Between April 5 and April 21, 2001, Fugazi embarked on their “Four Corners” tour of the United States to kick off the 2001 tour itinerary with 15 shows in as many as 10 states (Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana and Pennsylvania), their longest string of shows in 2001 and about half of their total amount of gigs that year (32 shows).

The Ogden Theater in Denver, Colorado turned out to be the first stop of the tour and hosted two shows on consecutive nights. According to an article titled “Ten of Our Favorite Concerts From the Ogden’s 100-Year History” by the Westword Staff (“The independent voice of Denver since 1977”),

(...)

(...)

“The Ogden was built in 1917, and it was opened as a theater in 1919 by John Thompson, who also ran what is now called the Bluebird Theater. Originally home to organ recitals, lectures and vaudeville acts, including Harry Houdini, the space became a movie theater in 1937. In the early ’90s, Doug Kauffman of Nobody in Particular Presents turned the Ogden back into a music venue. In 2006, NIPP leased the venue to AEG Live, and the Ogden has continued to be one of Denver’s most vibrant concert halls, with everyone leaving a mark on its stage, from just-breaking-big bands to fan-favorite nostalgia acts and singular one-offs from musical icons.”

Being back in Denver sparks memories for the band, as Guy reminisces, “it’s been a very long time since we’ve been to Denver, does anybody remember, not the last time when we played the Fillmore [formerly the Mammoth Events Center] but a few times back when we played here and we had this idea that we were gonna have a can drive, a food drive, remember that, I think it was like four or five bucks and then a can of food and then we were gonna distribute the food to people, but then it turned into this big riot and all the kids in the street started throwing the cans at windows, do you remember this, it was seriously fucking nuts, just a pleasant memory from the scrapbook for you all.”

(...)

(...)

I spent some time with the recordings of both Fugazi gigs at the Ogden Theater these last couple of weeks, and enjoy these a whole damn lot. The band hadn’t performed live since concluding their Scandinavian run some 6 months earlier, on October 10, 2000 and while both performances surely include a handful of shaky transitions and the occasional missed chord or hiccup, the band’s musicianship, work ethic and ardor come out on top. As such, both recordings essentially portray a band that found its bearings rapidly, came out swinging and had the welcoming audience eating out of its hand.

The recording of the first night includes a total of 28 songs, taken off of The Argument (6) (at the time not yet released), Furniture EP (1) (at the time not yet released), End Hits (5), Red Medicine (2), In on the Kill Taker (6), Steady Diet of Nothing (2), Repeater (3), Margin Walker EP (1) and 7 Songs EP (2). This includes some rare live renderings for 2001 such as Full Disclosure, Give Me The Cure or Cassavetes.

(...)

(...)

Some of my highlights here are Sieve-Fisted Find, Cashout (considering Ian very often introduced this one, it is clear he takes the subject to heart, “we came into Denver yesterday and as we drove around we saw one million housing projects like people building condominiums, condominiums, condominiums, town houses, town houses, town houses, and, you know in Washington D.C. it’s the same thing, it’s like everywhere you look there’s houses being built, houses being built, prices are going up so this is a song about where exactly people are supposed to live at this fucking point”), the live debut of The Kill (Guy’s eerie guitar play sounds fantastic while Joe is still coming into his own on this one, “we’re trying something new, I haven’t got it down totally, give me a break”), Last Chance For a Slow Dance, Arpeggiator (with Jerry Busher on second drums), Blueprint, another dubby version of Promises (reverb on the snare, distortion on the vocals and a thunderous thump on the kick drum) or Sweet and Low (the reverb on the guitars is just mesmerizing).

The sound quality of both recordings is easily really good and highly enjoyable, the vocals and instruments clear and well balanced in the mix, the guitars laid out nicely in stereo, even though the volume levels are slightly wavering occasionally, particularly during the louder parts. There are some marginal cuts between tracks on both nights, but nothing disruptive.