[kj] Top 50 songs of 2000-2010

[gingoblin at easynet.co.uk]

Fugazi are still in the top gigs I've ever seen. First time they played in 
Scotland... 1988 or '89... I recall laughing at a couple of guys in the 
crowd with Marillion and Fish t-shirts on, obviously under the 
misapprehension it was some sorta secret gig by one of those horrors 
(apologies to the people who like Marillion!!). Fairly sparse crowd so lots 
of room for everyone to dance, and they just fucking blew the place away.

The band always remembered that gig fondly because during Suggestion lots 
of girls got up on the stage to dance. The funny thing was that the first 
girl to get up and start the invasion was a well-known total drunk that 
usually caused some sort of trouble... like getting up onstage and being an 
arsehole!  Fortunately this time she managed to keep her balance!

But every song was a classic, and I don't think there was one person who 
wasn't raving about 'em afterwards. All kinda went downhill after that tour 
though... hordes of arseholes insisting they stage-dive ruined all the gigs 
I saw on the next tour... in London someone even tried to have a go at Guy. 
The music was still great, but they just attracted too many wankers. Later 
years were hit and miss.. one time would be great, the next not-so. Kinda 
depended on the set for me. Last time I saw 'em was Glasgow Barrowlands in 
2002, with the hall lights on (some places this is fine, but not Glasgow 
Barrowlands... I don't wanna see the monsters I'm surrounded by!)... wasn't 
very good really. Then the car broke down on the way home and I ended up 
sitting in the back of a cop car for 90mins waiting on a tow truck... not 
good! (That bit wasn't Fugazi's fault though... or was it?!)

I'd go and see 'em again at the drop of a hat though. And ultimate respect 
to the way they dealt with "the business". They would always reply to 
whatever nonsense you sent them too... very very few bands do that.  I 
think I'll dig out an album right now actually!

Dave in Edinburgh




At 14:03 19/04/2010 -0500, you wrote:

>I have had the good fortune to see Fugazi live twice. Both times were 

>EXTREMELY intense, in different senses.

>

>The first time was right after the big Nirvana "Nevermind" phenomenon that 

>split the up-til-then obscure punk underground wide open. Fugazi were 

>still charging $5 door ticket prices, refusing to put UPC codes on their 

>albums (as Dischord Records still refuses to o - no UPC codes, ever), did 

>not sell any merchandise beyond cassettes, vinyl, and CD (and still don't, 

>btw; if you see a Fugazi shirt, bumper sticker, etc., it is unauthorized - 

>though the band seems not to care and has never gone after bootleggers).

>

>So the crowd that showed up at the first Fugazi show I saw, which right 

>after the release of the amazing 1993  _In on the Killtaker_, was this 

>crazy mix of jocks who were now into punk overnight magically thanks to 

>Nirvana and, uhm, Lemonheads, and weird "alternative rock" shit like that 

>-- and also older school folks into Minor Threat fans who knew where the 

>band was coming from, etc. It was volatile. Tense.

>

>The audience was a swarming mass of chaos from the get-go. Ian MacKaye 

>stopped the show several times because of the violence of the crowd. 

>Someone threw a shoe at him afterwards, during a song, and MacKaye stopped 

>the show, demanded to know who threw the shoe, could not play until the 

>person was pointed out -- and audience members pointed the culprit out, 

>and Ian jumped into the audience, produced a $5 dollar bill from his 

>pocket (the door price) and walked the man out of the venue. Then they 

>went back on stage and blasted through amazing songs like "Merchandise" 

>and "Great Cop, etc." It was intense. This was a venue called The Bomb 

>Factory in dallas. Another stipulation of Fugazi was all shows had to be 

>al-ages - no exceptions.

>

>So, maybe I am biased from the times I saw Fugazi live. each time there 

>was a weird air of unpredictability, since Fugazi refused to raise door 

>prices above $6 per person until their end in 2001 (excuse me, "indefinite 

>hiatus"). The low door price meant any hooligan could come in who didn't 

>know shit about the band, think it was a KORN show, and try to act like a 

>douchebag, and Fugazi were always very up front about stopping songs, 

>confronting people, escorting folks out, etc., etc. Not that that was 

>ALWAYS what they did. But, yes, they are one of the bands who were 

>definitely better live than on record. And on record they were damn cool, too.

>

>Except for "End Hits" from 1998. :)

>

>The second time I saw Fugazi live was with Euro anarcho post-punk band The 

>Ex at San Fran's Maritime Hall. That is whole other story.

>

>-0liver

>

>

>On 4/19/10 1:51 PM, <mailto:jpwhkj at aol.com>jpwhkj at aol.com wrote:

>>Several people I know - all big Joke fans - reckon Fugazi are the only 

>>more intense live band than KJ.

>>

>>Never seen 'em myself - what do people think?

>>

>>Jamie

>

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