27
jun 00 washington, dc
the mall
ex-spectator instrumental
smallpox champ
reclamation
target
styrofoam
oh
closed captioned
f/d
the argument
burning
song 1
number 5
cassavetes
recap
bed for the scraping
downed city
cash out
blueprint
this benefit for w.i.s.h. [washington inner-city self help] was sponsored by the
smithsonian institute and a bunch of other corporations as part of their
annual folk-life festival. fugazi represented d.c., 1 of the 3 areas
spotlighted this year [see also tibet and the rio grande]. the venue was
a tent, kind of like a circus. the weather was drizzly and light out. why
the organizers chose to set the show up in a little tent with poor
acoustics instead of the tried and true sylvan theater is beyond me. so
many people were left out in the rain to hear what they couldn't see up
close.
the new songs are so great! we have much to look forward to in the next
lp. joe's parts have become a lot
more solid in the new stuff, and that's what i really noticed tonight.
that's the biggest difference between december and now. guy said,
"government can't legitimize culture. major labels can't legitimize
culture. people legitimize culture," before hitting cassavetes. that
last ian song really blew a lot of people away. it has a beat like
furniture, but much lighter guitars. it's really panoramic. he
introduced it with a rant about the evictions going on in apartments that
are in the way of the new metro line. he asked why the city is blaming
tenants for the landlords' mistakes. good question.
i noticed asa canty playing the drums and walking on stage during ian's
rant. can you say cute kid? his little brother was there too. who
doesn't think they'll grow up to be 2 awesome musicians?
there were about 15 photographers backstage trying to get pictures. then
there was another girl and me with video cameras. [my footage is
worthless. don't bother asking. sorry.]
someone came up to me after the show and asked me my name, so i told her.
then she got downcast and said, "oh, i thought you were jem cohen and
maybe worth talking too. not that you wouldn't be interesting to talk to
either." oh of course not. ha ha.
like a said, they're really raising the bar with those new songs. when
the weakest song in the set is as good as reclamation, you can't really
complain. i didn't mention which songs jerry drums on, because i'm pretty
sure he played on all the new songs and most of the oldies too [burning
and closed captioned for sure].
so next time you're visiting the air and space museum and you pass by the
donation jar, remember who sponsored a free fugazi show in y2k.