There's an interesting article about the Silver Dollar here, including a brief interview with Ian MacKaye about this show: https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/silver-dollar-club-oral-history-downtown-phoenix-fugazi-green-day-phunk-junkeez-11520410
Three days after playing a memorable gig at Desert Fest in the Mojave desert in California and following their first appearance at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, Fugazi played a one-off concert in the state of Arizona, at the Silver Dollar Club in downtown Phoenix which reportedly has been torn down in 1993.
And as it turns out, this proved to be another unforgettable experience, maybe not so much in terms of performance (which overall is very dependable) as in terms of the events that went down. In this regard, see the side-notes and some of the comments below.
Note that the mix of the recording doesn’t really settle until Sieve-Fisted Find. As a result, the guitars, Guy’s guitar especially, and bass are rather difficult to discern during the first couple of songs. Once everything balances out, it sounds pretty good.
The chain-link fence goes down and subsequently is removed early on in the set, 1 minute and 46 seconds into Steady Diet, after which Blueprint gets things back in full swing.
About 1 minute and 16 seconds into Burning Too, Ian suddenly stops playing and the song continues without guitar for a bit, the dual vocals merely driven by drums and bass. After the song, Ian clarifies, "that’s what happens when you fall through a stage, that’s an incredible first, ladies and gentlemen, I've never fallen through a stage before and you were all here to see it." Guy tongue-in-cheek adds, "you in the back might not be able to notice but there is a gaping hole in the stage, whoever provided this stage can expect to hear from our lawyers."
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To add to the fun and merriment, Guy includes some more tour stories, "you know, the situation with the helicopter reminds me, we've been touring across America for the last month and a half, and the police have been caging our shows, like before we get to town we find out that our show is cancelled because the police are a little worried that too many youth will be assembled in one area, so, in Eugene, Oregon, believe it or not, they had a community meeting featuring local rabbis, community leaders, priests, concerned parents, and they cancelled our show, in San Diego they cancelled our show, so I guess there must be some kind of power involved in young people assembling."
Even more banter ensues, related to the Grand Canyon and a number of other things. It is also worth noting that the rendering of Suggestion is drawn out and includes a lengthy altercation between Ian, Guy and some knuckleheads in the audience. There is still more trouble to come, as Ian interrupts the set closer Glueman around 3 and a half minutes into the song so an injured person can get evacuated from the melee. Unfortunately, the song then looses momentum and shortly dwindles to a halt after Guy appears to vent some frustration, saying "hey, fuck this."
The set features 16 songs. The Repeater album provides 5 tracks, while 4 songs are taken from the 7 Songs and Margin Walker EPs each, and 3 from the Steady Diet of Nothing album.
Crush at the gate was insane. Passing the fence back and dumping it was an amazing moment. Always wondered about the helos but knowing what the Phoenix skinheads were about, thanks for that. What I remember most about this packed show was when I noticed someone leaning on me heavily & realized a young woman had either passed out or been knocked out. Band stopped & helped get her up on the stage. Felt like we were all part of something. Think we called that "unity" way back then.
I was a junior at ASU and grew up in the DC metro. My DC buds and I talked our way into hanging out with the guys. I was on stage kneeling next to Brendan, my buddy Matt on the other side of the stage. When Ian fell through, we rushed out to the middle to pull him out. He was irritated, but man does that show live in my memory...almost as much as the first time we knocked on Ian's door...
I recently sent Ian a better (scanned) copy of the above flier. Hopefully it will be up soon. Eric, I would love to see footage from this gig. "Led Zeppelin stage," eh? Not sure I believe that one.
I'm pretty sure that I have a copy of the flier for this show. If anyone wants it on here let me know.
I'm pretty sure that I have a copy of the flier for this show. If anyone wants it on here let me know.
the stage was from the last led zeppelin US tour. Ian jumped around until he found the soft spot in the wood and fell through up to his waist. We expected 700-800 people. Close to 1200 people paid. We didn't let skinheads into this show. They climbed on the roof of the club to try and get in. Helicopter crews with spotlights helped the cops on the street get them down. It took us all a LONG time to count all the $5 bills at the end, most crumpled up and in random bags. A crazy fucking night. I have a video I've been meaning to digitize forever.
Good show for Phoenix...
will have to see if I have any photos from that night.....think the flyer is on our web site....
we played that show that night, beats the hell out of me, fun night for us, still see the drummer from Horace Pinker from time to time at the skatepark...
hello brian. thanks for the clarification on the opener's name. the fix is in. - FLS
It was Horace PINKER, not Tinker.
1. | Intro | |
2. | Steady Diet | |
3. | Blueprint | |
4. | Styrofoam | |
5. | Sieve-Fisted Find | |
6. | Interlude 1 | |
7. | And The Same | |
8. | Turnover | |
9. | Reclamation | |
10. | Interlude 2 | |
11. | Margin Walker | |
12. | Burning Too | |
13. | Interlude 3 | |
14. | Waiting Room | |
15. | Give Me The Cure | |
16. | Interlude 4 | |
17. | KYEO | |
18. | Two Beats Off | |
19. | Interlude 5 | |
20. | Promises | |
21. | Encore | |
22. | Suggestion | |
23. | Glueman | |
24. | Outro |
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.
The Horace Pinker stickers that day were highly memorable, as was that short blonde girl I always saw at these kinds of shows around this era. Stages shouldn't have holes in them, but not surprising really. That place was a dump. Thanks for the crazy show, Ian!