I really enjoyed listening to this recording, the gig has a good atmosphere and in particular the rendition of Glueman is outstanding.

A benefit for the Washington Peace Center, which played out at the Wilson Center, the place where Fugazi played their first ever gig some year and a half before, as well as other iconic shows such as the December 29, 1988 homecoming concert or their September 3, 1997 tenth anniversary gig.

As mentioned in the side-notes on the Fugazi live series website, the quality of this recording is subpar, unfortunately. There is a notable hiss during the more quiet parts, Joe’s bass is hardly discernible in the mix overall, Brendan’s drums sound muddled and are not nearly as up front as needed, and the vocals come off somewhat suppressed.

However, it is still doable to listen to the recording, and I do want to note that it is worth visiting for a number of reasons. For one, the set list showcases the first 7 Songs EP live in its entirety. Also, no less than four songs from the April 1990 Repeater album are debuted early on here, i.e. Brendan #1, Sieve-Fisted Find, Shut the Door and Greed.

What is more, this recording appears to document the signature Fugazi dual guitar play by Ian and Guy for the very first time! Even though Guy took a first stab at playing guitar with Fugazi live at the aforementioned, previous show at the Wilson Center on December 29, 1988, while performing Reprovisional, it did not pan out due to technical hindrances with his guitar amp.

So here, some three months later, Guy is at it again. Still, as I mentioned, the sound quality of the recording is significantly marred, and most of Guy’s guitar play gets buried because of it. So all that is left are a just handful of chords that hint at another pivotal moment in Fugazi history...