THE FUGAZI SHOW

When we asked Ian MacKaye in early 1988 if Fugazi would play a show in Philly, Ian was enthusiastically game, and there wasn't much negotiation.

Fugazi show flyer

Since it was a benefit for a homeless shelter in Philly, there wasn't any talk about money. Ian asked that the bill have a limited number of bands, and that one of them be Philly's own Scram. The show would be all-ages, and it would be $5. And that the promotional material shouldn't mention "ex-Minor Threat" -- but Dischord Records was OK.

This was our first show, so we picked a venue that had previously held some all-ages punk shows: a YMCA gym in Northeast Philly. (We told the YMCA manager that it was going to be a "teen dance.")

The venue sucked.

The gym was essentially a giant box made of cinder blocks. So the acoustics in the room was rotten. And there might not have been air conditioning. The stage was a rental, and very flimsy -- I was concerned someone was going to break their neck.

But the guys in Fugazi didn't complain one bit -- even when the power blew in the middle of their set. They put on an amazingly energetic and passionate show.

Scram KILLED with their punk-funk-reggae brilliance.

NJ melodic hardcore band The Corrupted Ones were a great opening act.

But everyone remembers the moment where Fugazi's Guy Picciotto hoisted his body through the basketball hoop. He proceeded to sing "Glue Man" hanging upside down.

That spur-of-the-moment burst of insane energy by Guy has become positively iconic. It was memorialized in Gem Cohen's Fugazi documentary "Instrument" and the still photo by Sean Gustillo has shown up all over the Internet (and on t-shirts, tattoos, and even Christmas ornaments!).

However, at the time, all I could think was, "Man, I hope that basketball hoop doesn't bend. I'm gonna have to pay for that!"

This was the only show we put on, deciding to retire at the top of our game.