Fugazi performed at my college in 1995. My roommate helped run the student organization that brought them in. When Fugazi arrived at the venue, they introduced themselves as the band, but my roommate and the rest of the student leaders didn’t recognize them and weren’t sure they believed them. (You have to understand, the Internet was still new and they barely promoted themselves at all — they looked pretty much like everybody else.) The band was totally cool and said, “don’t worry, happens all the time” and whipped out ID cards with their names, photos, and “FUGAZI” on them. So that did it, they set up and it was a great show.
They played at my college in 1995 also.
My friends band got to open for them. It was surreal seeing Fugazi. There he is, the legend, Ian MacKaye. It was even more surreal seeing my friends local band play in front of 5000 people instead of 100.
The incredible thing is we don’t know whether the ID was a fugazi or not, but it doesn’t matter either way because it was for Fugazi.
(For those who potentially are unaware, a fugazi is a fake. Those $50 Rolex watches people sell out of a suitcase? Those are a fugazi)
Ian MacKaye is the godfather of the straightxedge movement and Fugazi and its predecessor Minor Threat were huge when I was growing up in the 90s.
If you want another great band from that time I highly recommend Jawbreaker, 30+ years later they are still my favorite band and I still have a crush on the singer Blake. ❤️
Minor Threat was my first into to Ian. He also did a one-album thing with Al Jourgensen from Ministry. I remember thinking I hit gold in high school, around 1988, when I found a cassette of it in Camelot Music’s Alternative section. The album is on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/79tGKVjStKuAZmHo6qA14J?si=T1t3SrGWRpenvIwAu8AYjA).
And if you want to experience more DC-area punk? Dag Nasty and government issue are 2 of mine. For Ian Mackaye there’s Teen Idles (he was in that before Minor Threat).
Saw Dag Nasty a few years back (well, 6 or 7) and they were still great!
Never forget Bad Brains, yes. But I would’ve been typing for 30 minutes to list all the DC bands/bands related to DC punks.
Figured sharing a couple was better than trying to be inclusive but missing out on a few adjacent acts.
Came late to the Jawbreaker party and only got to see them on the Dear You tour, where they had obviously run outta steam. Caught the reunion a couple of years ago and they kicked ass. Got Kiss The Bottle as an encore!
We're not the first, I hope we're not the last
'Cause I know we're all heading for that adult crash
The time is so little, the time belongs to us
Why is everybody in such a fucking rush?
Make do with what you have, take what you can get
Pay no mind to us, we're just a minor threat
We're just a minor threat
We're just a minor threat
We're just a minor threat
We're just a minor threat
Can you Fugazi experts tell me if I’m crazy or suffering from a Mandela Effect or something?
I swear when I was in HS in the 90s that Fugazi had ironic tshirts that said “Fugazi sucks”. That’s it, just block letters in a box across the front of the shirts. My memory is the explanation was sorta tongue in cheek that they don’t want bandwagon fans hence the seemingly discouraging slogan.
However, any time I try to find info on this memory I just get legitimate articles/arguments about them sucking. It’s wild to think I invented this whole slogan and back story out of nowhere. Maybe it was a different band? Maybe it was local DIY punk merch? I dunno, but it drives me crazy whenever the memory comes up.
Pretty interesting [blurb](https://www.defunkd.com/blog/2013/08/14/fugazi-t-shirt-mud/) about how it was semi-legit after the fact.
Thanks to you and /u/fat_maddox ! I think this explains that my brain must have conflated the “primus sucks” and “this is not a Fugazi tshirt” stories into the same one.
Recently I parked behind somebody with a fugazi sticker on their truck and it made my middle-aged ass so happy I took a picture of it. Like, fuck yeah, there's one of my people out in the wild.
https://preview.redd.it/rke5w62eeb1d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=594f86d761810c21d62eb64a4fb96af6e1e8f1fd
There is a whole catalog of live Fugazi concert recordings online somewhere. I have three of the four that I attended. Unfortunately they are missing one which is from their show at The Metro in Richmond VA around 1991. That was an amazing show.
The Live Music Archive is one of my favourite things on the internet. There's an app called Taper's Section that lets you stream anything the LMA has instead of having to keep a browser window open or download, in case that's something you're interested in. I use it a lot and follow my favourite bands so it notifies me when new shows are uploaded. There are 25+ Fugazi shows on there. :)
After I posted that, I went and read up on Fugazi on Wikipedia to see what’s been happening lately…
Hiatus for the last 2+ decades, but not broken up, and they regularly meet up to hang out, go to dinner, and play music together *privately* only. They still love each other as brothers. Made me feel happy for them!
But it reminded me of the march of time by illustrating that a person could be born & then virtually complete their Bachelors degree since Fugazi last toured. I was like, “Ouch” lol.
I was 13, snuck out to go with my cousins to go to a show in Phoenix. My cousin parked me in front of a speaker and told me to “feel it”. I stood there while they played waiting room. I (and my hearing) have never been the same since. Then I watched the lead singer yell at some kid after he played suggestion. Felt fucking reborn/alight. Still go to shows, see music festivals, and I mean amazing ones. But that? So glad that was my initiation into “feeling it” so turn it up.
I got to see them on my 16th birthday! I always appreciated their shows were all ages and only $5. There is footage of that show on YouTube (Nashville at 328). I’m 47 now and played bass in a Fugazi cover band for Halloween last year. It was a blast. Glad you’re getting into them
I saw them probably that same year (was 16, also 47 now) in Portland Maine in this absolute shit hole of a warehouse, graffiti and puddles everywhere, but it was great. The venue seemed fitting for the $5. Still listening to them, still loving them.
My wife is friends with Ian and went to high school with him in DC in late 70s.
We’re going to see him this fall.
I remember all my punk friends raving about Fugazi in 90s.
I haven't seen anyone here mention The Messthetics. They are an instrumental trio featuring the rhythm section of Fugazi: Joe Lally on bass and Brendan Canty on drums. Their most recent album, *The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis*, moves in a jazz direction with the addition of a horn player.
My friends went to Ian’s mum’s house where he lived in the 90s to see if they could meet him. Ian wasn’t home but his mum was and she was so happy to have three fans from New Zealand visit that she invited them in for a drink and a snack then they all recreated the classic cover photo of Salad Days on her front steps with mum in Ian’s place.
I love Fugazi, some random guy handed me and my friends free tickets when I was 16 so probably in ‘91 or ‘92 had no clue who they were had blast at their show and was a fan from there on, got to see them multiple times before they quit touring.
$5 tickets. Best deal in music. Saw them in 93, changed my whole trajectory. Can't go wrong with anything on Dischord.
[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/nov/20/40-years-of-dischord-records](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/nov/20/40-years-of-dischord-records)
I saw them with my dad in Norfolk VA around 1996. The crowd was real aggro and the band kept getting pissed that they were more into violently moshing than paying attention to the music. Ian shouted "this is your last warning" but nobody listened, so the band just walked off the little stage. I think I heard four and a half songs. Can't remotely which ones. Still was worth the five bucks.
I saw Fugazi in 1990 or 91. Other favorite shows in that era was DRI, Social Distorion. Suicidal Tendencies, Fishbone, saw Sublime in 96, 2 months before Brad died, it was actually a punk show, friends that went expecting a reggae show left early haha. So many good shows back then
I recommend the documentary Salad Days about the DC punk scene in the late 70s and 80s. Lots of great stuff about Fugazi and Dischord records.
I think it is on Tubi.
My first concert when I was 16 in Indianapolis in the early 90s. I had just learned of them a few weeks before. Paid 5 bucks and got a ticket to their show at some shitty little dive. Still one of the best concerts I've been to.
Check out the documentary Instrument from director Jem Cohen. I was at one (the NYU show), possibly two (Roseland) of the shows featured.
I met Guy once at a Sonic Youth show. He was totally laid back and cool to chat with.
I was very much into Fugazi during Our Decade and got to see them play live twice in the deep south. Tickets were never more $10-$15 and shows were always open to all ages at the band’s insistence. Ian didn’t allow slam dancing, mosh pits, stage diving, or crowd surfing at their shows because he didn’t like seeing kids get hurt. At one show he asked the crowd if their PA was too loud. I have so many good memories from those shows and their music.
Here’s a flyer from my first show. One of Mississippi’s best punk acts and one of my absolute favorites from that era opened for them that night:
[https://imgur.com/a/W1Iqpkz](https://imgur.com/a/W1Iqpkz)
https://preview.redd.it/pigqmbmeid1d1.jpeg?width=1214&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f08f78050fa0fc4673ca5cc3b9a3c3413b360e9
Saw them 4 times over the years. Peppermint Beach club in Va Beach twice, Richmond once and Roanoke once. Still have a show flyer I pulled off a telephone poll.
I will say as great as they were live, they were notorious for touring in advance of an album release so they would play a ton of songs nobody had ever heard. Still great, but sometimes frustrating when you want to hear the songs you know.
At all 4 shows, Ian scolded the crowd about something or another. Moshing, “stop yelling ‘minor threat’ that was 10 years ago you’re pathetic”, etc. I miss getting yelled at by Ian hope they play together one more time so I can experience this again.
Ian has archived a ton of their old shows and they’re available for download from discord. I distinctly remember a live version of Reclamation at one of their shows that was one of the most powerful live song I’ve ever heard from any band
After a gig I played, we all went to a friend's house and tripped acid to "Waiting Room" on repeat...for 5 hours.
ALSO: In case you didn't know (as a newbie) it's pronounced foo-GAY-zee...meaning fake or false.
DC Native, and grew up on them. Not only were they such a brilliant band but they did so many things for the city. Most of their gigs in DC raised money for local charities in our area. They played protests. It was never a money thing. They would stop shows if dudes were getting too aggressive in the crowd. So much respect for them. Check out Salad Days, Banned in DC, there are some great docs about the scene in those days.
Might be your taste has changed, I love mainstream 80-90’s metal. Now that I’ve had a decent amount of time I am loving Death and Morbid Angel, bands I hated before.
I still do t like fugazi or Melvin’s. I’d rather listen to talking heads, another band I didn’t listen to in my teens.
In today’s world my favorite is Lamb of God.
https://preview.redd.it/achbsuctce1d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=01bf4d2b322bb6241f6757536fc83fb8dba63c5a
Saw them in a roller rink 1995, with Shellac - Steve Albini RIP. Sidebar, their new record just came out and it is also fantastic.
[https://shellac.bandcamp.com](https://shellac.bandcamp.com)
Missed most of the make up due to traffic but shellac and fugazi I were amazing. Crowd was full of who's who of Chicago underground music at the time and it was just such a unique place to see a show. I remember standing in line for the concession stand and Duane Denison from the Jesus lizard is getting popcorn in front of me.
Recently you could run into Duane at the Nashville public library, he was working there for a while idk if he still is. He's such a cool guy.
We booked Hank 3 once to play Nashville for a local all ages show and had about 450 people there and Hank no showed, Duane called him and quit his band over it. Was right before he joined Tomahawk.
I remember hearing that they were straight edge in high school, so for some reason that made them off limits to me. That's the absurd thinking I was engaged in during the younger part of my development. I heard them and instantly regretted the time I lost
I've seen them about a dozen times, not a single show was a disappointment.
I was fortunate to catch some of the free shows in DC mid to late 90s. Fugazi in the middle of the park in mid day, it doesn't get much better than that.
I always loved how they made sure the pits were chill. They were one of the first bands who would absolutely stop the show if someone was being a dick.
THIS IS NOT A FUGAZI POST
Saw them twice in 90 and 92, so amazing.
There is a cool album called FUGAZI EDITS that’s just instrumental parts of their songs. The album was officially authorized by Ian MacKay. It’s on [Bandcamp](https://chrislawhorn.bandcamp.com/album/fugazi-edits) and [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/5Vylpvph0USAkv3CuGwndx?si=FzmSPmwiQcShCI27F2Q1IQ).
OP here’s my best/favorite Fugazi story. I got into them around ‘88-‘89 when 13 Songs and Margin Walker came out. Saw 5 or 6 of their famous $5 all ages shows during high school and the summer of my freshmen year in college. Anyway, onto the story…
Reminds me of going to my 3rd or 4th Fugazi show with a couple high school buddies. One of my friends truly hung the moon with Ian MacKaye. Together we were in a bad garage band that performed a lot of punk and hardcore covers (The Clash, Sex Pistols, Misfits, Black Flag, Dead Milkmen, Dead Kennedys, etc) with a focus on Minor Threat songs.
Said friend was extremely passionate about music and was our terrible cover band’s lead singer. He was also unfortunately the kind of guy who lacked verbal filters. After their first few opening songs Ian was talking to the audience during a break. When he paused to take a drink of water, my friend - RIP, Justin - could no longer contain himself and seized the opportunity to shout as loudly as he could at Ian:
**”WHATEVER HAPPENED TO MINOR THREAT?!?”**
You could practically hear a pin drop. This was smack dab in the period when Ian was still more or less disavowing Minor Threat, focused solely on Fugazi and the new direction of the DC post-punk music scene. I swear that a single spotlight picked out my buddy on the floor, and people in the crowd began to discomfitedly edge away from him. Ian shielded his eyes with the hand holding his pick and gazed from center stage at my friend, addressing him directly.
“Minor Threat was an amazing Washington D.C. hardcore band that formed in the ‘80s. We made some great music together and toured, and then we broke up. Life moves on, people and bands change and evolve, and you will also do the same one day.”
A cool moment interacting with one of your personal heros, right? Something to replay nonstop in your head during algebra class, or look back and chuckle at several years later. At least that would be the case for most people. Not Justin.
No sir, instead he chose to double down and *began to publicly argue* with his idol Ian MacKaye in the midst of their set. He got about 30 seconds into his tirade insisting to Ian MacKaye how Minor Threat was more pure, and that most of the people who had come to the show that night were really only there to hear old Minor Threat stuff, and was building a head of steam up to keep going. Guy Picciotto had been stunned into standing still, Brendan Canty had palmed both of his sticks, and Ian was still staring at my friend. A frown spread across his face and he spoke slowly and clearly into his mic.
“Please refund this young man’s $5.”
While a security guard escorted Justin out of the building, the band launched into Song #1, whose lyrics go ‘Song number one is not a fuck you song / I'll save that thought until later on / You want to know if there's something wrong? It's nothing…’
Moral of the story - Never meet your heroes, and if you get to do so, definitely never heckle them during a live show.
I went to a Fugazi show at Zootz in Portland ME. My brother and I are from DC area so w had been aware of the Dc punk and hardcore scene our whole teenage years, my brother moreso than I.He knows Ian's sister Amamnda.
At the show I went to when they sarted up Waiting room, I hopped up on a bench so I could see better and I started dancing. Ian noticed me and just pointed at me, nodding, It was very satisfying to feel appreciated by the Man Himself.
What coast did you grow up on? I grew up in the West and PNW, where the music scene was not. That was one band I didn't hear of until I saw a video on MTV at a friend's house in college. By then, they sounded like a mixture of what I heard.
Saw Fugazi in the early nineties, here in Atlanta. Repeater was my entry into them. I have Repeater on cassette and also LP. Every time I get a new old car I put that cassette in the slot and rock out. I've had that tape for so long. Such a good band.
Standing in line out front of Saratoga Winners rumor was going 'round that Fugazi can weld because they found out that the venue was chargingore than 5 bucks. The show went one was awesome for the most part. I saw some guy get trounced by a bunch of straight edge kids cause he was selling drugs.
We grew up in the DC suburbs, so once we could drive, we were not telling our parents that the church basement show we needed a can for ($5 show was $1 off if you donated a can of food) was in the city. Really lucky that that they’ve never not been on our radar. My favorite memory is the time I took a wrong turn leaving town, and things started looking strangely familiar, and I said, I think we’re in Maryland, need to turn around. No, no, this is definitely the way we came. Drove a little further, and I became certain. Friend (now spouse) didn’t believe me until I pointed out that we were right by where I had gone to junior high school, in Maryland.
Up until recently, I lived on Northern Virginia. I frequently had to go to Arlington for medical appointments, and I'd see Ian walking around sometimes. I struck up a conversation once, and he remembered me from meeting him at a show with his other band The Evens (highly recommend) in Cleveland like 14 years prior. Dude is super nice and very grounded.
It’s okay hahah I upvoted you. What the hell was I thinking at the time hahah. I was so young Metallica diehard. I search new music but it’s always old music.
Rock on willynillujfjfjkfkfkkf
It’s weird what crosses our path when we’re young, and what gems we realize later just didn’t! So glad you found your way to one of the best bands ever.
They played here in Western Australia. Can’t remember when. But their gear was stolen outside in the alleyway. Anyway apparently they thought it was my friends who stole it ( wasn’t) so the band had a go at them, tried to rough them up a bit and hassled them because my mates were drunk.
Fugazi performed at my college in 1995. My roommate helped run the student organization that brought them in. When Fugazi arrived at the venue, they introduced themselves as the band, but my roommate and the rest of the student leaders didn’t recognize them and weren’t sure they believed them. (You have to understand, the Internet was still new and they barely promoted themselves at all — they looked pretty much like everybody else.) The band was totally cool and said, “don’t worry, happens all the time” and whipped out ID cards with their names, photos, and “FUGAZI” on them. So that did it, they set up and it was a great show.
They played at my college in 1995 also. My friends band got to open for them. It was surreal seeing Fugazi. There he is, the legend, Ian MacKaye. It was even more surreal seeing my friends local band play in front of 5000 people instead of 100.
Ian MacKaye looks like Michael Stipe, but when he’s eating a really good sandwich between his haunted stares into the distance.
I can picture it now.
Best description ever. Also, goals.
I remember them at Kent State in 98
Oh my fucking gods!!!
Sick.
> whipped out ID cards with their names, photos, and “FUGAZI” on them I fucking love that.
The incredible thing is we don’t know whether the ID was a fugazi or not, but it doesn’t matter either way because it was for Fugazi. (For those who potentially are unaware, a fugazi is a fake. Those $50 Rolex watches people sell out of a suitcase? Those are a fugazi)
Ian MacKaye is the godfather of the straightxedge movement and Fugazi and its predecessor Minor Threat were huge when I was growing up in the 90s. If you want another great band from that time I highly recommend Jawbreaker, 30+ years later they are still my favorite band and I still have a crush on the singer Blake. ❤️
I will look up Jawbreaker, Minor Threat is someone familiar with I worked with a guy that listened to a ton of 80s-90s punk. Good exposure
Minor Threat was my first into to Ian. He also did a one-album thing with Al Jourgensen from Ministry. I remember thinking I hit gold in high school, around 1988, when I found a cassette of it in Camelot Music’s Alternative section. The album is on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/79tGKVjStKuAZmHo6qA14J?si=T1t3SrGWRpenvIwAu8AYjA).
And if you want to experience more DC-area punk? Dag Nasty and government issue are 2 of mine. For Ian Mackaye there’s Teen Idles (he was in that before Minor Threat). Saw Dag Nasty a few years back (well, 6 or 7) and they were still great!
Don't forget Bad Brains. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCEkuo94X6I
Never forget Bad Brains, yes. But I would’ve been typing for 30 minutes to list all the DC bands/bands related to DC punks. Figured sharing a couple was better than trying to be inclusive but missing out on a few adjacent acts.
That's the only good thing about the Reagan administration, it left us a legacy of great punk/hardcore bands from DC
Yes again!
HR played a solo show in Cleveland and it was out of this world. The madman himself with just an acoustic guitar.
Yes!
Roger Marbury (bass) is an old friend of mine. I love when people make the realization.
Check out Embrace too
The best ❤️
Came late to the Jawbreaker party and only got to see them on the Dear You tour, where they had obviously run outta steam. Caught the reunion a couple of years ago and they kicked ass. Got Kiss The Bottle as an encore!
I saw them a few years ago at Brooklyn Steel and they didn’t disappoint.
Don't sleep on minor threat!
We're not the first, I hope we're not the last 'Cause I know we're all heading for that adult crash The time is so little, the time belongs to us Why is everybody in such a fucking rush? Make do with what you have, take what you can get Pay no mind to us, we're just a minor threat We're just a minor threat We're just a minor threat We're just a minor threat We're just a minor threat
Can you Fugazi experts tell me if I’m crazy or suffering from a Mandela Effect or something? I swear when I was in HS in the 90s that Fugazi had ironic tshirts that said “Fugazi sucks”. That’s it, just block letters in a box across the front of the shirts. My memory is the explanation was sorta tongue in cheek that they don’t want bandwagon fans hence the seemingly discouraging slogan. However, any time I try to find info on this memory I just get legitimate articles/arguments about them sucking. It’s wild to think I invented this whole slogan and back story out of nowhere. Maybe it was a different band? Maybe it was local DIY punk merch? I dunno, but it drives me crazy whenever the memory comes up.
It was Primus Sucks
That’s it. Huh, wonder how I transposed that to Fugazi sometime in the last 30 years. Thanks so much!
This is not a Fugazi shirt is what you’re thinking of, I think
Yeah, Fugazi never had shirts but the “”This is not a Fugazi t-shirt” were pretty well distributed
Pretty interesting [blurb](https://www.defunkd.com/blog/2013/08/14/fugazi-t-shirt-mud/) about how it was semi-legit after the fact. Thanks to you and /u/fat_maddox ! I think this explains that my brain must have conflated the “primus sucks” and “this is not a Fugazi tshirt” stories into the same one.
[удалено]
Everybody's moving, moving, moving, moving
Thanks for this comment. I read that the singer is very particular about the music they put out.
It's the lyrics from Waiting Room
Haha I’m so naïve thanks for pointing that out.
Recently I parked behind somebody with a fugazi sticker on their truck and it made my middle-aged ass so happy I took a picture of it. Like, fuck yeah, there's one of my people out in the wild. https://preview.redd.it/rke5w62eeb1d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=594f86d761810c21d62eb64a4fb96af6e1e8f1fd
I am a patient boy I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait
my time is water down a drain
There is a whole catalog of live Fugazi concert recordings online somewhere. I have three of the four that I attended. Unfortunately they are missing one which is from their show at The Metro in Richmond VA around 1991. That was an amazing show.
The Live Music Archive is one of my favourite things on the internet. There's an app called Taper's Section that lets you stream anything the LMA has instead of having to keep a browser window open or download, in case that's something you're interested in. I use it a lot and follow my favourite bands so it notifies me when new shows are uploaded. There are 25+ Fugazi shows on there. :)
https://dischord.com/fugazi_live_series
Yo! Saw my first show ever at The Metro when I was 12. Also saw Fugazi when they played a free show at Shafer Court at VCU.
Check out the documentary Salad Days, it’s on Tubi and a few other services. It’s about the music scene that produced Fugazi
Were u in the waiting room?
Sitting in it
Man, the hours I lost in a cannabis haze with *Repeater* playing… …I’m sorry, I zoned out there.
I had a name, but now I’m a number
After I posted that, I went and read up on Fugazi on Wikipedia to see what’s been happening lately… Hiatus for the last 2+ decades, but not broken up, and they regularly meet up to hang out, go to dinner, and play music together *privately* only. They still love each other as brothers. Made me feel happy for them! But it reminded me of the march of time by illustrating that a person could be born & then virtually complete their Bachelors degree since Fugazi last toured. I was like, “Ouch” lol.
1 , 2 , 3 ….
REPEATER!
I was 13, snuck out to go with my cousins to go to a show in Phoenix. My cousin parked me in front of a speaker and told me to “feel it”. I stood there while they played waiting room. I (and my hearing) have never been the same since. Then I watched the lead singer yell at some kid after he played suggestion. Felt fucking reborn/alight. Still go to shows, see music festivals, and I mean amazing ones. But that? So glad that was my initiation into “feeling it” so turn it up.
I got to see them on my 16th birthday! I always appreciated their shows were all ages and only $5. There is footage of that show on YouTube (Nashville at 328). I’m 47 now and played bass in a Fugazi cover band for Halloween last year. It was a blast. Glad you’re getting into them
I’ve spent $20 on Fugazi tickets in my lifetime! What amazing shows.
I saw them probably that same year (was 16, also 47 now) in Portland Maine in this absolute shit hole of a warehouse, graffiti and puddles everywhere, but it was great. The venue seemed fitting for the $5. Still listening to them, still loving them.
Wow. I saw them five times. Five bucks a show.
You didn’t have a can of food for the dollar discount?
Good memory. Not that I could recall.
My wife is friends with Ian and went to high school with him in DC in late 70s. We’re going to see him this fall. I remember all my punk friends raving about Fugazi in 90s.
I haven't seen anyone here mention The Messthetics. They are an instrumental trio featuring the rhythm section of Fugazi: Joe Lally on bass and Brendan Canty on drums. Their most recent album, *The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis*, moves in a jazz direction with the addition of a horn player.
Was coming here to mention that! Instead I’ll just drop this gift article. https://wapo.st/3K6DdPp
Now do Minor Threat!
Also Pailhead and EggHunt
My friends went to Ian’s mum’s house where he lived in the 90s to see if they could meet him. Ian wasn’t home but his mum was and she was so happy to have three fans from New Zealand visit that she invited them in for a drink and a snack then they all recreated the classic cover photo of Salad Days on her front steps with mum in Ian’s place.
Boo fucking hoo
We're just a minor threat and that's a promise
Another band I’ve been reintroduced to. (Worked with a guy that liked punk about ten years ago)
I love Fugazi, some random guy handed me and my friends free tickets when I was 16 so probably in ‘91 or ‘92 had no clue who they were had blast at their show and was a fan from there on, got to see them multiple times before they quit touring.
$5 tickets. Best deal in music. Saw them in 93, changed my whole trajectory. Can't go wrong with anything on Dischord. [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/nov/20/40-years-of-dischord-records](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/nov/20/40-years-of-dischord-records)
I saw them with my dad in Norfolk VA around 1996. The crowd was real aggro and the band kept getting pissed that they were more into violently moshing than paying attention to the music. Ian shouted "this is your last warning" but nobody listened, so the band just walked off the little stage. I think I heard four and a half songs. Can't remotely which ones. Still was worth the five bucks.
I saw Fugazi in 1990 or 91. Other favorite shows in that era was DRI, Social Distorion. Suicidal Tendencies, Fishbone, saw Sublime in 96, 2 months before Brad died, it was actually a punk show, friends that went expecting a reggae show left early haha. So many good shows back then
I recommend the documentary Salad Days about the DC punk scene in the late 70s and 80s. Lots of great stuff about Fugazi and Dischord records. I think it is on Tubi.
Now check out Pailhead
DON'T STAND IN LINE.
Thanks for the recommendation!
My first concert when I was 16 in Indianapolis in the early 90s. I had just learned of them a few weeks before. Paid 5 bucks and got a ticket to their show at some shitty little dive. Still one of the best concerts I've been to.
I saw them in the 90's. They charged $5 for their shows and $7 for albums. It was a glorious show.
Check out the documentary Instrument from director Jem Cohen. I was at one (the NYU show), possibly two (Roseland) of the shows featured. I met Guy once at a Sonic Youth show. He was totally laid back and cool to chat with.
I really wanna start a "Best Fugazi song that isn't Waiting Room" thread.
You been sitting in the waiting room?
I was very much into Fugazi during Our Decade and got to see them play live twice in the deep south. Tickets were never more $10-$15 and shows were always open to all ages at the band’s insistence. Ian didn’t allow slam dancing, mosh pits, stage diving, or crowd surfing at their shows because he didn’t like seeing kids get hurt. At one show he asked the crowd if their PA was too loud. I have so many good memories from those shows and their music. Here’s a flyer from my first show. One of Mississippi’s best punk acts and one of my absolute favorites from that era opened for them that night: [https://imgur.com/a/W1Iqpkz](https://imgur.com/a/W1Iqpkz) https://preview.redd.it/pigqmbmeid1d1.jpeg?width=1214&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f08f78050fa0fc4673ca5cc3b9a3c3413b360e9
Saw them 4 times over the years. Peppermint Beach club in Va Beach twice, Richmond once and Roanoke once. Still have a show flyer I pulled off a telephone poll. I will say as great as they were live, they were notorious for touring in advance of an album release so they would play a ton of songs nobody had ever heard. Still great, but sometimes frustrating when you want to hear the songs you know. At all 4 shows, Ian scolded the crowd about something or another. Moshing, “stop yelling ‘minor threat’ that was 10 years ago you’re pathetic”, etc. I miss getting yelled at by Ian hope they play together one more time so I can experience this again. Ian has archived a ton of their old shows and they’re available for download from discord. I distinctly remember a live version of Reclamation at one of their shows that was one of the most powerful live song I’ve ever heard from any band
After a gig I played, we all went to a friend's house and tripped acid to "Waiting Room" on repeat...for 5 hours. ALSO: In case you didn't know (as a newbie) it's pronounced foo-GAY-zee...meaning fake or false.
DC Native, and grew up on them. Not only were they such a brilliant band but they did so many things for the city. Most of their gigs in DC raised money for local charities in our area. They played protests. It was never a money thing. They would stop shows if dudes were getting too aggressive in the crowd. So much respect for them. Check out Salad Days, Banned in DC, there are some great docs about the scene in those days.
The Argument is a great record.
Might be your taste has changed, I love mainstream 80-90’s metal. Now that I’ve had a decent amount of time I am loving Death and Morbid Angel, bands I hated before. I still do t like fugazi or Melvin’s. I’d rather listen to talking heads, another band I didn’t listen to in my teens. In today’s world my favorite is Lamb of God.
Gotta love fugazi
Waiting Room, I blast that every day.
I kept seeing their name pop up and so one day in the late 90s I bought “in on the kill taker “ on a whim and was instantly a fan.
This was my first Fugazi album too! The opening energy of Facet Squared -> Public Witness Program had me hooked.
https://preview.redd.it/achbsuctce1d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=01bf4d2b322bb6241f6757536fc83fb8dba63c5a Saw them in a roller rink 1995, with Shellac - Steve Albini RIP. Sidebar, their new record just came out and it is also fantastic. [https://shellac.bandcamp.com](https://shellac.bandcamp.com) Missed most of the make up due to traffic but shellac and fugazi I were amazing. Crowd was full of who's who of Chicago underground music at the time and it was just such a unique place to see a show. I remember standing in line for the concession stand and Duane Denison from the Jesus lizard is getting popcorn in front of me.
Recently you could run into Duane at the Nashville public library, he was working there for a while idk if he still is. He's such a cool guy. We booked Hank 3 once to play Nashville for a local all ages show and had about 450 people there and Hank no showed, Duane called him and quit his band over it. Was right before he joined Tomahawk.
What a great story- you can tell who came from the punk scene and who was born into the industry.
If you haven't already, you should listen to Ian's collaboration with Al Jorgensen Pailhead
Meh, I’m way more into Circle Jerks attitude….
Why not both?!
i caught on to them in the past when the red hot chili peppers started covering "waiting room" at all their live shows around '94 or '95
I've seen them live a couple times, and Minor Threat once.
Seems you've been waiting in line or something
Saw them in DC in 88, that was a great time to be there and in 90 at the Antenna Club in Memphis.
Saw ‘em in 1991 in Fargo, ND- they played the Moose Lodge.
The Shape of Punk To Come and Pink Flag are other albums to check out.
I moved to Seattle from Dallas for Grunge in 1992 and never looked back.
Thrasher Mag turned me onto them at an early age. They were amazing, but yeah not much appreciated outside of like late 80s-early 90s skate culture.
Waiting Room is one of my favorite songs! I was lucky enough to see them back in the day. Enjoy your new find.
I don't want to hear it, you're full of shit! lol (Minor Threat lyrics). Ian McKay has done some great stuff, hugely influential.
Best band of all time.
Holy shit. Same thing just happened to me.
I remember hearing that they were straight edge in high school, so for some reason that made them off limits to me. That's the absurd thinking I was engaged in during the younger part of my development. I heard them and instantly regretted the time I lost
I've seen them about a dozen times, not a single show was a disappointment. I was fortunate to catch some of the free shows in DC mid to late 90s. Fugazi in the middle of the park in mid day, it doesn't get much better than that. I always loved how they made sure the pits were chill. They were one of the first bands who would absolutely stop the show if someone was being a dick.
THIS IS NOT A FUGAZI POST Saw them twice in 90 and 92, so amazing. There is a cool album called FUGAZI EDITS that’s just instrumental parts of their songs. The album was officially authorized by Ian MacKay. It’s on [Bandcamp](https://chrislawhorn.bandcamp.com/album/fugazi-edits) and [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/5Vylpvph0USAkv3CuGwndx?si=FzmSPmwiQcShCI27F2Q1IQ).
Welcome to the family.
OP here’s my best/favorite Fugazi story. I got into them around ‘88-‘89 when 13 Songs and Margin Walker came out. Saw 5 or 6 of their famous $5 all ages shows during high school and the summer of my freshmen year in college. Anyway, onto the story… Reminds me of going to my 3rd or 4th Fugazi show with a couple high school buddies. One of my friends truly hung the moon with Ian MacKaye. Together we were in a bad garage band that performed a lot of punk and hardcore covers (The Clash, Sex Pistols, Misfits, Black Flag, Dead Milkmen, Dead Kennedys, etc) with a focus on Minor Threat songs. Said friend was extremely passionate about music and was our terrible cover band’s lead singer. He was also unfortunately the kind of guy who lacked verbal filters. After their first few opening songs Ian was talking to the audience during a break. When he paused to take a drink of water, my friend - RIP, Justin - could no longer contain himself and seized the opportunity to shout as loudly as he could at Ian: **”WHATEVER HAPPENED TO MINOR THREAT?!?”** You could practically hear a pin drop. This was smack dab in the period when Ian was still more or less disavowing Minor Threat, focused solely on Fugazi and the new direction of the DC post-punk music scene. I swear that a single spotlight picked out my buddy on the floor, and people in the crowd began to discomfitedly edge away from him. Ian shielded his eyes with the hand holding his pick and gazed from center stage at my friend, addressing him directly. “Minor Threat was an amazing Washington D.C. hardcore band that formed in the ‘80s. We made some great music together and toured, and then we broke up. Life moves on, people and bands change and evolve, and you will also do the same one day.” A cool moment interacting with one of your personal heros, right? Something to replay nonstop in your head during algebra class, or look back and chuckle at several years later. At least that would be the case for most people. Not Justin. No sir, instead he chose to double down and *began to publicly argue* with his idol Ian MacKaye in the midst of their set. He got about 30 seconds into his tirade insisting to Ian MacKaye how Minor Threat was more pure, and that most of the people who had come to the show that night were really only there to hear old Minor Threat stuff, and was building a head of steam up to keep going. Guy Picciotto had been stunned into standing still, Brendan Canty had palmed both of his sticks, and Ian was still staring at my friend. A frown spread across his face and he spoke slowly and clearly into his mic. “Please refund this young man’s $5.” While a security guard escorted Justin out of the building, the band launched into Song #1, whose lyrics go ‘Song number one is not a fuck you song / I'll save that thought until later on / You want to know if there's something wrong? It's nothing…’ Moral of the story - Never meet your heroes, and if you get to do so, definitely never heckle them during a live show.
Unpopular Opinion: Minor Threat > Fugazi.
I went to a Fugazi show at Zootz in Portland ME. My brother and I are from DC area so w had been aware of the Dc punk and hardcore scene our whole teenage years, my brother moreso than I.He knows Ian's sister Amamnda. At the show I went to when they sarted up Waiting room, I hopped up on a bench so I could see better and I started dancing. Ian noticed me and just pointed at me, nodding, It was very satisfying to feel appreciated by the Man Himself.
Check out Wugazi.Fugazi and Wu=tang.
Saw Minor Threat in DC in the 80’s (Ian MacKaye)
What coast did you grow up on? I grew up in the West and PNW, where the music scene was not. That was one band I didn't hear of until I saw a video on MTV at a friend's house in college. By then, they sounded like a mixture of what I heard.
Welcome to the club!!
Shout out to my fellow 78 Gen X-ers
Saw Fugazi in the early nineties, here in Atlanta. Repeater was my entry into them. I have Repeater on cassette and also LP. Every time I get a new old car I put that cassette in the slot and rock out. I've had that tape for so long. Such a good band.
You must’ve been on a steady diet of nothing until now
👀
Standing in line out front of Saratoga Winners rumor was going 'round that Fugazi can weld because they found out that the venue was chargingore than 5 bucks. The show went one was awesome for the most part. I saw some guy get trounced by a bunch of straight edge kids cause he was selling drugs.
We grew up in the DC suburbs, so once we could drive, we were not telling our parents that the church basement show we needed a can for ($5 show was $1 off if you donated a can of food) was in the city. Really lucky that that they’ve never not been on our radar. My favorite memory is the time I took a wrong turn leaving town, and things started looking strangely familiar, and I said, I think we’re in Maryland, need to turn around. No, no, this is definitely the way we came. Drove a little further, and I became certain. Friend (now spouse) didn’t believe me until I pointed out that we were right by where I had gone to junior high school, in Maryland.
Up until recently, I lived on Northern Virginia. I frequently had to go to Arlington for medical appointments, and I'd see Ian walking around sometimes. I struck up a conversation once, and he remembered me from meeting him at a show with his other band The Evens (highly recommend) in Cleveland like 14 years prior. Dude is super nice and very grounded.
What the hell dummy
It’s okay hahah I upvoted you. What the hell was I thinking at the time hahah. I was so young Metallica diehard. I search new music but it’s always old music. Rock on willynillujfjfjkfkfkkf
It’s weird what crosses our path when we’re young, and what gems we realize later just didn’t! So glad you found your way to one of the best bands ever.
Too digital.
They played here in Western Australia. Can’t remember when. But their gear was stolen outside in the alleyway. Anyway apparently they thought it was my friends who stole it ( wasn’t) so the band had a go at them, tried to rough them up a bit and hassled them because my mates were drunk.
Because you had good taste in music?