recording and have listened to it repeatedly ever since it was made available as part of the original hardcopy Live Series.
Basically, this is an overall virtually flawless and tight performance, with hardly any mistakes dotted around. Also, the sound quality is pretty much impeccable.
Still, this recording had to grow on me. Listening to it again just know, it strikes me that the band hardly engaged in dialogue or interaction with the audience all through the show, which I find unfortunate. Especially since Brendan, Guy, Joe and Ian must have known this would be their final public performance for the foreseeable future. But yet, no discernible mention in this regard is made during the show. No anecdotes or proverbial trip down memory lane. No mention of future projects.
(...)
(...)
What you do get are some words of praise for a local food joint, as has often been the case, before the band shifts into high gear and delves into an energetic burst of songs, that only lets up well into the set with Closed Captioned. Even though I have listened to a fair number of live recordings so far, the ending of this song still threw me off as it surprisingly trickles into Forensic Scene (from the guitar feedback, I very much expected Exit Only), which works really well as a combination.
The set list is quite varied and draws from all albums, except for the Furniture 7" and with (unfortunately) one song taken from my favourite album In On The Kill Taker. Even the Instrument soundtrack is marginally represented, as Joe dabbles with the bass lines of the instrumental Lusty Scripps during Encore 1. Personal highlights include Foreman's Dog, Stacks, Cashout, The Kill, Life And Limb, Blueprint and Version. As mentioned , Ian and Guy hardly waste any words this time around, aside from setting some reckless figures straight on a number of occasions, throwing in some birthday wishes and concluding with a handful of shout-outs.
My favourite Fugazi song Glueman not only brings this set and tour to a traditional close, but to this very day also ended the Fugazi chapter in the history of music. It makes me wonder what went through these gentlemen as they spent it all one last time. I guess I will never know.
Hello Bryan. That's Jerry Busher on the trumpet. He also plays second drums (i.e. Closed Captioned, Number 5, and Break). Jerry is a longtime friend from the DC punk scene (he was in Fidelity Jones along with number of other bands) and started traveling with the band as a roadie around 1995 and then started performing on a few of the songs in 1998. Jerry is also the person that has been mastering and editing the shows that have been posted on the site. -FLS
Who's playing brass instrument (trumpet or whatever) on Full Disclosure?
keep on rockin' in the free world
Holy shit! This is amazing.
Christ, the setlist.
Thank you, Ian, Brendan, Guy, Joe. Thank you so many times.
1. | Intro | |
2. | Brendan #1 | |
3. | Sieve-Fisted Find | |
4. | Greed | |
5. | Full Disclosure | |
6. | Reclamation | |
7. | Foreman's Dog | |
8. | Stacks | |
9. | Nightshop | |
10. | Closed Captioned | |
11. | Forensic Scene | |
12. | Cashout | |
13. | Margin Walker | |
14. | Waiting Room | |
15. | Break-In | |
16. | The Kill | |
17. | Birthday Pony | |
18. | Life and Limb | |
19. | Shut The Door | |
20. | Encore 1 | |
21. | Arpeggiator | |
22. | Smallpox Champion | |
23. | Epic Problem | |
24. | Encore 2 | |
25. | Blueprint | |
26. | Long Distance Runner | |
27. | Version | |
28. | Glueman |
Please Note: Available recordings have been mastered to correct for volume shifts, drop outs, etc. but some sonic anomalies will still exist, especially early in the set when the mix is being settled. The band has rated each show for sound quality and set the general price of a download at $5 per show. If you have a different price in mind feel free to utilize the alternative pricing option.
This recording clocks in at 1h40m, the sound quality is generally excellent and the performances are energetic and at times unusual. Many things stood out to me, including how Guy playing with the guitar tuner and the low guitar drone during Closed Captioned sounds like bagpipes, Jerry Busher's trumpet playing on Full Disclosure, Ian and Guy's crowd control raps at the start of margin walker when someone tries to climb the PA stack and later ("your ticket is well and truly punched, motherfucker", "I love you, you love me, now cut that stupid shit out... does anyone else want to be loved?"). There is one trip down memory lane about some girl whose neck was broken and was left paralysed by someone diving off the PA at a show in Los Angeles, at start of Margin Walker. The show includes several encores with the combination of Version and Gluman bringing the show to a fitting conclusion. 100% recommended.