I was at this show, I still have my ticket. Fugazi at the 9:30 club played the best shows. I liked to stand in the back against the wall, on the ledge above the crowd. Stage right. My friend and I would jump down one at a time to dance then hop back up.

I was at this show, I still have my ticket. Fugazi at the 9:30 club played the best shows. I liked to stand in the back against the wall, on the ledge above the crowd. Stage right. My friend and I would jump down one at a time to dance then hop back up.

First off, I would like to note that the current Washington, DC USA 6/15/88 recording available for download (FLS #0043) is incomplete. The actual introduction, Song #1, and Merchandise are missing, as well as part of Glueman as this song is cut short. However, due to what seems to have been a mix-up, you can get your hands on a complete downloadable version since the show that is currently listed as the October 6, 1988 gig at the 9:30 Club (see FLS #0052) actually seems to be a complete version of the June 15, 1988 show, with the exception of a bit of stage banter and about a minute of Suggestion. Plus, the complete version sounds notably more in-your-face and engaging.
Of course, this unfortunately also means that the actual October 6, 1988 Fugazi show at the 9:30 Club is not available at this point in time. For some more in-depth remarks related to the mix-up of these recordings, I refer to the details posted by Robert Wynn in the comments section of the October 6, 1988 show on the Fugazi live series website.
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As to the gig and performance by the band itself (I am only writing about the complete version here), there are a number of things to be noted. For instance, this is the first show on Fugazi home turf in DC since the band went on its first US tour exactly two months before, and it is set at the famed 9:30 Club (yet another first for the band), "the nucleus of the DC music community and an institution that’s widely recognized as the gold standard of rock clubs", as Ryan Bray and Len Comaratta portray the club in their insightful May 2014 article "All Access: An Oral History of DC’s 9:30 Club. As told by Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins, Bob Mould, and many others." An article in which the authors pinpoint the essence of this place as follows: "When other venues thumbed their noses at all-ages shows, the 9:30 Club opened its doors to kids. When other venues were overlooking so-called “alternative” acts, the 9:30 Club were early supporters of many bands that would eventually give rise to the alternative rock boom of the early ’90s. The 9:30 staff consistently positioned itself ahead of the curve, and it continues to do so today."
Further, this is the very first time that the Fugazi 7 Songs EP is featured live in its entirety, as the song Bulldog Front is premiered and added to the live repertoire on this particular occasion. An EP originally recorded in the same month (June 1988) at Inner Ear Studios and released in November 1988 on vinyl (and again in 1989 on the compilation release 13 Songs along with the following EP Margin Walker).
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The quality of this live recording is admittedly far from perfect. In this regard, it can for instance be noted that the volume levels during Song #1 are pretty much reduced to mono, and that the rest of the recording suffers from repeated, yet mostly slight, volume drops as well. On top of that, Ian seems to struggle with guitar issues during a number of songs (e.g. Turn Off Your Guns, KYEO). Notwithstanding, this most definitely is the recorded document of a landmark performance, as the band is on fire and the home audience welcoming and participating.
For instance, listen closely as Ian is unmoved by the technical difficulties that befall him and still manages to keep the momentum going one way or the other. Plus, from this recording it is also clear that his by now signature guitar play has come a long way since some of those tentative first Fugazi gigs. It sounds both spot-on and catchy. Also, be impressed as Guy tackles his vocals with a feverish passion, reminiscent of his days in Rites of Spring. As such, he renders his lyrics tangible on a number of occasions, raising the hair on the back of my neck as he lashes out "there is something burning in my eyes" or fiercely snarls to "give me the shot, give me the pill, give me the cure" (it is uncanny how Guy's voice actually still sounds all velvety at the beginning of that very song as he discloses that "every lover is a scientist, everybody's got tainted love") while Joe and Brendan, a match made in rhythm heaven, incessantly lay down grooves that will make sinners out of all of us lesser mortals. It is highlights galore, Suggestion possibly being the proverbial cherry on the cake.
As such, I urge anyone to get a copy of this show, since its directness will grab you by the throat and will have you shaking your booty and limbs all over the place. It is the kind of recording you will come back to and revisit again and again, as it will surely get under your skin and linger, long after the last note fades.

It is a pity that Glueman is incomplete, since it would have topped off nicely an enjoyable recording.
Note that the early versions of KYEO, such as the one featured right here, differ distinctly from the Steady Diet of Nothing album take and subsequent live performances.

This was the night I graduated from high school. I wanted to be at this show for so many reasons, Fire Party for one, but this was a big show as Fugazi had not played 9:30 yet. My father was in the area for the graduation and I wanted him to go with me, my mom was not having any of it... so I did not go.