My second Fugazi show, which was the polar opposite of my first, five days earlier at the University of Connecticut (a hot, dark, overcrowded, claustrophobic affair). This show had even more people but they seemed to barely fill the large, cavernous student center/ auditorium space. The indelible image for me is of Ian, planted near the edge of this huge stage with no one else nearby, suddenly making the only noise in the place: furiously strumming a single chord for way too long. "What's going on? Oh: another new song. Wow. What's he screaming?" (I would find out the following August when the new record appeared: "Reclamation".)

My friends and I were veteran DC punk fans well versed in all that is great. With diverse musical interests and live shows probably exceeding 1000 gigs since the early 70s we were primed from recent circle pit shows from the likes of Black Flag, Dead Kennedys and a recent Montreal trip highlighted by a full circle show complete with ambulances and a police intervention. Ian and his boys took the stage at SU were we were students...he axed an unbelievably biting C chord...and we all froze solid, jaw dropped slammers. We didn't move the entire show. Security thought we were doped out.