Here we have Fugazi’s 1993 “Minneapolis rock ‘n’ roll triptych” or the “First Avenue Fugazi extravaganza”, played with another D.C. band, Unrest, on three consecutive nights (see also FLS #0550 & FLS #0551).

Over the years, Fugazi played the city of Minneapolis ten times, out of which no less than eight shows took place at the First Avenue, “one of the longest running independently owned and operated clubs in the United States, as well as one of the most celebrated.”

The set lists are varied and draw from all available recordings at the time, though favouring the In on the Kill Taker album which would see its release about a month down the line.

Not considering a handful of First Demo cuts, i.e. Furniture (temporarily shelved between May 1989 and November 1998), The Word (shelved since November 1988), Turn Off Your Guns (shelved since December 1988) and In Defense of Humans (shelved since May 1990), Fugazi well-nigh performed their complete catalogue live between these three gigs.

Both the self-titled debut or 7 Songs EP and the Margin Walker EP are featured in their entirety here, as well as a full rendering of the In on the Kill Taker album, including the elusive 23 Beats Off. The Repeater album, 3 Songs 7 inch and Steady Diet of Nothing full-length are in heavy rotation as well, with just 3 songs missing (Greed, Break-In and the white whale Polish respectively).

Basically, the sound quality of all three recordings is outstanding, the mix well balanced, the vocals and instrumentation crisp and clear. I did notice a handful of glitches or volume dropouts (by the end of the first recording, cf. Blueprint, Sweet and Low, as well as in the course of the third recording), but these might be due to an incidental faulty conversion of the files through iTunes after downloading. Consequently, these recordings are a pleasure to listen to and veraciously document the band in a good mood, performing with precision and vigor.

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Banter is scarce, yet the audience welcoming and participating, which doesn’t go unnoticed as Ian comments, “we’re like seven weeks into this tour, this is the first crowd over 200 that didn’t have one person go up on other people’s heads, that is totally amazing ‘cause that is one of the most tedious things we’ve ever seen, you guys are totally fucking cool, thank you”).

Personal highlights from the first recording (“a more than special EARLY matinee concert”) include 23 Beats Off merging seamlessly and naturally into Burning, Turnover, or Long Division (the buildup and increase in volume, notably the bass, is really cool).

Stand-out cuts from the second night are a straight-forward version of Reprovisional exceptionally opening the set, Sieve-Fisted Find, Give Me The Cure (note that Ian comes in a little bit later on guitar, adding to the dynamics of the song), Brendan ringing the cowbell, the impromptu little jam leading into the encore, and another incredible rendering of Shut the Door clocking in at 8 + (!) minutes.

As to the recording documenting the third gig (“an added EARLY evening concert”), the set opener Steady Diet (one of few live performances in 1993) is particularly memorable in my book, as are a delicately paced yet fierce performance of Returning The Screw (featuring what appears to be the only altercation in the course of three nights because of someone crowd-surfing), Promises and the killer encore in its entirety (Glueman is fucking obliterating).

To conclude, it can be noted that the mesmerizing Sweet and Low instrumental rather unusually finishes up the three consecutive nights.

Was this the show where Guy cussed some rowdy folks out for being tough guys? He started ranting on about seeing them outside before the show, "-and you were eating ice cream! I saw you guys! You're making like you're all tough, but I saw you Ice Cream Eaters!" It's been over twenty years and that still cracks me up.

This was my first -- and, unfortunately, only -- Fugazi show! I'm hoping this one will be posted soon!

My first Fugazi show. Can't wait for a copy!