Fugazi visited Georgia a handful of times over their decade-long career. I was fortunate enough to catch 2 shows in 1993 and 2 shows in 1996. All of these at The Masquerade in Atlanta, GA. They were touring in support of the more experimental Red Medicine album.
The photos below derive from the 1996 dates. I attended these with friends Jill and Aaron. I feel like we all 3 went both nights. As the legends have stated these all-ages shows were $5 admission, and the band enforced a no-moshing policy that was sometimes at odds with mainstream alternative music fans.
Both shows are fantastic and I added links to the official Live Fugazi store where once again for $5 you can relive a Fugazi show. The thing that blew my mind was that they did not use a setlist and relied on cues to get in and out of these 30-second improv transitions. It was a very jazzy approach to punk rock! No repeats either, so each show was unique.
Ian MacKaye was brandishing a post-set banana. I asked him to pose with it as if he were mourning a dear friend. He was good-humored about it and indulged my goofy request.
My friend Aaron who is seen here posing with Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty went on to play on the Dischord label with the band Bluetip.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have attended hundreds of concerts in my life, and it is no small feat that these hold their ground in my top ten all these years later. The energy, musicianship, astounding rhythm section and unique band philosophy make Fugazi a worthy legend.
