In which I gush a little about Fugazi.

I woke up this morning to find that Fugazi had been featured in the New York Times to announce the commencement of their Fugazi Live Series website. This was exciting news indeed. I’m not alone in my opinion that they were one of the greatest live bands to have existed. This archive is a nice testament to that fact and a chance for me to eventually relive the memories of the one time I got to see them in person.

In the true spirit of community, which seems to have always been an ingredient of their existence in their active years, the band have allowed the fans to interact with these recordings by commenting on each show or contributing photos as another layer of documenting these performances. For my part I sent in photos of a poster and ticket stub (designed and printed by Jay Ryan) from their show in Chicago on June 23rd, 2001 that I had saved and framed.



Pardon me while I indulge myself in this bit of nostalgia and nerdery… But seeing this band was definitely a momentous occasion and something I’ll always cherish. Fugazi definitely stood apart from everyone else. When I think of “independent” music… this band fit the description in every aspect. They did everything on their own terms apart from any sort of industry standard or rule. This included how they approached the music itself. If I recall correctly the band never sought out a huge amount of formal training, wishing instead to let their own ideas and experiences form the music they produced.

They were inspiring musically, but they were also inspiring ethically and I’ve always admired how frugal and honest they seemed to live their collective and individual lives.  I have great respect for these gentlemen. I encourage you to check them out if you’re not familiar with them.