This was one of best shows of all time!

This recording presents the ninth out of twelve times total Fugazi played a hometown gig at Fort Reno, Washington D.C., and traces back to the summer of 1999.

Due to pouring rain and the threat of lightning, apparently a recurrent Fort Reno phenomenon, the band felt compelled to cut the performance short and as a result the recorded document includes a mere nine songs. The opening band, Flin Flon (with Mark Robinson from Unrest), reportedly played just two songs, deciding halfway through the second song to clear the stage for Fugazi considering the turn of meteorological events.

The recording is still worth noting though, particularly since Fugazi debuted no less than three tracks from their 2001 album The Argument, including a pretty much complete version of the title track, as well as an instrumental rendering of Ex-Spectator as set opener and an embryonic version (the lyrics are just of couple of lines at this point) of Nightshop.

The instrumental Number 5, released through the 2001 Furniture EP, as well as a couple of songs taken off of End Hits, and one song each drawn from the Repeater album, the Margin Walker EP and S/T debut EP complete the minimal set list.

The audio quality of the recording can get quite rightfully chalked up as “excellent”, even though Ian’s guitar and Joe’s bass arguably are a bit low in the mix during the first couple of songs.

Ah, THIS was the show with the crazy thunderstorms that raged seemingly everywhere except Fort Reno (until the end, at least).

One of the eeriest experiences I've ever had.

hello doug. thanks for pointing out the tracklist error. we've fixed the song-title on the show page, but for the time-being people who download the show should be aware that the mp3 in the download will still be incorrect. we'll try to fix it at some point, but it's a complicated process. yours, FLS

(Track 8 is mislabeled at right, it's "Number 5", not Nightshop twice. Although that woulda been cool too.)

Maybe my personal Fugazi live highlight despite the brevity -- the light show was unequaled. My first exposure to any of what would become The Argument (and Furniture). I'll never forget Ian and Gui careening around the stage in between the downbeats of "Number Five." The recording isn't like the intensity of being there, but DAMN it is nice to have a souvenir of that afternoon after all these years.

my friends and i drove from detroit to see this show. it was in fact, pouring rain and lightening was striking in the distance everywhere you looked. i remember water splashing off the drums and cymbals every time brendan hit them. i'd venture to say most bands wouldn't have even went on, if they did - they probably would have gave up after the first song. fugazi played until they absolutely had to stop. even though it was only about 6 songs, it remains one of the most memorable shows i've ever seen and it was totally worth driving ten hours for.

If I remember correctly, there was a big thunderstorm that evening that cut Fugazi's set short. It was pouring rain and they played Waiting Room for the last song. I vividly remember water flying off of Ian's guitar as he slid his fingers across the frets as the sky lit up with lightning. I was a little nervous that they might get electrocuted or struck by lightning. Even though they only played about 4 or 5 songs, this is one of my favorite Fugazi memories out of the many times I've seen them while growing up in the DC area.