This new documentary captures the thrilling ferocity and enduring legacy of Fugazi’s live shows

New crowd-sourced documentary We Are Fugazi From Washington, D.C. marks 20 years since Fugazi’s final live show, highlighting why the post-hardcore trailblazers remain an inspiration for artists forging their own uncompromising path.

Ricocheting from incendiary eruptions of blistering noise to hypnotic instrumental breakdowns, and shifting between guttural roars, spring-coiled restraint and deft melody – it’s a taut, tense, inimitable sound that could only belong to one band: Fugazi. 

It’s now been over 22 years since the group last played live, consigning the chance to witness the razor-sharp precision and back-and-forth assault of Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto’s guitars, or Joe Lally’s purring bass and funky workouts, strictly to the past. Thankfully, a new film, We Are Fugazi From Washington, D.C., will help old fans relive – and give new fans a small taste of – the Fugazi live experience.

The project, initiated in 2022 to commemorate two decades since Fugazi’s final live show in London in 2002, is no conventional rock documentary. “tHISiSNOTaFUGAZIdOCUMENTARY” is how filmmakers Joe Gross, Joseph Pattisall and Jeff Krulik (director of the killer cult 1980s doc Heavy Metal Parking Lot) signpost it in the promo materials. Instead, it’s a feature-length cut of crowd-sourced, fan-recorded live shows and rare archival footage. The filmmakers had plenty of footage to draw from: the band had an open policy when it came to recording audio and video at their gigs, and the footage selected is up-close, sweaty and packed with shirtless, euphoric kids dancing in scenes which recall the wild abandon of a rave. This cache of archival material throws up some special moments that might otherwise be lost to history, such as the band playing with Nirvana’s borrowed gear after their van broke down, singing a capella through power cuts, and performing in an empty warehouse while kids listen intently outside on the street because the police won’t let them in. Rough around the edges and stitched together with love, We Are Fugazi is an unashamedly DIY project that beautifully and potently captures what an absolutely fucking ferocious and totally singular group Fugazi were. 

In the same way that post-punk eclipsed punk by being more musically open, varied and innovative, Fugazi’s post-hardcore approach did the same with its predecessor. The relentless yet succinct thrash and straight-edge fury of MacKaye’s hardcore punk band Minor Threat gave way to something much more fluid and far-reaching in Fugazi – touching on proto-punk, post-punk, dub and funk. In many ways, the sonic encapsulation of the band can be distilled down to and mirrored by Picciotto’s movements on stage. The man who once climbed inside a basketball hoop mid-gig – literally slam-dunking himself – is a proper dancer, shifting between the fluid, graceful and rhythmic to the disjointed, spiky and erratic. It’s rare for a band to be able to groove and bite with equal ferocity but Fugazi nailed that idiosyncratic combination. 

The band’s quest for a sense of fairness and egalitarianism in the music industry is, of course, legendary. They played all-ages shows, did numerous benefits and fundraisers, capped the prices of gig tickets and albums, supported progressive political causes, and turned down a $10 million major label deal to keep things DIY on their self-run independent label, Dischord. While they were occasionally criticised and mocked for acting like the police at their own shows, bollocking aggressive stage divers and crowd members (there’s a funny scene in the film where they make crowd surfers take their boots off and leave them on stage), this was intended to rid the scene of unwanted leftover traits from macho-heavy hardcore. “Don’t jump on each other’s heads. Feel free to dance. Enjoy,” is the mantra that introduces the film. That safe and inclusive ethos they set out to create at shows, nearly 40 years ago, is now seen as standard at DIY and punk gigs. 

The band’s influence is ongoing and multifaceted. Their music remains the bedrock sound for post-hardcore, while also influencing a hugely diverse pool of artists, from Blink 182 to Interpol, via Elliott Smith and Johnny Marr. Elsewhere, their staunch ethos and immovable principles remain a blueprint for many. “Fugazi truly did their own thing, without compromise,” says Graham Sayle, singer of High Vis, a contemporary post-hardcore band who also revel in fusing discordant noise with melodic grooves. “They had no elevated aspirations or desire to be anything more than a group of equals creating moments and music to be shared.” 

Sharing is arguably the crucial part of Fugazi’s legacy. Since their indefinite hiatus, the band have made around 900 live shows available to download on a pay-what-you-can system. And while still active, they broke down the barrier between stage and audience to create something genuinely communal. Without welcoming crowds into their space and onto their stages, a film like We Are Fugazi From Washington, D.C. simply would not exist. Given the band aren’t likely to return anytime soon to show us the way, this essential document will have to do.