Syracuse welcomes a tour-hardened Fugazi as Ian makes his introductory remarks. There's the familiar suggestion to stop the rough acts which had started earlier, and off we go with an explosive Merchandise.

The recording is full of power and the listener can really sink into the overall feel of this era of the band. The vocals tend to drown a bit but it's not a problem as these recordings are more about the band as a whole. What's great is that the mix settles fast and the listener can just enjoy the music.

Explosive performances follow one another and highlights include Cassavettes, an aggressive Styrofoam and the uber-cool grooving of Exit Only. I always crave for a more detailed drum sound during Exit, but the pure strength of the band and the song's irresistible attitude ultimately make me a happy camper. The flow of songs also includes a massive Rend It, which is as passionate as ever. Not surprisingly the flow is cut as Ian has to address the stage diving.

Another highlight is the rare Bulldog Front which was played merely 6 times on the Fall 93 US tour. The song gets a hard-hitting and enthusiastic treating.

The run before the encore has the band really going at it with full force and then ending the main set with a huge Promises. The song gets a fantastic performance which includes a long jam in the middle and an impressive final explosion.

With the pleasing set of songs getting great performances for the encore it's easy to recommend this recording. As is usual for this era, the tape is complete and the sound is steady throughout. Sometimes these shows are really marred with stage diving and other erratic behavior causing stops in the flow but it's not too bad overall here. And on the other hand the band's humor in handling those unfortunate situations makes for fun listening too.

Incredible show. Still remember where I was standing during this. So glad there's a recording of it.