The Fugazi Live Series is a series of live recordings by American post-hardcore

Post-hardcore

Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...

 band Fugazi

Fugazi (band)

Fugazi is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C. in 1987. The band's continual members are guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty....

, released on CD in 2004 and 2005 and also on the official Dischord Records

Dischord Records

Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles...

 Fugazi Live Series website for download beginning on December 1, 2011.

Background

Between 1987 and 2003, Fugazi played over 1000 concerts in all 50 states and all over the world. Over 800 of these shows were recorded by the band's sound engineers. Beginning in 2004 and continuing into 2005, Fugazi launched a 30 CD Live Series that featured concerts from various points in their career, which were made available for sale via Dischord Records

Dischord Records

Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles...

. Continuing with the live series concept and after several years of development on December 1, 2011 Fugazi launched a comprehensive Live Series website through Dischord Records that features 130 of the band's concerts available for download at the suggested price of $5 each or a "pay what you want" sliding scale option for each download between $1 - $100 with the goal of eventually making all 800 shows available for purchase. For $500 fans can also purchase an "All Access" privilege which will include access to any future concerts and downloads added to the site.

While each concert was professionally mastered, the recordings capture everything that happened onstage and for preservation's sake the band chose not to edit anything out, singer/guitarist Guy Picciotto

Guy Picciotto

Guy Picciotto is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, and producer from Washington, DC.He is most widely known for his role as the guitarist and vocalist of Fugazi, as well as Rites of Spring.-Rites of Spring & Early Projects:...

 explained to the New York Times "“We liked this idea of, ‘Let’s just let it be everything,’ “ Mr. Picciotto said. “There doesn’t have to be the idea that this is the great, golden document. It’s all there, and it’s not cleaned up. You get what you get.” The sound quality also varies as the earliest recordings were made to cassettes, then eventually digital formats such as DAT

DAT

DAT or Dat may refer to:Biology:* Direct agglutination test, any test that uses whole organisms as a means of looking for serum antibody* Direct antiglobulin test, one of two Coombs tests...

, CD-R

CD-R

A CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....

 and ultimately hard-drives were used. Each concert page also includes fliers, photograph's and ticket stubs. As a career-spanning archival project, the Fugazi Live Series has few equals, putting the band in the company of acts like the Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...

 and Phish

Phish

Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...

, the only two other artists with such a large volume of concerts available for purchase.

Set One

The first set of twenty live recordings was released in April 2004.

• 01 9-3-87 Washington, DC / Wilson Center
  • This was Fugazi's first ever live performance. Guy Picciotto
    Guy Picciotto
    Guy Picciotto is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, and producer from Washington, DC.He is most widely known for his role as the guitarist and vocalist of Fugazi, as well as Rites of Spring.-Rites of Spring & Early Projects:...
    
     was not yet a member of the band. Highlights include the previously unreleased song "Turn Off Your Guns".
• 02 12-28-87 Washington, DC / DC Space
  • Highlights include the previously unreleased (except on Vol. 1) song "Turn Off Your Guns".
• 03 10-8-90 Bielefeld, Germany / PC69
• 04 11-6-90 Nancy, France / Terminal Export (2 discs)
• 05 8-17-91 Calgary, Canada / MacKewen Hall
• 06 6-28-92 Berlin, Germany / Tempodrom (2 discs)
• 07 2-14-93 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida / The Edge
• 08 8-7-93 Washington, DC / Washington Monument (2 discs)
• 09 9-4-93 Pontiac, Michigan / Plaza Amphitheater
  • Early copies of the disc erroneously placed this show in Detroit, Michigan.
• 10 11-17-93 Canberra, Australia / Anu Bar (2 discs)
• 11 8-26-94 Curitiba, Brasil / 92 Degrees (2 discs)
• 12 10-9-95 Peoria, Illinois / Expo Center (2 discs)
• 13 10-27-95 Seattle, Washington / DV8 (2 discs)
  • A portion of "Forensic Scene" from this show appears in the Fugazi film Instrument.
• 14 10-30-96 Sapporo, Japan / Counteraction
• 15 11-2-96 Hong Kong / South Island School Hall
  • Highlights include soundcheck recordings of "Place Position" and "Cassavetes".
• 16 5-2-97 NYC, New York / NYU Loeb Center (2 discs)
• 17 7-1-97 Dunedin, New Zealand / The Room (2 discs)
  • Highlights include an improvised instrumental tune while the sound crew sorts out a problem with the PA.
• 18 9-3-97 Washington, DC / Wilson Center (2 discs)
  • This was the tenth anniversary of Fugazi's first show. Footage of this performance appears in Instrument.
• 19 7-24-98 Fredericton, Canada / New Maryland Recreation Center (2 discs)
• 20 5-7-99 Kilkenney, Ireland / Friary Hall (2 discs)

Set Two

The second set of ten live recordings was released in 2005.

• 21 3-16-90 Gainesville, Florida / American Legion Hall
• 22 10-14-91 Sydney, Australia / Triple J Radio
  • Live-in-studio performance. Highlights include an unreleased, piano-led instrumental, and the cover photo of Picciotto confronting a kangaroo.
• 23 5-29-92 Bordeaux, France / Theatre Barbey (2 discs)
• 24 8-9-93 Washington, DC / Fort Reno Park
  • Highlights include an instrumental version of "By You", and the "Ice Cream Eating Motherfucker" segment that was included in the film Instrument.
• 25 8-28-93 Kansas City, Kansas / Memorial Hall (2 discs)
• 26 10-6-99 Geneva, Switzerland / L'usine (2 discs)
  • Highlights include an instrumental version of "Ex-Spectator".
• 27 3-27-02 New Orleans, Louisiana / Tipitina's (2 discs)
• 28 10-22-02 Birmingham, UK / The Sanctuary (2 discs)
• 29 10-31-02 Leeds, UK / Metropolitan University Student's Union (2 discs)
• 30 11-4-02 London, UK/ The Forum (2 discs)
  • This was Fugazi's last performance before their current hiatus. Highlights include the rarely-performed "Lusty Scripps".