by Chris True

It may seem a bit much that at the beginning of this volume in the Fugazi Live Series is a soundcheck (complete with no vocals, and "check-one-twos"), but that's the point. The series is meant to provide a glimpse at the band in their most natural habitat : on-stage. And in the case of this soundcheck, the first song had yet to be released in 1996, so it's a historical tidbit for fans. The show, recorded on DAT -- amazing quality sound-wise -- has all the elements of a great Fugazi show: Amazing music, fantastic pacing, stunning improv, and of course -- the idiots. It gets a bit irritating that Ian has to keep interrupting songs to deal with violent morons, but aggressive music attracts aggressive people, and sometimes those aggressive people aren't interested in the message but the aggression. So, it's just part of the landscape that Fugazi fans have to deal with, and the "true" fans (so to speak) understand this, and don't misplace their disdain on the band.

Musically, Vol. 15 is a solid collection, a show not as frantically paced as some are (Vol. 9 in the series, for example) but a show that opts more for Fugazi's slow-burn songs like "And the Same," "Instrument," and "By You." Arguably, the real treat of the set are the new songs, which would appear a year later on End Hits: "Floating Boy," "No Surprise," and "Place Position." Granted, there are some scorchers here ("Bed for the Scraping" is particularly intense) but the band sounds heavier rather than faster this time out.