Watch rare footage of Fugazi storming Atlanta with ‘Do You Like Me’ in 1996
In terms of impactful punk bands, Fugazi rank at the very top of the list. What they did for the genre and popular culture cannot be denied. Formed out of the ashes of D.C. hardcore heroes Minor Threat and emo pioneers Rites of Spring, their brand of punk was as artful as the genre had ever been, indicating to fans and purists that experimentation is necessary for the advancement of the genre, and that to go creatively stale is a catastrophe in both the personal and communal senses.
Augmenting their pioneering music was the ethos that they espoused, which was exactly the same as the hardcore genre. Duly, Fugazi led by example and their message was simple: don’t be a dick. Their classic lineup was comprised of Ian MacKaye, Guy Picciotto, Joe Lally, and Brendan Canty, and are best described as the sum of its brilliant parts, as together they drew on a wide berth of genres ranging from reggae to the experimental, whilst tying it all up in an anthemic post-hardcore form.
Discussing the band’s wide-reaching influence to Cultural Glitch in 2011, Guy Picciotto explained: “I just think of it as part of the reciprocal process inherent in the way music works. Ideas and inspiration are just handed down the line from band to band from generation to generation. For us, we came up completely in awe of bands like the Bad Brains – they lit a fire in us and we just did our best to pass that feeling on to other people in our own way.”
It’s a testament to their work that Fugazi have been namechecked by the likes of Johnny Marr, Kurt Cobain, Rage Against the Machine, Bloc Party, and Lorde, showing just how universal their message is, and how such a varied sound can appeal to artists from all walks of life.
Notably, the band went on hiatus in 2003, after a 17-year run that saw them leave the world of music and culture in a much better place than when they found it, touching droves with their scintillating music and delivering an almost endless amount of performances across the world. Their performances had a profound impact on all who witnessed them, which includes Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who described watching them live as “a life-changing experience”.
One of their greatest performances came in March 1996 at Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia. As tight as physically possible, with the mix one of the best in their history, the band played tracks such as ‘Merchandise’ from Repeater and ‘And the Same’ from 13 Songs.
With 1,100 fans in attendance going crazy, the energy bleeds through the speakers, making us all who weren’t there extremely jealous. Adding to this sense of missing out on a piece of history is that the band also played the fan favourite ‘Do You Like Me’ from Red Medicine, with the frenetic middle section where MacKaye and Picciotto’s guitars start to swirl even more scintillating than on record, a reflection of just how astounding the band were live, and how greatly we wish they’d return.
