For anyone familiar with the sublime Fugazi documentary "Instrument" by Jem Cohen, this show is iconic.
The movie features a segment of this particular gig, in which the camera focuses on Guy's back as he is hunched over Brendan's drum kit, swaying his upper body back and forth with hanging head while Ian bursts into the opening jigsaw guitar chords of Glueman.
Guy then propels himself through a basketball hoop to deliver his opening lines "I - I spent it all - On the bag - On the drag". It is this famed scene that is portrayed in the picture shown here.
Unfortunately, from the set list it is clear that the recording of the show is incomplete since it only includes 7 songs (note that Suggestion is cut short as well) and there is not a single trace of Glueman.
Further, the quality of this recording is notably impaired as the drums sound hollow, the bass is virtually nonexistent in the mix and the presence of the audience can hardly be discerned.
Also, from what I gather, the band seems to be confronted with a lukewarm crowd, which additionally hampers the efforts.
Even though I did enjoy the takes on Burning and Furniture, I'd suggest checking out other recordings which do the band more justice.
I attended this early Fugazi show, which was held in a small ymca gymnasium. It was my first Fugazi show, but I caught them on every other trip to Philly that they made. I have been searching and waiting for some recording and/or video to show up ever since.
While this photo is iconic, I was much more amazed when Guy dropped from the hoop shortly thereafter onto the drums in the finale, and Brendan continued to play even as his drums were cascading all over the place.
He spent it all, alright.
I also spoke to Ian for the first time at this show. Right after the show, he was being interviewed for a local fanzine at the time, and his thread-bare and sweat-saturated t-shirt literally disintegrated as he tried to remove it.
"Damn, that was my favorite shirt."
Classic show.
1. | Intro | |
2. | Burning Too | |
3. | Song #1 | |
4. | Burning | |
5. | Furniture | |
6. | Interlude 1 | |
7. | Merchandise | |
8. | Interlude 2 | |
9. | Give Me The Cure | |
10. | Interlude 3 | |
11. | Suggestion |
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.
I was at this show and when Guy climbed through the hoop and started singing, I got the chills, still do when thinking about it. Such a powerful moment!! Love these guys.