The recording of the third night at the Guilty showcases the last time Fugazi performed in the city of Tokyo to date, and brings a total of 20 more live tracks to the table.
The set list offers some more variation compared to the second night, with 6 songs taken off of Red Medicine, 5 off of End Hits, 3 from the 7 Songs debut EP, 2 each off of the In On The Kill Taker and Steady Diet of Nothing albums and 1 each from the Repeater record and Margin Walker EP.
Basically, this is an excellent sounding recording, up to par with the other two 1996 Tokyo recordings or even better since it’s not tainted by anomalies (however, do note that most of Birthday Pony is missing here).
Even though the recording starts off with an impeccable live rendering of the Guilford Fall Instrumental, it pretty much fails to grab my attention for the next couple of songs. However, an excellent Floating Boy Instrumental lights the performance back up for me personally and a number of solid classics such as Blueprint, Waiting Room or Bulldog Front follow suit.
Further highlights in my book include Fell, Destroyed, Promises, another notably slow and atmospheric rendition of Version and a somewhat different sounding Glueman (Ian’s guitar play appears more restrained throughout the song) to bring the house down.
In this regard, it can be mentioned that these 1996 concerts have been recorded by soundman Nick Pellicciotto, which might explain a different approach in terms of sound effects (note the dub drum effects used as well).
From the considerable amount of recordings I have heard so far, I feel Pellicciotto’s work differs distinctly from the Fugazi gigs documented by habitué Joey Picuri, who seems to prefer a more purist approach.
1. | Intro | |
2. | Guilford Fall Instrumental | |
3. | Bed For The Scraping | |
4. | Interlude 1 | |
5. | Smallpox Champion | |
6. | Facet Squared | |
7. | Do You Like Me | |
8. | Reclamation | |
9. | Floating Boy Instrumental | |
10. | Blueprint | |
11. | Waiting Room | |
12. | Bulldog Front | |
13. | Interlude 2 | |
14. | By You | |
15. | Long Division | |
16. | Fell, Destroyed | |
17. | Five Corporations | |
18. | Target | |
19. | Promises | |
20. | Birthday Pony | |
21. | No Surprise | |
22. | Version | |
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.
This show features a cool and unusual rendition of Glue Man, with some interesting guitar sounds. Guy sings "I don't like you but I love you / I don't want you but I need you". This is almost certainly a sample of "You Really Got a Hold on Me", originally recorded by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and later covered by many artists including the Beatles.