first fugazi shows I ever went to. unwound one night, I think unrest the next?

Kill Taker had just come out. they played cassavettes. I remember someone yelling out "who is Gena Rowlands?" there was no google and us kids hadn't gone to film school yet. seems quaint that we learned stuff like this by yelling it at the band on stage.

This recording sounds great and was a pleasure to listen to.

This recording and the next one present Fugazi's two-night stint (some sources mention a three-night event but seem to have gotten their facts mixed up) at the Roseland Ballroom, a famed New York City venue that eventually closed its doors on April 6, 2014, with Lady Gaga playing the venue's final six shows.
Browsing the internet soon learns that this particular venue, with a 3,500 capacity and as such not only cut out for up-and-coming bands as well as for more established bands looking to generate a bit of a hype, definitely left its mark in the pages of history.
For instance, according to a recent article by Ray Wadell (http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/touring/5763099/roseland-ballroom-historic-nyc-venue-closing-in-april-breaking), "[t]he venerable venue, owned by developer Larry Ginsberg and booked by Live Nation, opened at its 52nd street location, a converted skating rink, in 1958 and is a sentimental favorite for many bands. The history of the venue in New York dates back to 1919, when it was located at 51st and Broadway, and prior to that in Philadelphia."
(...)

(...)
The author continues that the Roseland Ballroom evolved from ballroom dancing in its early days in New York City to popular music, and has been a favoured stomping ground for a wide range of bands. Moreover, following a $1 million renovation in the early 1990s, funded by Ginsberg, the venue is stated to have stepped up its game, which resulted in more high profile bookings including bands such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana or even the Rolling Stones, Madonna and Radiohead occasionally scaling down to more select audiences. It leads the author to conclude that "the move to close is likely related more to property values than the venue’s bottom line."
At the time of these recordings, Fugazi toured in support of their third full-length album In On The Kill Taker, released on June 30, 1993. An album that reportedly "became the group's first record to enter the Billboard album charts, received critical praise from Spin, TIME magazine and Rolling Stone, sold 180,000 copies in its first week of release and subsequently became the band's breakthrough album."
Even though the band never relied on cut-and-dried set lists and as such never necessarily adhered to playing songs to promote any specific album, it can be noted that, between these two gigs in New York City, Fugazi did perform the entire In On The Kill Taker album, with the exception of the elusive 23 Beats Off. Overall, some 18 songs were played on the first night, and 20 songs on the second night, with 8 songs overlapping. In total, 4 songs are taken from the Steady Diet of Nothing album, 6 songs from Repeater, 4 songs from the 7 Songs EP, 3 from the Margin Walker EP and another 2 songs from the 3 Songs seven inch.
(...)

(...)
Basically, I think everything really came together musically on both nights, and I feel this reflects in the set lists, which flow in a natural, organic kind of way. Ultimately, it results in a number of remarkable, and at times even unexpected yet highly forceful combinations, such as Latin Roots into Reclamation, Repeater into Public Witness Program, Joe #1 into Exit Only or Promises into Glueman. Actually, the whole Waiting Room - Break-In - Bad Mouth sequence is so damn infectious it is ridiculous. It has me laughing out loud every single time I listen to it and makes me want to veer off the walls.
Listening to these recordings over and over again, I feel the band hit the proverbial ball out of the park and into the stratosphere. In my opinion, the interplay is virtually flawless, each song delivered with a passion that will surely get under your skin. I am talking a phenomenal power play, scorched-earth. As such, I'd be hard-pressed to pick highlights, since the list goes on and on in this particular case. I will add that the recording of the second night includes the most obliterating live rendering of my favourite Fugazi song to date, Glueman. And what I love about it as well is how this ending, which seemingly leaves the band devastated and utterly spent, contrasts yet at the same time complements the drawn out serene set closer of the preceding night, Sweet and Low.
(...)

(...)
Note that the focus on both nights is essentially on all things music, with not much going on terms of stage banter. If anything, most interruptions relate to the issue of stage diving and especially crowdsurfing, an MTV infused phenomenon which appears to have been particularly persistent since this 1993 tour, marring a fair number of Fugazi gigs.
Still, it is entertaining to hear how both Guy and Ian tackle such nuisance. While Guy tries to motivate people to make use of the vertical space by means of the pogo, Ian rather typically chooses to berate his clientele: "This guy is so radical... you're awesome, did I see you at Lollapalooza? I think so... yeah like 25.000 fucking times I saw you there", "...Or you could take door number 2 which is we will personally give you $5 and escort you to the door, 'cause no amount of money is worth having fucking idiots like you in the room."
In the light of everything I just mentioned, it doesn't come out of left field that yet another attempt was made on this particular occasion to sign Fugazi to a major record label. Or, as acclaimed photographer and friend of the band Glen E. Friedman recalls in his incredible book "Keep Your Eyes Open: The Fugazi Photographs": "If my memory serves me this was the show where I witnessed, the legendary music mogul Ahmet Ertegün [A/N: co-founder of Atlantic Records] coming backstage to get this 'unsignable' (really uninterested) group to sign with him. He offered them 'Anything you want' and said, 'Last time I did this was when I offered the Rolling Stones their own record label and $10 million'. Of course Fugazi politely declined, and Ian then changed the subject and continued to talk to Ertegün about their shared love of Washington, DC."
(...)

(...)
As it turns out, these particular concerts sparked the presence of another friend and artist documenting the events, as New York City-based film maker Jem Cohen (he can be seen in the fourth picture included above) and his crew set up at Roseland as well to shoot live segments for the tremendous Fugazi documentary "Instrument", released in March 1999 (video) and November 2001 (DVD), which features 10 years (1987-1997) worth of concert excerpts, interviews, tour footage, band practices, studio scenes, portraits and landscapes. Snippets of this documentary can be retraced through Youtube, displaying, for instance, stellar performances of Great Cop (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_6yq7LFfeg), Last Chance for a Slow Dance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWaANofIU6M) or the aforementioned Glueman (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgI1OPcJxG8).
To conclude, I think that the sound quality of both recordings is admittedly very good and overall quite well balanced, with few minor sonic discrepancies. However, do note that the mix of the first recording only settles a couple of songs in, during Latin Roots, and that Ian's first couple of lines get buried during Facet Squared.
That pretty much wraps it up in a nutshell. Now someone like, reblog, share or comment on this. Or better yet, get your hands on a legitimate download of these recordings and have a go at shaking your ass off.

This was the first show I ever attended. I lost my voice, broke my glasses, and got a bloody nose; BEST SHOW EVER!

This was perhaps the best show I've ever been to, ever. And I'd consider myself a casual fan at best at the time. I can't believe there's a recording of it!